Nice, France Travel Guide
May 29, 2018
Nice

Nice France Travel Guide

While it is always an adjustment getting back from traveling and re-getting into the groove of your everyday schedule (and sleep pattern…hello jet-lag!), I couldn’t be more excited to share these travel guides from our latest trip with you all! Truly, I love how many people reach out when I am away, asking tons of questions about the details of our trip so that you can plan your own.  Keeping this in mind, I try and make these guides as helpful as possible. I always love feedback and feel free to always ask me any questions I may have missed either in the comments below or shoot me an e-mail! As always, I find it easiest to break up these posts by what we did each day. There is so much planning that goes into our itineraries I find it helpful to map out how we navigated each day incase you want to use this as a guide as well.

First up from our latest Euro-trip is Nice, France. Two of our best friends have been living in London for the past couple of years, so whenever we are headed that way we try and link up with them because it is always an easy (and usually inexpensive) flight for them. Matt and I had been talking about visiting the South of France for quite some time and while Joe and Liz (our friends) had been before, Nice was a new city for them so they were just as excited.

I have mentioned this before, but when traveling in groups or more than just Matt and I, we always prefer to do an AirBNB if possible. It is so much more fun getting to hang out and honestly usually more cost efficient for a group. After a great deal of research our London pals found an amazing apartment which had a beautiful view of Promenade du Pelion in the front and then Old Town in the back of the apartment. We had read that you want to be close to Old Town to experience the restaurants, shops, markets and overall nightlife. While we still had to Uber here and there (mainly to our day trips), we were able to walk all over the city from where we were staying. You can find a link to our exact AirBNB we rented here, I would HIGHLY recommend it, but it is on a 4th floor walkup with super steep steps, so just an FYI.

Nice France AirBNB

DAY ONE:

Everyone arrived a bit later in the night our first day in Nice, but we still didn’t want to waste any time and headed out for a bite to eat and checked out a few local bars. While waiting for our friends to get in, Matt and I grabbed the most delicious pizza at La Maison de la Pizza, which was just a casual place we stumbled upon around the corner from where we stayed in Old Town. Everything was so fresh and delicious, we both still talk about it to this day. Afterwards we went back to our AirBNB to welcome Joe and Liz and cheers’d to the weekend ahead with a bottle of rosé (which our AirBNB host actually left for us). We then headed back into Old Town and honestly just walked around popping in and out of bars. Wayne’s was a fun local dive bar that played throwback jams from the early 2000’s and Pompei Bar + Pub was tiny, but a blast! They have bleachers you could stand on inside and listen to live music. It got a bit rowdy with the band and crowd, but was a great place to check out for a few drinks.

Best pizza in Nice France

DAY TWO:

It was so helpful having our friend’s from London there because they were only on a 1 hour time difference compared to Matt and I with 6. We knew we all wanted to get up early to explore, but also knew the reality of jet-lag, so we made Liz make sure we were up and going around 8:00am each morning. After getting ready, we headed back into Old Town into the square and checked out a massive Farmer’s Market which was honestly a dream. EVERYTHING looked so unbelievably fresh and I have never seen such gorgeous flowers. I bought a pint of fresh strawberries and blueberries to snack on as we walked around and the boys picked up fresh squeezed juices. If I lived in Nice, I would come here every single day (it is open every day, expect on Mondays it is an antique market).

Farmers Market in Nice

Old Town Nice Farmers Market

Nice France Farmers Market

We knew we wanted to head to Antibes this day, so on our walk from the Farmer’s Market to the train we picked up a cappuccino and croissant to hold us over from Malango. With some prior research we knew how easy it would be to take the train from Nice to Antibes (about a 15min train ride) so that is what we did. Like I mentioned, we walked from where we were staying to the train station, which honestly wasn’t a bad walk at all (maybe about 20-25 minutes).

< our walk to the train station >

 

Nice France

train from Nice to Antibes

Antibes is adorable and a must for a day trip if visiting Nice. There are quaint streets with cute little shops (I picked up a straw tote from L’épingle à linge), farmer’s markets, beaches and so much more. We walked around exploring for awhile and then made our way over to the Royal Beach Club for lunch. We didn’t make a reservation, but would recommend to do so if possible. We were able to sit right away, but they weren’t too pleased that we didn’t have a res. After lunch we decided to digest and spend some time on the public beach nearby soaking in the sun.

What to do in Antibes

Antibes

l'epingle a linge

best shopping in Antibes

How to get to Antibes from Nice

Antibes beaches

The town of Antibes

Antibes Travel Guide

South of France honeymoon

Royal Beach Club Antibes

Later that day we took an Uber to Juan-les-Pines, which is known as the “South Beach” of South France. Our first stop was to Belles Rives, a gorgeous hotel with an incredible beach club vibe and view of the water. We ordered some rosé (lots and lots of rosé on this trip, I was in heaven) and enjoyed the beautiful views of South France.

L'Hôtel Belles Rives

Beach Club in du Cap d’Antibes

royal beach club france

Afterwards, we walked to Plage le Colombier, which is another beach bar, to watch the sunset and enjoy a cocktail on the beach. There is a restaurant called Pam Pam just a quick walk from here that a lot of people talk about as having a fun atmosphere if you are in the mood to check it out! We ended up just hanging out at Plage le Colombier for awhile and never made it, but thought I would share.

pam pam

 

Beach Sweater

Plage le Colombier

At this point it was pretty late (around 10:00) and by the time we took an Uber back to Nice (this was a fairly long ride, about 30 minutes) almost all the restaurants were closed or not taking any more tables. We typically hate eating at the same place, but our pizza the first night was so incredible we decided to pop by and see if they would seat us. Luckily they did and the boys opted for the calzone and both said it was the best calzone that they have ever had!

DAY THREE:

Woke up bright and early again and took an Uber to Èzewhich people call a Medieval town in the sky. We walked around for a bit and then paid 6 Euro to enter the most beautiful garden, I was in succulent heaven! The views from here were incredible and I think hands down it was one of my favorite gardens I have ever been to. On our way out, we popped into a tiny coffee shop (right before you exit) and ordered “iced coffees”, which essentially was espresso with a scoop of coffee ice-cream, not what we expected but delish!

The town of Eze

Gardens in Eze

Jardin botanique d'Èze

Eyelet white dress

What to do in Eze France

Èze

French Iced Coffee

Next up, this may be my favorite memory from Nice! I keep describing it as a hidden oasis because when the Uber dropped us off we had to walk a ways down the road to a path that lead all the way down a ton of stairs to the beach where the best restaurant/beach club was located. La Réserve de la Mala is a MUST and make sure you make reservations. The views from here were quite honestly breathtaking and you can see from my photos that you truly feel like you are in a hidden oasis. We ate lunch outside, hung out on the beach a bit and enjoyed the overall good vibes. For lunch I ordered the ahi tuna which was out of this world!

La Réserve de la Mala

Hidden beach club in the South of France

Royal Beach Club Antibes

best beach club in Antibes

Rebecca Taylor Dress

What to eat in France

Best beach club in the South of France

While we all joked that we could have stayed there forever, after a few hours we went on our way and headed to Monaco, which was a quick Uber ride away. Unfortunately we really didn’t get to experience Monaco because it was shut down for the Antique Grand Prix and you literally couldn’t walk or get in anywhere (you needed a pass to get in any of the hotels or casinos). It also started raining at this point so we decided to get out of here and head back home. We walked to the train which was about a 10 minute walk from the heart of Monaco and took the 15min ride back into Nice.

By the time we got back to Nice, so we spent some time walking around and exploring before making our way over to the Le Meridian to check out the rooftop view and grab a drink. It is located on just the other side of the road across form the beach, which created a picturesque view.

Since it was still pretty chilly out we wanted to get inside and warm up so we headed back into Old Town and popped by a cozy spot called Pub Les Distilleries Idéales. We spilt a bottle of red wine and listened to the oldies music blasting throughout the pub. It was the perfect spot to hang out before dinner.

 Pub Les Distilleries Idéales

We made reservations at Citrus for dinner this night, which happened to be across the street from the pub. It was a yummy dinner filled with pasta and fish and a cute spot to grab a bite to eat. Afterwards we checked out a piano bar right in town called Shapko before calling it a night.

DAY FOUR:

The rain started early on our last day, so we had a slow start to our morning in hopes it would lighten up a bit. We eventually made our way through town and went to a cozy spot for lunch called Marcel Bistro Chic. They had the most inviting leather couch with a table and two other chairs in the corner of their restaurant that we made home for the next hour or so. We all ordered the beef stew since it was a dreary day and it was so incredibly delicious. Our lunch plan of waiting the rain our worked because when we wrapped up the sun had popped out and everything started to dry out.

Marcel Bistro Chic

We headed over to Castle Hill to hike up the steps to the top for a panoramic view of the city. It only took about 10 minutes to get to the top and was well worth if for the view.

Castle Hill Nice

Best view in Nice France

Since the rain was holding off we continued to walk all around Nice, the Old Town and eventually made our way down to the Port where all of the the boats docked and we saw the biggest yacht I think I have ever seen. This area looks like a perfectly painted picture, all the boats are different colors and the building lining the Port have so much character.

What to do in Nice

Visiting Nice France

Port of Nice

Travel Guide for Nice

Best gelato in Nice

Afterwards we made our way back to our AirBNB and grabbed gelato (I always go for cinnamon and pistachio) at the famous Ferinocio. Joe and Liz were flying out this evening, so we said our good-byes and then Matt and I changed and got ready to grab and Uber and head into Villefrancche-Sur-Mer. Our friends had visited here last time they were in the South of France and recommended going. It is a bit of a sleepy town, but beautiful nonetheless. We walked around for a bit exploring the side streets and waterfront and then hopped into another Uber to head to the Four Seasons in  Cap-ferrat (also recommended by them). On the way there you will have the most amazing opportunity to pull over, snap a few photos and take in the most gorgeous view. We asked our Uber driver if he minded and he said not at all, so I would suggest doing this as well! You can’t miss the view I am talking about, you will just know.

The Four Seasons is located on a beautiful property tucked way off the road. We enjoyed exploring the property and grabbing a drink at the bar. From here we went into the heart of Cab-ferrat where we walked around, watched the sunset and grabbed our last meal at Restaurant du Port

Villefranche-sur-Mer

How to plan a trip to the south of France

Best villages in the South of France

where to eat in Villefranche-sur-Mer

Cap-Ferrat

Four Seasons Cap-Ferrat

Overall, from this leg of our journey I would say the “Must Dos” include:

  • Day trip to Antibes and Juan Les Pines for some fun in the sun, tons of good restaurants and casual beach clubs. Overall a great vibe.
  • Take a trip to the Eze to take in the beautiful views, the ride alone is worth it.
  • Spend a day at Plage de Mala, enjoy the beach and a delicious meal.
  • If looking for a more active and vibrant city, with tons of restaurant and bar options, opt to stay in Nice and road trip to the other cities.
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