In today’s post, I’m sharing our tips for visiting Nice, France with a baby.
For our daughter’s first international trip, we spent 5 nights in the French Riviera and 4 nights in Torno on Lake Como. We used Antibes as our base for exploring the Côte d’Azur in France and had such an amazing experience. (Full itinerary + vlog here).
We decided to take day trip to explore Nice and had SO much fun. This city was so charming and surprisingly baby friendly.
The Perfect Nice, France itinerary: how to spend 1 day in Nice, France
Nice is the fifth-largest city in France and the second-largest city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region behind Marseille. Nice shows off the ridiculously blue Mediteranean on one side while cozying up to the foot of the alps on the other.
Also known as Nice la Belle (or “Nice the Beautiful”), this city has been attracting the rich and famous for hundreds of years and boasts nearly perfect weather year round. We had so much fun exploring and feel it is a must-see on any South of France itinerary.
In today’s guide, I’m going to share some information about planning a trip to Nice, France. Then, I’ll share an easy and straightforward one day Nice, France itinerary to showcase the best this charming French city has to offer.
When is the best time to visit Nice, France?
Like the rest of the Côte d’Azur, Nice’s most popular season is in the summer, with July and August being the most crowded. Since Nice is famously temperate, though, I recommend planning your visit in the “shoulder” season: April-early June or September.
We visited the French Riviera at the end of September, and I cannot recommend this more. The day we day-tripped to Nice was the only not-flawless weather day we had the entire trip. It sprinkled a little in the afternoon, but it didn’t take away from our time in the region AT ALL.
How to get to Nice, France
Nice, France is well-connected within Europe, and the airport is easy and straightforward. We traveled from LAX–>Frankfurt->Nice. We flew into the Nice Côte d’Azur Airport, and it only took us 20 minutes or so to get to our apartment in Antibes.
Parking in Nice, France
We did not research this ahead of time, it was a costly mistake, lol. I do definitely recommend renting a car for exploring all that the French Riviera has to offer, but it’s important to map out your parking spots before you start driving.
If you are day-tripping into Nice, France, park here for easy access (~10 minute walk) to the English Promenade as well as old town.
The perfect 1 day Nice, France itinerary:
Ferry ride in Nice, France
I recommend starting your day with a ferry ride in Nice. This was such a fun way to begin our Nice itinerary because we were able to see the city and surrounding coastal area from the water. I highly recommend this on any Nice, France itinerary.
We reserved tickets online with Trans Côte d’Azur and paid at the Quai Lunel on the Port of Nice just before we boarded the boat. This gave us the chance to check out all of the boats docked at the famous Old Port.
There are a couple of different options with this company like an all-day excursion over to Monaco, but we wanted something short and sweet because we knew Charlotte wouldn’t last super long on a boat. We did the coastal tour which lasted one hour and took us over to Villefranche bay and the Promenade des Anglais.
Self Guided Walking Tour of Old Town in Nice, France
After a beautiful cruise up and down the coast, we made our way back towards the old town area.
We followed Rick Steves’ self-guided walking tour of Nice to help us get oriented in the beautiful old town area. The walk is found in this guidebook which we found super helpful.
Don’t miss the Cours Saleya (an open air market) and the golden Nice Cathedral. We stopped at Fenocchio for gelato–in the square next to the cathedral and the best we had on this trip!
We had also planned on picking up some things for dinner at this olive oil shop and a pasta shop that we had researched, but sadly both were closed that day.
If we didn’t have Charlotte with us, we would have definitely hit the Chagall Museum. And of course, we couldn’t pass up an afternoon pick-me-up at Hobo Coffee.
Walk the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France
Nice’s boardwalk is iconic, stretching a 7 km curve along the coast and boasting gorgeous palm trees and a ginormous pedestrian walkway throughout. We followed Rick Steves’ walking guide for this too, which took us by the Nice Massena which was so fun to see in person.
The water in Nice was truly stunning, and we walked with our mouths gaping all the way from old town to the The Negresco hotel.
The Hotel Negresco, by the way, is a must-see in Nice. Grab a drink at the cozy bar next to the lobby and take in the atmosphere.
Our advice is to rent a bike to cruise the promenade. By the time we started our walk, the temperatures had dropped a bit so we thought it might be too cold for Charlotte on a bike. However, biking was at the top of our list for Nice because the promenade seems to have been made for a leisurely sunny bike ride.
After a stop at the Hotel Negresco, we made it about halfway down the promenade back to the car when Tyler suddenly had the urge to jump in the water because “HOW CAN I SAY NO TO THE MEDITERRANEAN??!?”
In his defense, the water was literally glowing and looked heavenly. So he stripped down to his briefs and jumped in. And then of course Charlotte had to join him. It was adorable.
During the summer, there are tons of beach clubs and areas to lounge on the huge strip of beach.
Thank you for checking out our Nice, France itinerary! I hope you have the best time. It’s truly such a unique city and fun place to explore.
More posts from this trip:
The Perfect Antibes Travel Guide
26 Lifesaving Tips for Traveling with a Baby in Europe
How to Spend 4 Days in Lake Como
What to pack for a trip to Nice, France:
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