FranceNice is the unofficial capital of the French Riviera, a sun-drenched city where Italy and Provence blur into one another and the light has drawn painters for over a century. Base yourself for the Baroque tangle of Vieux Nice, the ochre and rose-pink facades, the morning market on Cours Saleya and the long sweep of the Promenade des Anglais curving above a pebble sea. Approach it slowly: eat the local street food (socca, the chickpea pancake blistered in wood ovens, pissaladiere, pan bagnat and a proper salade nicoise), climb Colline du Chateau for the postcard view, then use the excellent tram and coastal trains to reach Monaco, Eze, Antibes and Menton in under an hour. Nice runs on a Mediterranean rhythm, with long lunches, a siesta lull in the hottest afternoons and a lively evening apero on the terraces. Remember that many kitchens close between lunch and dinner, the beaches are stony so bring sandals, and the best of the city is free: sea, light, markets and the daily passeggiata along the front. Give it a few days and it seduces you completely.
Day plans
Pick your trip length. The full 1-day plan is free, members unlock the 3 and 7-day plans.
Arrive before the crowds; buy fruit and a slice of socca from a stall, and remember it becomes an antiques market on Mondays.
Follow Rue Droite and duck into the churches; the light is best and the lanes quietest before mid-morning.
Free to enter; keep it as a cool, ornate pause, then reward yourself with a Fenocchio cone on the square outside.
