In short
Nice backs onto the hills and opens onto the Baie des Anges. The eighteenth and nineteenth-century centre, the "winter resort town", has been World Heritage listed since 2021.
Vieux-Nice, dense and Italian, sits between the cours Saleya and the Castle hill. The Carré d'Or and the Promenade des Anglais form the bourgeois city. The port and Riquier are more working-class. Cimiez, up the hill, has the Roman arena and the Matisse and Chagall museums.
The beach is pebble, not sand — the most frequent surprise.
Arriving and getting around
Tram line 2 links the airport to the centre and the port in about twenty minutes, at the ordinary city fare. It is recent and it has removed the point of the shuttle.
Nice-Ville station is ten minutes' walk from the centre. The train runs along the coast to Monaco, Menton and Cannes: it is the simplest way to see the Riviera, far more so than a car.
The Lignes d'Azur network covers tram and bus at a flat fare.
What it really costs
Nice is expensive for housing, especially near the sea, and prices rise sharply in July and August.
The restaurants on the cours Saleya and the Promenade charge passing-trade rates. Authentic Niçois cooking — socca, pissaladière, petits farcis — is found in Vieux-Nice and at the market, at very reasonable prices.
When to come
April–June and September–October: warm without excess, the sea still or already swimmable. July and August are saturated. Winter is mild, often sunny, and that was precisely the season the city was built for.
The Nice carnival, in February, fills the city for two weeks.
What nobody tells you
The Castle hill has no castle — it was razed in 1706. It has a park, an artificial waterfall and the best view over the bay, reached by a free lift from the quai des États-Unis.
The cours Saleya market sells flowers and produce Tuesday to Sunday, and antiques on Mondays. Getting the day wrong changes the square entirely.
The Promenade des Anglais can be cycled its whole length, and the bike-share stations along it are numerous.