October 2019
Nice
Nice Airport is very easy to navigate – in fact, transferring to and from the airport is probably the easiest transfer I’ve had to do.
The beauty of this airport is that it’s located about 20 minutes from the center of Nice – handy to fly to if you are travelling to any destination along the coast.
When exiting the airport, to your right are tram/ train lines. Its cost us around 2 Euro to get to the center of Nice, Avenue Jean Médecin – it took roughly 20 to 30 minutes and was a very smooth journey. The train system is extremely easy to understand.
Hotel Trocadero is in a perfect location. It’s a couple minutes walk to the train station, and a short walk to the front and main areas of Nice.
The hotel itself is only a 2 star – but don’t let that put you off. It is warm and cozy, has great air conditioning, a comfy bed, nice shower and very helpful staff. It had everything that we needed. We didn’t get breakfast included in our stay because we were in France – need I say more.
One thing I found interesting was when leaving the hotel each day, or any time for that matter, we had to leave our room key at reception and then collect it on return. I’ve never experienced that before, but on reflection, it makes sense from a security point of view – in case your card got stolen or lost. The hotel was very quiet so it never had random guests strolling in and out.
Gare de Nice-Ville
Gare de Nice-Ville has beautiful architecture. It’s not hard to miss. It’s huge and located centrally.
Getting around the station was easy. The only downside was that you could only purchase tickets through machines, not in person. The machines were simple to use and had the option of being in French, English, German, Italian and Spanish. However, they only accepted coins and cards, no notes. If you aren’t tech-savy, you may find it a tad difficult, as we were held up a few times due to people struggling.
Please remember to validate your tickets before entering the train, or as soon as you get on any trams/trains. If you don’t, you can get fined!
Avenue Jean Medecin
Avenue Jean Medecin runs through the center of Nice, and you will find you spend a lot of time here, mainly because you can use it to navigate your way to lots of key places. It’s the main shopping strip – and leads you to the front of nice.
North of the avenue is residential, whereas the southern part is the tourist area.
Since 2008, it has been made almost entirely pedestrianized, with just a tram line being put in place.
Promenade des Anglais
The promenade runs along the Mediterranean between Toulon and Menton. It’s beautiful, and when you hit it on a glorious day, there isn’t anything more perfect.
Each day (and night) we spent time walking along the promenade, as both views are picturesque. We spent mornings chilling on the beach – one morning having a coffee and a brownie, another ‘rock balancing’ due to the beach being stony instead of sandy, which is actually quite nice to sit and lie on, surprisingly.
It’s a peaceful part of the town, especially as Nice is becoming more of a popular destination, it’s nice to put time aside to be in peace and quite, just listening to the waves crashing onto the stones (is there a more satisfying sound?).
One thing I NEED to point out is how clean the promenade, the beach and the sea is. There was absolutely zero litter. One morning when we were sat on the beach, we found ourselves suddenly surrounded by young school children who were tasked with litter picking. They were friendly, smiling, polite and doing something great for the world. No wonder the beach is so clean when they are getting the community involved.
Castle Hill
When you are at the waterfront looking towards the sea – to your left is a huge hill, you’ll see steps leading to the top, trees and an artificial waterfall, that’s Castle Hill. It divides the seaside part of Nice into Eastern and Western sides.
So, any photos of Nice that you see online, they were probably taken from there. It’s hard not to snap away.
Walking up to the top, you get to see the BEST views of Nice, its scenic and beautiful – the architecture, the stoney beach, the sea, it’s lush!
Castle Hill is a park with hidden gems all over the place – you can find a yoga or pilates class going on, play areas, seating areas, cathedral ruins and an artificial waterfall (pictured below).
You can get to the top by lift or by stairs. We took the staircase that is to the right of the promenade, the lift is also located here – it may look like it’s out of use, but it still works. Note as well that public toilets are available on top – so no need to worry about needing to rush down to the bottom for a toilet break. But you do have to pay (around 50 cent I think) to use the public toilets.
Nice Etoile
Nice Etolie is a shopping center located roughly halfway on Jean Medecin. It was a great place to walk about when we got hit with a bit of rain. They had plenty of places to grab a bite to eat and have a coffee.
Shops ranged from fashion, to homeware. There was a good mixture.
Hard Rock is along the promenade, and as per usual, it’s a great location with awesome views. We pre-paid our meal to save us some money and spends, so we got the diamond menu that can be purchased on Expedia – which also gives you priority seating. If you’ve been to a HRC before, you will know how busy it can get, so pre-paying is a big help.
This Hard Rock is one of few that doesn’t feel like a traditional Hard Rock. It was small and cute, it was definitely Hard Rock, but something didn’t feel quite right. Nevertheless, staff were on top form and the food was delicious.
Nice Old Town
The old town is one of my favourite parts of Nice. It is everything you’d imagine from a typical European village. Shops left, right and centre. Small, narrow, long streets. Tables and chairs flood the walk ways. You can buy everything here.
We had most of our meals – breakfast, dinner and tea – in the old town. It’s the best place to go for authentic food. I mean, we got Italian food most of the time, but Nice is practically Italian anyway.
One thing that we tried that you can only get in the old town was Socca. Now, thinking about it makes my mouth water, but not in a nice way. Socca is basically a pancake made with chickpea flour, and then seasoned with salt and pepper. In theory, it should be nice, but it did not sit well on my stomach.
There is plenty to do at night, with Jazz bars and live music aplenty. We spent one evening sat out in the streets in a bar. Drinks were 2 cocktails for 5 Euro, so we shared an Old Fashioned and a Long Island Iced Tea – and just chat the night away, putting the world to right. Ha! You can find lots of places like this.
We do love a good Jazz bar – it’s something we always try to scope out. Nice has a few, but some were closed or only open late. Le Shapko is the one we opted for.
We sat with more drinks, enjoying some great jazz. We made friends with another couple and just chilled.
It’s the perfect way to end a long day of exploration.
Cannes
Cannes really surprised me. I just thought it would be packed with tourists and a bit tacky. But I was wrong. Cannes is beautiful.
I really enjoyed myself in Cannes. We walked along the waterfront with an ice cream and smoothie in hand, soaking up the rays. We walked along the ‘red carpet’ to have a quick browse in the pop up museum of Cannes. Then we had a delicious Italian lunch in a typical European restaurant on the street again, soaking up all of the rays.
Whilst walking through the streets, we come across so many fresh fruit and veg markets and stalls – the smells were unreal.
We discovered some lovely paths that looked very Italian, each of them winding to the top of the hill. he top of a hill. There were spectacular views at the hilltop church.
It was called The Eglise Notre-Dame de l’Esperance.
The grounds were beautiful too.
Menton
We didn’t spend an awful amount of time in Menton, but the time we spent in Menton was amazing. It’s so BEAUTIFUL. Menton forms part of the French Riviera, and is the closest town to the Italian boarder – so obviously I was intrigued to visit.
From getting off the train, it was a short 10 minute walk to get to the front and see the beautiful views of the coast and Italy. We arrived around midday and decided to pick a restaurant along the sea front for lunch. We went with Italian – again – and got pizza and french fries. It was super relaxing, calming and so hot! It was 26 degrees – in OCTOBER! What!
After dinner, we walked along the beach, and sat on rocks for a few moments to take some photos, and take in some fresh air. Those few moments were priceless, the water was fresh and blue, the beach was rocky and clean, the sky was bright, the sun was HOT, it was perfect. A perfect, ideal little town of local communities working together. I really want to visit again and stay there.
The train cost us 3.60 Euro each and was roughly a half an hour train ride – so it doesn’t take long.
Monte Carlo
After our brief stop in Menton, we jumped back on the train towards the direction Nice, but stopped off in Monaco, specifically Monte Carlo. Our train ticket to Menton covered our stop off in Monaco as it’s located in between Nice and Menton.
The only word to describe this place is WOW. So much money is in this small country, and it shows. Monaco itself is the most densely populated country in the world, and the second smallest behind Vatican City (I’m buzzing that I’ve actually been to both now). And to top that, 30% of people that live in Monaco, are millionaires.
Monte Carlo is one of four quarters of Monaco – the other three being Fontvielle, Monaco-Ville and La Condamine. You can tell that it’s famous for gambling due to the casinos and Grand Prix. The wealth of this place is definitely shown by the buildings, cars and the locals’ dress sense.
We walked along a little bit of the track of the Monte-Carlo Grand Prix at the turnpike – it’s pretty cool I guess, it’s a tight bend that’s for sure. Along this bend is a hotel. If you are a fan of F1, it’s thee place to stay, the views would be phenomenal!
Casino Monte-Carlo is impressive, and I’ve been to Vegas. This is were all the cash is. You can just walk in if you feel like it, security will just do a bit of a search, and then you’re in. At first I felt quite intimated to go in, as I was a hot-sweaty-mess wearing trainers, but it’s full of tourists (at the entrance). Inside it’s spectacular, especially when you consider you’re in a Casino. I only really went in because of its relationship with James Bond, gambling isn’t my bag.
We took a little stroll through the Japanese Gardens, which is always peaceful. It’s pretty and quirky with lots of flowers, mini bridges and stepping stones.
Crazy how you can be in the middle of a French/Italian country, yet feel like you are in a completely different world.
Aside to the main touristy places, it was lovely having a Starbucks and walking the streets of Monte-Carlo with the mesmerizing views of all the yachts, boats and cruise liners – we got that photo that everyone seems to get, you have to, it’s surreal.
Weather
We went to Nice in October, and oh my gosh, it was hot. We didn’t pack the best clothes as we expected autumn weather, so we had to buy a pair of shorts each.
It was verging on 30 degrees. We couldn’t complain, it was glorious, just not expected. So I would highly recommend visiting in the Autumn months.
Nice Overall
Nice is a strange one – but in a good way. In essence, it’s an Italian coastal escape, albeit technically French. There’s not that much to do, tourist hot spot wise. But for what it lacks in museums and commercial photo ops, it more than makes up for with small town authenticity.
Check out our video here.
Your Own Set of Wings 