Travel to Nice

About Nice

Located between picturesque mountains and the Mediterranean sea on the beautiful Côte d'Azur, Nice is one of the most popular tourist destinations in France with over 4 million visitors each year. While Nice is located only 30 kilometers from the Italian border there are also plenty of things to see and do in the city itself. Specifically, Nice has the most museums of any city in France besides Paris.

How to Get to Nice

	Flights	As the third largest airport in France, Aéroport de Nice-Côte d'Azur transports roughly 11.5 million passengers a year and is the country’s busiest flight facility outside of the capital of Paris. Providers operating here include Air France, Air Berlin, Ryanair and British Airways. Popular locations that travelers fly to or return from to Aéroport de Nice-Côte d'Azur include Brussels, Madrid, London, Paris and Marrakesh. The airport is within the city itself, located to the west of the city center. Two bus lines run to the center of the city; Line 98 Riquier, which runs every 20 minutes, and line 99 Gare SNCF, which runs every 30 minutes.
	Train	Situated in the city center Gare de Nice-Ville offers numerous connections with Italy (particularly Ventimiglia at around 40 services to here a day). The station also offers daily service to Genoa, Marseille, Brussels, Amsterdam and Milan. There is also a direct link available to Moscow via the Riviera Express, and numerous connections to Paris, Cannes, Antibes and Saint-Raphael. The station is located very close to the center of the city, however if you would rather not walk the short distance to the very center there are numerous bus lines which go into the center.
	Bus	The majority of regional and international buses now use the train station as a drop off and pick up point in the city. Main destinations traveled to by bus from here include the majority of large cities in Italy and Spain. Eurolines and Ouibus are some of the most well known providers who service here.

Getting Around Nice

Public transport in the urban area of Nice is provided by Lignes d’Azur. Their network - which is very popular with visitors and locals alike - covers around 70 bus lines and 2 tramways.

Cycling is fairly common in Nice, with bicycles making up around 8% of the daily traffic. There are many bike lanes in the city equating to 70 kilometers of cycle paths in the city center and 155 kilometers in the surrounding urban area. Velobleu is the municipal rental bike provider since its launch in 2009. It now has 175 stations and 1750 bikes across the city.

Although there are some roads in the city center dedicated exclusively to pedestrians, much of the area is accessible to cars. Despite this it is often a good idea to avoid driving during rush hours. The cost of parking in the city begins from around 1.30 Euro/hour for a space in the street. These are often only allowed to be occupied for a maximum of 2 hours. Street parking is often cheaper outside of the city center, beginning at around 1 Euro/hour. There are approximately 10 parking lots in the city center which all offer the first hour of parking free. Spaces are then charged at just under 2 Euro/hour.

With some pedestrianized streets in the city, along with lots of space near the seaside (such as the Promenade des Anglais) dedicated to walking, Nice is a city that is easily accessed and explored by foot. However, those expecting to walk around here should be aware that part of the city is built on a hill which can make walking strenuous for some visitors.