One day in Nice – a sightseeing plan

“One day in Nice” is a free sightseeing plan for visitors to Nice. The route I have proposed leads through the most important of Nice’s tourist attractions. You will have to prepare yourself for a long walk, but the reward will be a relaxing rest on the beach. Shall we…?

One day in Nice at a glance

• Route: Place Massena – Paillon Promenade – Garibaldi Square – Old Town and Cours Saleya – Castle Hill – Promenade des Anglais.
• Distance: about 7 km (4.5 miles) on foot, with breaks.
• Start: around 9am, to see the market before noon.
• Cost: the walk is free; budget for lunch and an ice cream.
• Take: comfortable shoes, water, a hat in summer and a swimsuit.

I live in Nice, and this is the walk I suggest to friends who have only one day in the city. It links the places you can’t miss, all within walking distance, in an order that follows the sun: the market in the morning, the view from Castle Hill in the afternoon and the sunset on the Promenade. All the places are on the map at the end of the article.

Morning: Place Massena and the Paillon Promenade

Our “One day in Nice” trip starts in Massena Square (Place Massena). This is the most important square in the city, as you can reach many of the attractions from here. Look up at the seven figures sitting on tall poles, Conversation in Nice by Jaume Plensa, which light up at night, and at the Fountain of the Sun with its naked Apollo.

After visiting the square, go east along the Paillon Promenade, a park built over the river of the same name. This is one of the favorite places of Nice’s inhabitants for relaxation and walking, with fountains and playgrounds. On your right you will have a row of tenement buildings that hides the Old Town.

After a 10–15 minute walk you will reach Garibaldi Square, the most Italian place in Nice. Look closely at the buildings around it: the decorations are painted trompe-l’œil, and only the windows, shutters and balconies are real. Right next to the entrance of the square, in the tenement house on the left, there is a Monoprix supermarket, where you can buy water and a snack for the day.

Late morning: the Old Town and the Cours Saleya market

After visiting Garibaldi Square, go on to the Old Town of Nice, the main focus of the trip. Just behind the legendary Café de Turin, you will find a narrow street that leads to it. Within the Old Town you can easily get lost in the maze of narrow streets that are filled with restaurants, florists, shops and the galleries of local artists, but if you follow where your feet take you, you will surely get a feel for the atmosphere of this place.

Make your way to the Cours Saleya, the market square of the Old Town. From Tuesday to Sunday, until about 1pm, it is filled with stalls of flowers, fruit, vegetables and local products; on Mondays it hosts a big antiques market. At the end of the square stands the yellow house where Henri Matisse had his studio.

The Old Town is a good place for lunch, which in France is served between noon and 2pm. For a quick local lunch, try socca, a chickpea pancake, at Chez René Socca or Thérésa’s stand on the market, for a few euros. A sit-down lunch menu (formule) costs about €20–35 per person; my addresses are in what and where to eat in Nice. If you prefer to save your money, buy a sandwich and eat it like other people, sitting on a bench under the palms. Then go for an ice cream at Fenocchio on Place Rossetti, by the cathedral.

Afternoon: the view from Castle Hill

After eating, go towards the Promenade des Anglais and Nice’s Castle Hill (where, in fact, there is no castle). You can take the stairs from the seafront end of the Old Town or the free lift in the rock below them (usually open from 10am to 6pm), which takes you almost to the top. Here there are some interesting points to visit: an artificial waterfall, the observation deck above it (this is where you will be able to take the best and most recognizable photos of Nice, with the azure sea in the background!) and an observation deck over the Old Port of Nice on the other side of the hill. At the top is a café where you can buy a coffee (remember that coffee in France means espresso!), ice cream and other snacks. A visit to Castle Hill may take up to one and a half hours.

If you still have energy, go down the other side of the hill to the Old Port, with its colorful houses and boats, and come back to the seafront around the foot of the hill.

Evening: sunset on the Promenade des Anglais

The last point on the trip is a walk along the famous Promenade des Anglais towards the airport, with the Bay of Angels on your left. Just go as far as you like. Perhaps you will reach the Negresco hotel, and if not, then at least the Monument of the Century with its statue of Nike on a high pedestal. Sit on one of the blue chairs, or go down to the pebble beach for a swim and a picnic: the public beaches are free. The sunset over the bay is the best end to the day.

From the Promenade you have just a few steps to get back to Place Massena and close the loop. For dinner, the restaurants on the Cours Saleya put their tables out on the square in the evening, and rue Massena has cheaper places than the beach restaurants. For a drink with a view, go up to one of the hotel rooftops on the Promenade.

Map of the One day in Nice walk

All the places on the route, and the museums for a second day, are on this map:

List of places (19)

1. Nice
2. Marc Chagall National Museum
3. The Matisse Museum in Nice
4. Museum of Fine Arts in Nice
5. Place Massena
6. Promenade des Anglais
7. Castle Hill
8. Old Town
9. Lascaris Palace
10. Massena Museum in Nice
11. Modern and Contemporary Art Museum (MAMAC)
12. Mont Boron
13. Museum of Naive Art in Nice
14. Parc Phœnix
15. Cimiez
16. Place Garibaldi
17. Old Port of Nice
18. Archaeological museum of Nice
19. Gare du Sud in Nice

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If you have more time in Nice

With a second day, visit the museums: the Matisse Museum and the Marc Chagall Museum on the hill of Cimiez, or the Massena Museum on the Promenade. With a third, take a day trip by train or bus: one day in Monaco and Èze are the most popular. All the ideas are in our Nice travel guide.

To start the walk early, sleep in the Old Town or near the Promenade: see hotels in the Old Town of Nice. The hotel links go to Booking.com: if you book through them we earn a commission, at no extra cost to you (learn more). More areas and 2026 prices are in my guide to hotels in Nice.