Bonjour Fodorites,
We'll be in Paris & Provence the last week in August, ending up in Nice for a wedding over Labor Day weekend (Sept 1 - 3). A plethora of wedding related activities will keep us anchored in Nice over the weekend, but as it's our first visit to the Cote d'Azur, I can't visit without squeezing in some beach time. I understand that the beaches can be rocky to pebbly, but can anyone advise what the swimming off the beach is like. Is it fairly protected, with no strong currents or riptides? Is the water fairly clean and clear? Appreciate any feedback!
Merci.

The beaches are rocky and pebbly but the water is clear and clean. You will need water shoes if you're going in. I don't recall any riptides or dangerous surf, but I was there in October. Bon Voyage

I recall the water off of the beaches in Nice as well as Costa del Sol in Spain as being quite cold.

If you spend the day at one of the private concessons on the beach in Nice, you won't have to walk on the flat polished stones - they have mats that you walk on. Obviously, the mats don't extnd into the water.

Stu Dudley

The beaches in Nice were crowded with happy swimmers in the water (sparkling clear)and sunbathers last week! The rocks (largish)didn't seem to deter anybody, but I was glad for my Crocs on land. The promenade is four miles long, and filled with other diversions besides swimming, too, to enjoy the beach scene- I wish I had been able to rent a bike, for example. (There is a separate bike lane, and lots of joggers.)

The Med is a very calm sea - not a major ocean. Most places along the Riviera the water is practically still - waves are only a couple of inches high - nothing like the breakers of the Atlantic or Pacific.

But- you do need to ear something on your feet - or go further west along the coast to where they have actual sand.