Nice, France Where to stay?
Oct 14th, 2013, 12:33 AM
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Nice, France Where to stay?
My wife and I will arrive at Nice on Oct-31 afternoon from Paris CDG by TGV. Then I'll return to Paris CDG on Nov-4. Total of 5 days/4 nights stay in Nice. We are just over 60 years of age and fit to do some walking.
I hope to find a hotel in Nice that is close to where I can walk around most attractions in the city and if possible also near the TGV station. Any recommendations for about Euro 100 per night?
Appreciate also some suggestions on what to do around Nice for 3 full days.
I hope to find a hotel in Nice that is close to where I can walk around most attractions in the city and if possible also near the TGV station. Any recommendations for about Euro 100 per night?
Appreciate also some suggestions on what to do around Nice for 3 full days.
Oct 14th, 2013, 01:43 AM
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Good choice. I just got back from a week there. I definitely suggest a day in old town, Vielle Ville. There is something about walking those streets and their age that I found magical. There is great food and more souvenir shops than should be allowed...but still it was interesting.
Can't help with a hotel, I rented an apartment for the week.
Can't help with a hotel, I rented an apartment for the week.
Oct 14th, 2013, 05:40 AM
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The problem is the train station isn't really that close to the main old town area, so you may not want to walk between the two. You can, of course, but I would suggest you pick your hotel site for convenience during your stay, and take a taxi to it. YOU can take a bus if you decide to chose a hotel more around the train station. I stayed up in that area once and it was nice enough, but I didn't walk to Old Town, I took the bus.
try the Hotel Grimaldi, it's a good location where you can walk to things to sightsee, but you probably won't walk from the train station to it, and they do have vacancies for just a bit over 100 euro http://www.le-grimaldi.com/ You could maybe walk from the train station, it's a pretty central location-- it's about 700 meters from the train station, assuming you are talking about the regular main Nice Ville train station. I don't think they have a special one for TGVs.
try the Hotel Grimaldi, it's a good location where you can walk to things to sightsee, but you probably won't walk from the train station to it, and they do have vacancies for just a bit over 100 euro http://www.le-grimaldi.com/ You could maybe walk from the train station, it's a pretty central location-- it's about 700 meters from the train station, assuming you are talking about the regular main Nice Ville train station. I don't think they have a special one for TGVs.
Oct 14th, 2013, 06:05 AM
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Nice's Old Town is most central, but it can be noisy. There are many other hotels just outside the area. Another consideration is walkability to the bus station. Buses are an excellent form of transportation along the Cote d'Azur, for Eze, Villefranche, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and the Villa Ephrussi-Rothschild, St. Paul-de-Vence, and so on. So many beautiful places to see.
Go to booking.com and tripadvisor.com, put in your dates and budget, and see what's available.
Go to booking.com and tripadvisor.com, put in your dates and budget, and see what's available.
Oct 14th, 2013, 06:24 AM
#6
Nice has an excellent, and cheap, public transport system. It's 1 euro a ride, but I buy a pass. The train station is not in a particularly nice area. Take the tram from the train station and stay downtown - either the old town or just off the Promenade des Anglais. I stay here - http://hotelsolara.com/uk/hotel.php - clean and comfortable but pretty basic, but the Grimaldi for 100 euros sounds like a good deal.
Oct 14th, 2013, 06:39 AM
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> It's 1 euro a ride,
Not any more, it changed to €1.50 last May. 50% increase? That's a lot but still cheap especially when you ride a but outside the city, to Menton, MOnaco, etc. 1 Day Pass is now € 5. ( It was €4 and was valid also for 2 airport bus lines. Not any more. You need to buy a €6 ticket that's good only for airport bus. 1 day pass is not good for this.)
Not any more, it changed to €1.50 last May. 50% increase? That's a lot but still cheap especially when you ride a but outside the city, to Menton, MOnaco, etc. 1 Day Pass is now € 5. ( It was €4 and was valid also for 2 airport bus lines. Not any more. You need to buy a €6 ticket that's good only for airport bus. 1 day pass is not good for this.)
Oct 14th, 2013, 06:57 AM
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I'm staying at the of this month, for 3 night at :
http://www.ajoupanice.com/index_uk.html
I stayed here once a few years ago and it was nice enough. My studio room was simple but rather spaceous, with a equiped kitchen. But I picked this place for the location and the price (about €40). A view of the pedestrian street Rue Massena was nice, not noisy. I'm staying for 3 nights this time and booked a "supeiror" studio with a balcony on Rue Massena. Costs €180.00 for the 3 nights. No breakfast service nor daily cleaning so if you need standard hotel service, this place is not for you. I eat little breakfast so that's fine with me. If I need a cup of coffee, there are plenty of cafés and restaurants on this street and in the surroundings. The old town is across the Place Massena, 5 minutes walk.
http://www.ajoupanice.com/index_uk.html
I stayed here once a few years ago and it was nice enough. My studio room was simple but rather spaceous, with a equiped kitchen. But I picked this place for the location and the price (about €40). A view of the pedestrian street Rue Massena was nice, not noisy. I'm staying for 3 nights this time and booked a "supeiror" studio with a balcony on Rue Massena. Costs €180.00 for the 3 nights. No breakfast service nor daily cleaning so if you need standard hotel service, this place is not for you. I eat little breakfast so that's fine with me. If I need a cup of coffee, there are plenty of cafés and restaurants on this street and in the surroundings. The old town is across the Place Massena, 5 minutes walk.
Oct 14th, 2013, 07:13 AM
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Hello Thursdaysd, Solara looks nice as well for the price. I might consider it next time especially for a room with terrace on the 5th floor. Ajoupa has one room used as reception/office on the upper floor (5th?4th? I forget)and it may be closed later in the evening. It really is apartments without hotel services. But you can stay even for 1 night.
Oct 14th, 2013, 07:22 AM
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Rooms at Ajouba look much bigger than the fifth floor singles at Solara, but the Solara location is good. It has a hotel-type desk on the fourth floor, but I don't remember how long it stays open. No breakfast, but a mini fridge in the room.
Oct 14th, 2013, 08:30 AM
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Yes rooms should be larger in Ajoupa. Each has a space with a table and a couple of chairs for dinning. Also an empty fridge in the kitchen. Like renting an apartment, you are requested to clean the kitchen. And asked to put garbage in the bin outside the room when leaving.
Oct 14th, 2013, 08:33 AM
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I stayed at Hotel Kyriad Nice Gare and thought it was lovely. It's close to the train station (I walked and the area was fine) and I also walked to all areas including old town, promenade, Chagall Museum and beyond. If you are physically fit, this location should be no problem and the rates are really reasonable. When I was there, I had the breakfast buffet and it was excellent.
Oct 14th, 2013, 09:49 AM
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We also liked the Hotel le Grimaldi a lot and recommend it highly.
It is an elegant little boutique hotel, in two connected Belle Epoque buildings. Their breakfast buffet is wonderful. Not included in the lodging price, but it's a reasonable amount.
The train station is about a 10 minute walk (we took a cab when we had our luggage, though). We walked to/from the train station when we took it to Antibes (highly recommende day-trip).
The bus station is a longer walk, maybe 20 minutes, but we did it to catch the bus to Villa Ephrussi Rothschild (sp?).
The promenade is just down the street, which also has little markets, etc.
It is an elegant little boutique hotel, in two connected Belle Epoque buildings. Their breakfast buffet is wonderful. Not included in the lodging price, but it's a reasonable amount.
The train station is about a 10 minute walk (we took a cab when we had our luggage, though). We walked to/from the train station when we took it to Antibes (highly recommende day-trip).
The bus station is a longer walk, maybe 20 minutes, but we did it to catch the bus to Villa Ephrussi Rothschild (sp?).
The promenade is just down the street, which also has little markets, etc.
Oct 14th, 2013, 09:55 AM
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FYI, here is my Nice trip report from 2006:
Our Hotel le Grimaldi (http://www.le-grimaldi.com/) was a short cab ride from the train station. It was 10EUR for myself, my daughter, my gargantuan bag, and her two small ones. We were greeted graciously at the hotel, which immediately struck us as a good find.
The hotel is actually two Belle Epoque buildings back-to-back. One side is much prettier to enter, as it faces a nice church. The other side is fine, too, but a bit boring. I think the side on rue Grimaldi is the plain one, and the other side on rue Maccarani is prettier.
The man at the front desk carried my bag to the room, and showed us around. There’s a business center on the ground floor, with free internet use on their two computers, and a free printer to use. (Also wireless in the lobby, I think for a fee.)
Our room was a ‘classic’, twin-bedded room, which was large enough, had a little balcony, a sparkling tile bath with fluffy bright yellow towels, and nice toiletries. It was 150EUR, plus tax and 10EUR per person if we opted for the hot/cold breakfast buffet. They suggested we check out the buffet (served till 10:30a.m.), and if we were interested the next morning, we could sign on for it. Their deal is that you have to buy it everyday to get the 10EUR rate. Otherwise, per day, it’s 15EUR.
So the next morning, we were happy to find hot eggs, proscuitto, yoghurts, cereals, cappuccino, assorted croissants, juices, etc. We thought it a good deal and quite convenient, so we enjoyed it each morning.
For our first dinner, I had brought the name of a restaurant I’d found on Travel Talk, and the front desk agreed it was a good one, a local favorite in old Nice. It’s called Acchiardo, at 38 rue Droite in Vieux Nice. We headed over for their opening at 7p.m., and were very happy with it. Really friendly and attentive service, very quaint and casual atmosphere, with a good menu. I had a steak dinner, which actually included vegetables on the side. My daughter had two different salads. We had bottled water and a half-liter of house red wine. When the bill arrived for 28.50EUR, I thought they’d made a mistake because it was so much less than I’d been accustomed to paying in Venice, Florence and Rome. But, no, it was correct. (We would have maybe eaten there another night, but found out it closes on weekend nights, believe it or not.)
We walked all over old Nice, then through the pedestian area to the promenade and took that way back to the hotel. It’s such a beautiful walk at night. The Chateau hillside is all lit up, the palm trees are lit, and the waves look so pleasant. It was how we ended each of our Nice nights, with that walk back to the hotel.
The next day we decided to take the short bus ride on the #81, to visit the Villa and Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild, near Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. (The bus is just 1.30EUR each direction, which you pay in exact change on the bus.)
It was a nice visit, especially to see the views of the sea down below on both sides of the hillside. I thought the price was a bit steep, at 9.50EUR for an adult, because the Villa isn’t really all that interesting (sorry!), but the gardens are pretty. There’s also a nice little café there, for a light snack or drink or meal, which was a welcome break from all our walking.
While we were there, a very strong wind came up, which caused quite a bit of white caps in the water below, and chased everyone in from the patio tables. The wind stayed with us for the rest of the day, but wasn’t terribly annoying.
From the Villa, we did the easy walk down to the port of St. Jean to walk around and check it out. There are nice boats in the little harbor, with cute restaurants and shops. It’s very tiny, so doesn’t take long to walk from end to end of St. Jean. We spent just about an hour and a half there, then caught the #81 back to Nice.
That evening, we returned to old Nice for dinner. We loved that neighborhood’s little streets, overall atmosphere, and cute shops.
We found the Restaurant la Tapenada, 6 rue St. Reparate and had a very nice dinner. It was probably about 60EUR for the two of us, on their fixed price menu, with a bottle of house wine. Very nice little place, with friendly and attentive service. They even let my daughter trade her dessert for a salad. So she had two salads to start, one after the other, and they timed the arrival of our main courses perfectly. We were perfectly happy with our meal there.
The next day we decided we’d stick to the coast and see Antibes, which is a short 20-minute train ride from Nice. We were glad we’d chosen Antibes, as it’s beautiful. The sea wall makes a nice walk, and the Centre Ville is very charming.
We wandered its streets, shopped in a tiny clothing boutique, found a little place for omelettes (nothing special, but nice enough), then headed back to Nice by train after about 4 hours total. It was a good choice for a quick day-trip.
That evening we weren’t very hungry, so opted for the simple Pasta Basta, once again in old Nice. It was a nice meal, although not extraordinary. Good prices and decent service.
All in all, we were very impressed with Nice and the surrounding area. It’s a very pretty city, with a friendly attitude, sitting on a lovely shore. There are many options for things to do near Nice. We’d considered St. Paul de Vence and Digne, but with the beautiful clear weather, we were drawn to stay at the seaside, and were glad we did.
Our Hotel le Grimaldi (http://www.le-grimaldi.com/) was a short cab ride from the train station. It was 10EUR for myself, my daughter, my gargantuan bag, and her two small ones. We were greeted graciously at the hotel, which immediately struck us as a good find.
The hotel is actually two Belle Epoque buildings back-to-back. One side is much prettier to enter, as it faces a nice church. The other side is fine, too, but a bit boring. I think the side on rue Grimaldi is the plain one, and the other side on rue Maccarani is prettier.
The man at the front desk carried my bag to the room, and showed us around. There’s a business center on the ground floor, with free internet use on their two computers, and a free printer to use. (Also wireless in the lobby, I think for a fee.)
Our room was a ‘classic’, twin-bedded room, which was large enough, had a little balcony, a sparkling tile bath with fluffy bright yellow towels, and nice toiletries. It was 150EUR, plus tax and 10EUR per person if we opted for the hot/cold breakfast buffet. They suggested we check out the buffet (served till 10:30a.m.), and if we were interested the next morning, we could sign on for it. Their deal is that you have to buy it everyday to get the 10EUR rate. Otherwise, per day, it’s 15EUR.
So the next morning, we were happy to find hot eggs, proscuitto, yoghurts, cereals, cappuccino, assorted croissants, juices, etc. We thought it a good deal and quite convenient, so we enjoyed it each morning.
For our first dinner, I had brought the name of a restaurant I’d found on Travel Talk, and the front desk agreed it was a good one, a local favorite in old Nice. It’s called Acchiardo, at 38 rue Droite in Vieux Nice. We headed over for their opening at 7p.m., and were very happy with it. Really friendly and attentive service, very quaint and casual atmosphere, with a good menu. I had a steak dinner, which actually included vegetables on the side. My daughter had two different salads. We had bottled water and a half-liter of house red wine. When the bill arrived for 28.50EUR, I thought they’d made a mistake because it was so much less than I’d been accustomed to paying in Venice, Florence and Rome. But, no, it was correct. (We would have maybe eaten there another night, but found out it closes on weekend nights, believe it or not.)
We walked all over old Nice, then through the pedestian area to the promenade and took that way back to the hotel. It’s such a beautiful walk at night. The Chateau hillside is all lit up, the palm trees are lit, and the waves look so pleasant. It was how we ended each of our Nice nights, with that walk back to the hotel.
The next day we decided to take the short bus ride on the #81, to visit the Villa and Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild, near Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. (The bus is just 1.30EUR each direction, which you pay in exact change on the bus.)
It was a nice visit, especially to see the views of the sea down below on both sides of the hillside. I thought the price was a bit steep, at 9.50EUR for an adult, because the Villa isn’t really all that interesting (sorry!), but the gardens are pretty. There’s also a nice little café there, for a light snack or drink or meal, which was a welcome break from all our walking.
While we were there, a very strong wind came up, which caused quite a bit of white caps in the water below, and chased everyone in from the patio tables. The wind stayed with us for the rest of the day, but wasn’t terribly annoying.
From the Villa, we did the easy walk down to the port of St. Jean to walk around and check it out. There are nice boats in the little harbor, with cute restaurants and shops. It’s very tiny, so doesn’t take long to walk from end to end of St. Jean. We spent just about an hour and a half there, then caught the #81 back to Nice.
That evening, we returned to old Nice for dinner. We loved that neighborhood’s little streets, overall atmosphere, and cute shops.
We found the Restaurant la Tapenada, 6 rue St. Reparate and had a very nice dinner. It was probably about 60EUR for the two of us, on their fixed price menu, with a bottle of house wine. Very nice little place, with friendly and attentive service. They even let my daughter trade her dessert for a salad. So she had two salads to start, one after the other, and they timed the arrival of our main courses perfectly. We were perfectly happy with our meal there.
The next day we decided we’d stick to the coast and see Antibes, which is a short 20-minute train ride from Nice. We were glad we’d chosen Antibes, as it’s beautiful. The sea wall makes a nice walk, and the Centre Ville is very charming.
We wandered its streets, shopped in a tiny clothing boutique, found a little place for omelettes (nothing special, but nice enough), then headed back to Nice by train after about 4 hours total. It was a good choice for a quick day-trip.
That evening we weren’t very hungry, so opted for the simple Pasta Basta, once again in old Nice. It was a nice meal, although not extraordinary. Good prices and decent service.
All in all, we were very impressed with Nice and the surrounding area. It’s a very pretty city, with a friendly attitude, sitting on a lovely shore. There are many options for things to do near Nice. We’d considered St. Paul de Vence and Digne, but with the beautiful clear weather, we were drawn to stay at the seaside, and were glad we did.
Oct 14th, 2013, 01:44 PM
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The bus station (gare routiere) was right downtown as I recall, around the Cathedral, so I didn't find it difficult to get to, it's right near a tram stop. However, it doesn't exist any more, it closed in 2011. Different buses now stop in various locations, some stop around that general location but others don't. I don't think they have one main gare routiere any more.
http://www.lignesdazur.com/presentat...id=911&gpl_id=
http://www.lignesdazur.com/presentat...id=911&gpl_id=
Oct 14th, 2013, 11:35 PM
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> The bus sation is now at the north end of Place Massena, very centrally located.
Not correct. The bus stops replacing the now demolished Gare Routière are scattered around the demolished site. Also bus Number 100 ( for Ville Franche Sur Mer - Monaco - Menton ) leaves from a stop near Place Garibaldi at the foot of le Château, I believe and that's a bit far from the site. No.98 leaves from Lycée Massena.
http://www.lignesdazur.com/ftp/plans...%2011%2012.pdf
Not correct. The bus stops replacing the now demolished Gare Routière are scattered around the demolished site. Also bus Number 100 ( for Ville Franche Sur Mer - Monaco - Menton ) leaves from a stop near Place Garibaldi at the foot of le Château, I believe and that's a bit far from the site. No.98 leaves from Lycée Massena.
http://www.lignesdazur.com/ftp/plans...%2011%2012.pdf
Oct 14th, 2013, 11:39 PM
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Sorry, hope the link works this time.
http://www.lignesdazur.com/ftp/plans...%2011%2012.pdf
http://www.lignesdazur.com/ftp/plans...%2011%2012.pdf
