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3 Days in Nice: Itinerary 2026
Start your first day in Vieux Nice, the historic heart. Begin at Cours Saleya market (open 6am-1pm, closed Mondays) for flowers and local produce. Visit the Palais Lascaris (15… 🗺️ Day 1: Old Town
Start your first day in Vieux Nice, the historic heart. Begin at Cours Saleya market (open 6am-1pm, closed Mondays) for flowers and local produce. Visit the Palais Lascaris (15 Rue Droite, open 10am-6pm, €5) and the Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate. End with a stroll along the Promenade des Anglais and a sunset at Castle Hill (free, 30-minute climb).
🍝 Day 2: Cimiez and Food
Spend the morning in the Cimiez neighborhood, home to the Musée Matisse (164 Avenue des Arènes, open 10am-6pm, €10) and the Russian Orthodox Cathedral (17 Boulevard du Tsarévitch, open 9am-6pm, €5). For lunch, try the socca at Chez René (12 Rue Jules Gilly, €6). In the afternoon, explore the Marc Chagall National Museum (36 Avenue Docteur Ménard, open 10am-5pm, €10).
đźš‹ Day 3: Day Trip to Monaco
Take the train from Nice Ville to Monaco-Monte-Carlo (20 minutes, €4.10 each way, every 15 minutes). Visit the Prince's Palace (open 10am-6pm, €8) and the Oceanographic Museum (Avenue Saint-Martin, open 10am-7pm, €16). Walk through the Casino gardens and return to Nice by early evening. Alternatively, take the bus 100 (€1.50, 45 minutes) for a scenic coastal ride.
🚌 Getting Around
Nice's tram line 1 runs from the airport to the city center, with a single ticket costing €1.70 and valid for 74 minutes. The bus network (Lignes d'Azur) covers all neighborhoods, and a 10-trip pass costs €10. For Castle Hill, use the free elevator from the Quai des États-Unis. Walking is often fastest in the compact Old Town.
đź’° Budget Tips
Save money by buying a Nice Côte d'Azur City Pass (€26 for 24 hours, €38 for 48 hours), which includes museums and public transport. Eat like a local at the Cours Saleya market for lunch, where a slice of socca costs €3. Avoid restaurants on the Promenade des Anglais, which are overpriced. Tap water is free at public fountains.
🌆 Evening Strolls
For a memorable evening, walk along the Promenade des Anglais at sunset, then head to the Port of Nice for a quiet drink. The Colline du Château offers panoramic views, and it's open until 8pm in summer. For nightlife, the Place du Pin area has lively bars, while the Opéra de Nice (4 Rue Saint-François de Paule) hosts performances from September to June.
🍋 Local Specialties
Try the local specialty, socca, a chickpea pancake best eaten hot from a street vendor. For dessert, taste the fruit confits from the Confiserie Florian (14 Quai Papacino, open 10am-7pm). Don't miss the olive oil at the Moulin à Huile d'Olive (10 Rue du Château, open 9am-7pm). Pair your meal with a glass of Bellet wine, produced just outside Nice.
fwiw the day 1 itinerary is good but you're missing one of my favorite spots, the Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain, right by the tram stop on Place Garibaldi. it's like 10 euros and the rooftop terrace has a killer view over the port and the old town, way less crowded than castle hill. plus the permanent collection is free on the first sunday of the month, so if you're there then, swap it in.
also for the socca at chez rené, go before noon or expect a line, it's a tiny place and the locals grab it for a mid-morning snack. and if you're not feeling chickpea pancakes, the same street has a few spots doing pissaladière, the onion tart, which is just as classic and easier to eat on the go.
Solid plan overall, and the day trip to Monaco is a good call. One thing I'd tweak: on Day 2, after the Matisse museum, walk down Boulevard de Cimiez instead of taking the tram back. It's a gentle downhill through old residential streets with some gorgeous Belle Époque villas, and you'll end up right near the Russian cathedral. Stops at the little bakery on Avenue de Brancolar for a pain aux raisins are a habit of mine.
For the evening stroll, skip the Port for drinks and go a bit further to the Place Île de Beauté. It's where the locals actually hang out, the bars are cheaper than Place du Pin, and you get a proper view of the harbor lights without the tourist markup. Also, if you're there in summer, the free outdoor cinema at the Théâtre de Verdure in Cimiez runs most nights, and it's a lovely way to end a hot day.
The itinerary is solid, especially the Monaco day trip. One thing I'd add: skip the Prince's Palace interior and just watch the changing of the guard at 11:55, then spend that saved time in the Jardin Exotique instead. The palace rooms are pretty empty, but the garden's cliffside views over the whole coast are worth the extra walk up.
For the Old Town day, don't miss the tiny chapel at 5 Place Rossetti, it's free and has some of the most striking baroque frescoes in the city. Also, if you're there on a Monday when Cours Saleya market is closed, the flower market stalls get replaced by a small antiques fair, which is a fun wander even if you're not buying.
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Day trips from Nice, where should we go?
Antibes is the one I'd protect above all the others, because most people only do the old town and Picasso museum and miss the Cap d'Antibes walk entirely. Get off at Antibes station, walk through the market at Cours Masséna (go before 11, the socca stalls pack up early), then follow the sentier du littoral around to the Garoupe beaches. It's a good two hours on foot and blows the town itself away.
For the third trip, consider swapping one coastal stop for a train inland to Peille or Sospel on the Nice to Breil line. It's the same TER network, no extra planning, and you trade sea views for mountain villages where a coffee costs half what it does in Monaco. Eze is worth doing but I'd pair it with Villefranche on the same day rather than give it its own slot, since the 82 bus and the coastal train basically cover the same stretch.
honestly the train to Monaco is only about 25 min from Nice Ville but Monaco itself is a half day max unless you're into the casino thing. i'd rather spend that day on the 100 bus to Menton, it hugs the coast the whole way, stops in Villefranche and Eze-sur-Mer if you wanna hop off, and Menton has way better food and a quieter old town. also fwiw the Italian border is right there so you can walk into Ventimiglia for the market on Fridays.
Your three picks are solid and all easy on the TER line, but I'd swap Villefranche for Eze if you only have a few days. Villefranche is lovely for an afternoon, the bay is one of the deepest on the coast, but there's not a huge amount to do beyond the old town and the citadel. Eze is genuinely worth it, the bus 82 from Vauban takes about 25 minutes and drops you right at the village, or you can get the train to Eze-sur-Mer and hike up the Nietzsche path if you're up for a steep 45 minutes. The exotic garden at the top costs 6 euros and the view over the coast is the best you'll get without a helicopter.