In Nice for 12 years, I advise and guide you for your stay in Nice!

Visit Nice in a weekend, what to do?

Are you coming to visit Nice in a weekend? So, congratulations, you have chosen a very good destination to spend a very good weekend! Because Nice, a dynamic city despite the image it may have, is a city that will give you a great weekend. It doesn't matter what you're looking for, whether it's a quiet weekend or a party weekend.

I've lived in Nice for over 10 years now, it's a city that I adopted and loved from my first moments in this city. There is a very good atmosphere, the living environment is great, sea and mountains face each other. We eat really well there, the gastronomy of Nice is very famous. And it is a city with many places to visit, many landscapes to see. In short, I'm not going to oversell Nice, if you've decided to spend a weekend in Nice it's because you want to discover it. Also, I offer you below my circuit to visit Nice in a weekend. I have already written an article to help you visit Nice in one day .

First day to visit Nice in a weekend

For this first day of your weekend in Nice, I'm going to show you around the two must-see places in Nice, Old Nice and the Promenade des Anglais. These are the two main tourist centers of Nice. It is a program that is perfectly suited for all seasons, whether you come in winter or summer. Basically, for this first day, you will take the time to discover these two places.

In the morning: visit of Old Nice.

Start around 10 a.m. of the walk in the old Nice (10 a.m., it's not bad, the time to get up quietly from your hotel or rental, to have your breakfast serenely) and to go to the old Nice, passing through Place Masséna.

As soon as you enter Old Nice, I advise you to go to Cours Saleya via Rue Saint François de Paule. In this street, I advise you three things:

visit the Alziari boutique, an olive oil producer in Nice. Some of their oils are made with Nice olives. It is in this shop that I will buy my olive oil. It's a great place to bring home a little local gift for family or friends (or whoever babysat your dog or cat over the weekend!!).
visit the church of Saint François de Paule.
stop in front of the Nice Opera and enter. It is simply magnificent, it deserves a look.
Break: I advise you to stop at Merkado, if you want to eat the best tapas in Nice (in my opinion).

At the very end of the street, you will come directly to Cours Saleya, which is one of the most famous places in Nice. This is one of the places where the people of Nice come to do their market (along with that of the Liberation, which is more typical, less touristic). This course is really pleasant to walk around, with all the restaurants that run along it (little advice: watch out for some tourist trap restaurants with people in front of the restaurants calling out to you to come and eat..., this n is not a good sign!). But the Cours Saleya is renowned for its market, its fruits and vegetables, its flowers, which give it superb colours. If you are passionate about photography, you will have beautiful photos to take here! On the course, I advise you two things:

stop for a drink or eat a club sandwich at La Civette
lunch or dinner at the Safari restaurant (excellent restaurant).
and buy a bouquet of flowers!

Continue Cours Saleya to the end and take rue Jules Gilly to enter the Old Quarter and stroll through its streets that will give you the impression of being in Italy. Go to the end of this street then take rue de la Préfecture.

take the time to enter the Saint Rita church.
take a short break at Lac, the chocolatier from Nice

Then turn off onto Rue Sainte-Réparate, which will take you directly to Place Rossetti, the main square in Old Nice. This place is beautiful:

take the time to enter the Sainte-Réparate cathedral which is simply splendid! It is a compulsory passage in the old town of Nice.
sit down on the terrace of the Fenocchio glacier and don't hesitate to have an ice cream. You must taste them before leaving Nice, it's a tradition!
for dinner, I recommend the restaurant Chez Juliette. Its terrace is very pleasant in summer and the menu is perfect.
otherwise, in rue Sainte-Réparate, there is a restaurant that I love for dinner, Olive&Artichaut.
if you want to eat Nice, I strongly advise you to go to the restaurant Lou Fran Calin. Their tasting plate offers the main specialties of Nice.

Then go up Rue Rossetti and fork into Rue Droite, to find the Palais Lascaris, a museum of old instruments. It is a museum that I recommend because the palace is magnificent.

Then, I invite you to stroll through the streets of Old Nice, take your time, stop in the shops and stop for lunch.

Afternoon: visit of the Castle Hill

To get there from old Nice, I advise you to go through rue Montée du Château, which will take you past the magnificent Jewish cemetery of Nice.

At the time, there was a castle in Nice, with a village, perched on its hill. It was on this hill that the first people of Nice settled, before descending the hill, and what is now Old Nice. Today, there is nothing left of the castle, except for the ruins that archaeologists are restoring. Nevertheless, the hill of the Castle has become a veritable corner of greenery for the people of Nice, who like to walk there, relax, go jogging, have a picnic... A place that is really pleasant. But the main asset of the hill is its belvederes which offer a grandiose view. Yes, simply awesome. In particular the belvedere which is located above the waterfall (artificial of course). It offers an absolutely magnificent view of Old Nice, the city of Nice, the Promenade des Anglais and the Mediterranean. A real spot to take beautiful pictures of Nice. A real spot to stay there for several minutes and admire the landscape.

Please note that the Castle Hill does not offer a food corner or a bar (just a place to eat sweets and buy bottles of drinks).

If you have difficulty getting around, I advise you to go up to the hill of the Castle by the lift, located at the end of the rue des Ponchettes, near the hotel La Pérouse.

To end the day, place Garibaldi

Come on, you walked a lot today so to end the day well, I suggest you sit quietly on one of the many terraces of Place Garibaldi. A place which, like old Nice, will give you the impression of being in Italy. A beautiful place, which was renovated not very long ago.

Near Place Garibaldi is also Place du Pin, a square that has become very trendy in Nice with its many bars and restaurants. A quieter square than Place Garibaldi because there is very little traffic. Here, I recommend:

to have an aperitif (glass and boards) at the Café Centrale Electrique
dinner or lunch at the Café des Chineurs
dinner or lunch at Café Paulette .

You can then return from Place Garibaldi to Place Massena (hyper center) by taking the Coulée Verte.

Second day to visit Nice in a weekend :

After this first day of visiting Nice, its Old Town, its hill, its Place Garibaldi, I suggest a day essentially oriented towards the sea! Because yes, the sea is part of Nice, you can't miss it as it is present in its city center. Also, for this second, you're going to walk, you're going to smell the sea air!! And hear the gulls!!

in the morning: the Promenade des Anglais

Inevitably, the Promenade des Anglais is the emblem of Nice. So many tourists come to Nice just to see the Promenade des Anglais. It is also the first thing that tourists see before arriving in Nice if they take the plane.

The Promenade des Anglais is one of the main places for walking in Nice. A promenade that runs along the Mediterranean and which, each time I am there, gives me the impression of being on vacation. It is also the favorite place for joggers from Nice. A promenade which is also famous for the presence of its famous blue chairs, another symbol of Nice. Chairs that are taken over and on which people stay for long moments, even hours, sitting, in front of the sea, relaxing, relaxing... I suggest you take a walk on the Promenade des Anglais for a good part of the morning. You can also:

have a coffee in one of the many restaurants on private beaches. I recommend one beach in particular, Beau Rivage. The service is always on top, we don't take tourists for suckers, which is not the case with some private beaches.
lunch on Beau Rivage or Castel beach. It's two beach restaurants are excellent.
have a coffee on the rooftop of the Méridien, you will have a magnificent view of the Baie des Anges.
have tea and a pastry at the Rotonde, the Negresco café. A little jazzy atmosphere, a little old-fashioned, but the Negresco is an institution in Nice.
dinner or lunch at the La Calade restaurant at the Radisson Blu hotel , located at the other end of the Promenade des Anglais (tram line 2 can take you there).

In the afternoon: discovery of the Port of Nice

If you continue the Promenade des Anglais towards the east, you will arrive at the port of Nice. A port in which you will find both yachts (virtually all rental yachts, don't get carried away, you won't see stars in Nice!!) and traditional fishing boats which have magnificent colors (superb pictures to take).

Continuing after the port, you will continue your walk towards the coastal path, which offers a very beautiful walk on the rocks, by the sea. In summer, it is also a place where many Nice people come to bathe, to escape the private beaches of the Promenade des Anglais. But be careful, it's quite noisy, so if you're looking for a quiet nap by the sea, forget it!

On this part, I advise you:

to dine in what is for me the best Italian restaurant in Nice, the Local.

Here is my little program that I have concocted for you to visit Nice in a weekend. I wish you a very nice visit to Nice, I hope you will appreciate this city as much as I appreciate it on a daily basis.

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