waboss

We've booked a flight for 2 to Nice at the end of October. This is our first time in Nice and we'll stay for 4 weeks and go on day trips using public transportation. I've read a lot of trip reports which helped with planning. Thanks to all those who provide great information in this forum!

Since we'll be in Nice in November, are there places or things to do that you don't recommend due to the weather? I think swimming is out! Though we’ll probably walk along the beach.

As for our style of travel, we don’t schedule a lot of activities during our vacations. Since we have a lot of time we’ll go to museums, visit churches, go to hilltowns but we won’t go running around to see everything. An enjoyable day would be good food and wine, leisure walks, and looking around at the boutiques or markets.

Here are our current plans for day trips:

Villfranche-sur-Mer (bus from Nice for the views then train back to Nice?)
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and Villa Kerylos
Èze (train or bus?) - Le Jardin Exotique
Monaco (can we do this with Eze or Menton? Otherwise we might skip it)
Menton
St Paul de Vence and Vence (LR400 from Parc Phoenix)
Cannes and/or Antibes (train)

In Nice,
Musée Marc Chagall
Musée Matisse
Castle Hill
St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral
Promenade des Anglais
Parks, squares, markets

Day trips are reserved for the weekends and we’ll have 4 hours in the afternoon during the week for lunch and walking around in Nice as I’ll be in the apartment most of the day to check some emails. And I’m sure there are days when we would stay in the apartment. I’m looking at places within walking distance (up to 15min?) to Place Garibaldi near Old Nice or any of the neighborhoods near the center.

For transportation, do you recommend getting a pass? Can we use Pass Sud Azur? It was introduced last year and they have a monthly pass for €80 for all zones in Alpes-Maritimes so I think this covers all our day trips.

For food, I made a short list in Nice that I’ve seen mentioned here and I checked the reviews on Google Maps. Do you have any restaurant recommendations for our day trips that are open in November and for Nice, too?
Lou Pistou
Bistrot Chaud Vin
La Merenda
Geppetto
Cave de la Tour

Do you have a favourite restaurant that’s not French or Italian? We like Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian and would be interested to try other cuisines for the days when we like to eat something else.

We won’t eat out for every meal. I tried finding places to buy food, I think traiteur or rotisserie is what I’m looking for. Can I find them in every neighborhood?

For apps, I downloaded Lignes d’Azur as that’s more accurate than Google Maps. I already have The Fork from our last trip to Paris, looks like it also works for Nice. Anything else useful?

This has been a long post so thank you for reading! I think I won’t be able to reply often in the beginning.

thursdaysd

Lucky you, I love Nice. My TR for my first visit has a couple of things to see/do not on your list: Nice to Paris: on not taking it easy in Eastern France

Paqngo

A boucherie will have want you want for meats. We also saw chicken at some of the outdoor markets.

Here is a site that lists the markets. https://www.bestofniceblog.com/shopp...n-air-markets/

shelemm

I don't like Nice very much though I do love the Cote d'Azur. Go see the rue obscure in Villefranche, Maybe you can find a walking guide to the trompe l'oeil painting in Vieux Nice. Also Haut de Cagnes, the Fondation Maeght, St Jean Cap Ferrat, the historic cemetaries of Nice. The Cocteau museum in Menton is a must, and he also designed the salle de marriage in the city hall which you can ask to view.

The original cuisine of Nice is called nissarda cuisine (btw, nissarda salad has no cooked ingredients), and there is an organization of places dedicated to authentic nissarda cuisine.

gooster

Let me see if I can answer your questions. We have a place in Nice and we'll be there in late November.

Now on to your questions:
>>Since we'll be in Nice in November, are there places or things to do that you don't recommend due to the weather? I think swimming is out! Though we’ll probably walk along >>>the beach.
Although I sometimes see a hardy soul out there swimming on a sunny winter day, this is a cold time. November can be rainy and have storms. If it is stormy, change your plans for the days and enjoy the indoor activities. The weather in the mountains can be very different, as you might expect.

>>Villfranche-sur-Mer (bus from Nice for the views then train back to Nice?)
Train is usually best as the views start after Villefranche. If you are continuing to Monaco, take the 100 bus and then train back.
>>Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and Villa Kerylos
Bus 15 drops right at the base of the driveway
>>> Èze (train or bus?) - Le Jardin Exotique
Bus 82/112 Train leaves you at Eze-sur-Mer, at the bottom of the hill. Pick a nice day for the best views. Pro tip: Bus continues on to La Turbie, with the Trophee des Alpes. General caution as I saw your plan is to travel on weekend -- service is generally lightest on the weekends for some more remote locations.
>>>Monaco (can we do this with Eze or Menton? Otherwise we might skip it)
Possible to combine either. .
>>>Menton
Train is quicker. Two stations. You can take the bus as a slow route there.
>>>St Paul de Vence and Vence (LR400 from Parc Phoenix)
Tram or bus to Parc Phoenix
Cannes and/or Antibes (train)
>>> I prioritize Antibes or you can do both in one day

>>In Nice,
Markets are Cours Saleya (old town) and Liberation (locals, cheaper). The BestofNice blog is a good resource -- caution a few bus numbers have changed.
Cours Saleya turns into an antique/flea market on Mondays. There is an antique district near the port.
Near the Liberation market is the Gare du Sud, kind of a market/food court.
The Massena Museum near the Negresco has nice rotating exhibition and some Napoleon content on the 2nd floor. A ticket to one municipal museum (say matisse) gives you entry within 24 hours at any other municipal museum, like this one or the Palais Lascaris. Musee de Beaux Arts is a bit faded but has some nice pieces, notably from Dufy.

>>> Apartments
Generally focus your search on the Carre D'or and the few blocks around Place Massena (bounded by the promenade des anglais, promenade du Paillon, Blvd Gambetta, Blvd Victor Hugo/Debouchage, and west of Rue Gubernatis, the Old Town up to Place Garibaldi and the Port up to Place du Pin. When you start to get out of these areas you will start getting further away from the restaurants, sites and connections where you want to be. Another tip contact local rental management companies like Nice Pebbles and Nestor&Jeeves/Ashley Parker (or any number of others like Sunlight) to get extra discounts offseason by going direct for monthly stays .

>> passes
You need to judge the math and convenience of the newer pass. There is also a 50/75 pass that is annual but gives discounts off of the trains. The math will usually work out on the new pass, especially if you take advantage of the Chemin de Faire de Provence (Train des pignes)

>>>Restos:
Bar des Oiseaux
Bistrot d'Antoine
Comptoir du Marche
Les Agiteurs
Olive et Artichaut
Le Sejour Cafe

>> non French/Italian restos
Z Tapas (Spanish)
Kamogawa (Japanese)
100% Tacos (like 3 tables, more of a takeaway or sister restaurant Xitlali)
I've not tried too many non-French/Italian restos, however

>> boucheries and traiteurs
You will find butchers and roast chicken in just about every neighborhood -- more options for traiteurs in the areas I mentioned above (like La Boutique d'Eric).

>> Apps
Uber works in Nice as well. The SCNF app for trains will do e-ticketing, if you don't get a pass. Sometimes discounts are available on the OuiGo trains as well.

janisj

Wow gooster -- what a wealth of information! Fodors is amazing sometimes . . .

Mento12

Nice is a beautiful city. We stayed on the Promenade des Anglais, close to Negresco. Those arriving in Nice should travel to the Gorges du Verdon.

Michael

Saint-Paul de Vence bus stop but in the opposite direction from the town is the Fondation Maeght, a museum of 20th century art:

https://flic.kr/p/8jEtDJ
https://flic.kr/p/8jEtQu

balthy

“nissarda cuisine” = cuisine nissarde in French.

Bellarosa70032

You may also want to consider taking the train across the border to Ventimiglia for their Friday morning market--it's fantastic. Another must-see for us is the Renoir museum in Cagnes, but you may have to take an Uber to get there. We absolutely adore Nice and its environs, but we stay in an apartment away from the city center and have a car. We will be leaving in two weeks to spend time there, and will update if we see anything noteworthy that's not on your list.

waboss

Thank you for the wonderful replies! We're getting excited for the trip!

thursdaysd I've added a few things on my list. Hope Eze won't be busy as it's offseason

Paqngo Thanks for the link! Already planning on visiting the market at Liberation

shelemm Michael We're visiting St Paul de Vence (center) and Vence on the same day. Wondering if we have time to visit Fondation Maeght. It does look like a short walk from there to the center.

gooster Wow! Lots of great suggestions. It really is appreciated and I know other people who search the forum will find your replies helpful. For Villefranche, I saw a recommendation to take the bus and walk down to the center for the views. The train is more convenient. We'll probably decide there if we're up for a walk.
Nice Pebbles and Nestor&Jeeves have websites where I can book, do you recommend that I still contact them? They have more choices in the good locations so thanks for the tip!

janisj Indeed! People here are so generous

Mento12 Gorges du Verdon might be too far for us but we'll look into it

balthy I'll add that to my french vocabulary

Bellarosa70032 looks like Renoir Museum is doable with train and bus from Nice. Enjoy!

We're hoping to receive our passe sanitaire soon. I now see there's a 22 day delay. Good thing we submitted early!

Iwan2go

Another recommendation for renting from Nice Pebbles. We were there several years ago in mid-December and had a two bedroom apartment in the Carre dOr. Great location.

dreamon

There's heaps of possible day trips from Nice but two that we enjoyed that aren't yet on your list are Grasse (bus) and Entrevaux (train). We had a long list of possible places to visit but didn't get to half of them. I envy you, sounds wonderful!

Underhill

For your museum visits, add the municipal Musée des Beaux Arts. Good Dufy collection, some Old Masters, and a wealth of other treasures. Best to take a taxi, as the museum is up in the hills.

gooster

On Villefranche, I can see the point about the view from the corniche (but the route over from the port is one of the least interesting). You can do that and walk down. It's just the walk up is relatively steep so you might take the train unless you need to continue on -- then you'll want to reverse it.

You are probably OK with comparing the offers from the online website, they are both discounting heavily. There are a few other local management firms as well -- but those are the largest.

On the pass, make sure your materials have clear scans or pictures, so there is no sign of glare. Some people have reported success by deleting their application and reapplying. Mine took twice, but it was the old system.

For the Musee des Arts, I don't find the walk up to the museum especially difficult. Take the Grosso/Centre University Mediteranee stop (often abbreviated) of Tram 2 and north through the plaza to the rear parking lot (The building is visible). There are two large sets of stars and you end up in the rear garden of the Museum.

Michael

It's a short walk from the Fondation to Saint Paul. But the Fondation closes for lunch, and I think that we caught the first bus to Saint Paul from Nice and got there just as the Fondation was closing for lunch (I do not recommend their sandwiches). We never made it to Vence, Saw the Matisse chapel on a subsequent trip.

https://flic.kr/p/cNhUx3

KayF

We used Nice Pebbles to book an apartment for a week over Christmas one year. They were good to deal with and the apartment was great, short walk to train station, old town, restaurants etc. We mostly used the buses for day trips and found them cheap and easy. The day we headed by train to the big market in Italy, just over the border, there was a train strike. We arrived in Monaco, there was an announcement in French which we didn't understand and everyone got off. We eventually found someone who told us in English there was a snap strike. We actually had a great day then in Monaco, completely unexpected but we found plenty to do.

waboss

Funny you say that. I looked at the path from the bus stop to the beach and it looked uninteresting to me that's why I'm hesitating.

For the others that also recommended Nice Pebbles, thank you. I'll take a look. One thing I like about Nestor&Jeeves, they show the exact location of the apartment on the map. You can see exactly how far you are from the bus stops, restaurants, etc.

gooster

Oh, actually I meant the view from the top is fine. The walk down is pretty uninteresting and the stairs can be steep. You wouldn't want to do that on the regular. We saw several apartments there, back when we were houseshopping.

Pebbles has the exact locations on the maps, in the photo collage. Then if you click on the icon to the right of the floorplan button, there is a Google Map with all of them properties on a map, so you can use street view for the neighborhood.

mjs

Spent a week in Nice in late September. Fourth visit to the Cote over many years. Last was probably 8 years ago when we rented a house in Cap Antibes. This time rented a condo on the Prom des Anglais. We used the weekly bus/tram pass plus we had a car. Recommend the Moovit ap for transportation info.
have to say that eating well in Nice seems to elude me. Now lots of pizza, hot dog, hamburger and taco joints. Ate at possibly the worst restaurant in my life at the Hotel Boscolo Exedra called Genesi. It looked new and the menu Ed reasonable but we should have taken notice that the restaurant was almost empty. We were however tired and on our way home from the train ride from Monaco and Villefranche. Terrible service with food taking an hour to prepare for simple entrees despite few people in the restaurant. Undercooked and tough veal and overcooked and tough fillet. Expensive too.
Can recommend the Les Garçon restaurant in Villefranche and Le Vaubon in Antibes