What to Do on the French Riviera: The Guide from Nice, Without a Car

Let us say it straight away: there is no non-touristy town on the French Riviera. Best to own it. What changes everything is choosing your base well and moving smartly. And the right reflex, counter-intuitive for many, is to leave the car aside.

The coast is served by a train that hugs the sea, calls at the villages one after another, and spares you the nightmare of summer parking. Here is how to organise a stay from Nice: the train, the villages, the beaches, and the right time to go.

Nice as your base

Nice ticks every box for a good anchor: an international airport, a well-connected station, accommodation at every price, and everything within walking or tram distance. You drop your bags once, and you radiate out.

On site, start with the Old Town (Vieux Nice), a maze of ochre lanes where you eat a real socca (the local chickpea pancake). In the morning, the Cours Saleya hosts its flower and produce market, one of the most colourful in France. Then the Promenade des Anglais runs along the bay for several kilometres, ideal on foot or by bike.

For the photo that sums up Nice, climb the Castle Hill (Colline du Château): no castle at the top, but the finest view over the Baie des Anges and the old-town roofs. A free lift saves you the stairs if you want to spare your legs.

The French Riviera without a car

This is the heart of the matter. The TER train running along the coast is the best way to see the region. It passes every 15 to 30 minutes, costs a handful of euros, and drops you at the foot of each town with no parking worries.

The line follows the coast west to east: Nice-Ville → Villefranche → Beaulieu → Èze-sur-Mer → Cap-d’Ail → Monaco → Menton → Ventimiglia (already in Italy). Here are the key journeys and their 2026 fares.

For bus journeys, the Lignes d’Azur network offers a pass at around €7 a day, unlimited bus and tram. Handy to combine with the train or climb to the perched villages.

A word on the car, to be complete: parking in Nice is expensive, up to €25 a day near the centre or the Promenade in high season. If you insist on your vehicle, the trick is to leave it inland and finish by tram. But honestly, the train does the job better.

The villages not to miss

Four stops are worth the detour, each with its own character.

• Villefranche-sur-Mer: seven minutes from Nice, its sheltered bay and colourful facades are calmer and more photogenic than central Nice. Our pick of the line.
• Èze: mind the trap, detailed below. The perched village and its exotic garden offer a plunging view over the sea.
• Monaco: the Rock, the Prince’s Palace, the Oceanographic Museum and the Monte-Carlo harbour. Half a day is enough, entry into the principality is free.
• Menton: the last town before Italy, famed for its gardens and lemons. Gentler, less busy, luminous in spring.

The Èze trap, worth knowing absolutely

Here is the mistake most visitors make. The train stops at Èze-sur-Mer, down at sea level. But the famous perched village of Èze is right at the top, and from the station it is about an hour’s steep climb on foot (or the number 83 bus).

To reach the medieval village directly, the smart move is to take the number 82 or 112 bus from Nice, which climbs up there in 30 to 40 minutes. Double-check your stop before leaving, or face a long unplanned trudge in the sun.

Beaches: paid or public?

Let us clear up the misunderstanding straight away: the beaches in Nice are pebble, not sand. It surprises people, and it hurts the feet. Water shoes are no luxury, especially to get into the sea without wincing.

The seafront alternates two types of beach. The public beaches are free and open, simply busier in summer. The private beaches rent sun loungers and parasols and offer a restaurant by the water: Opéra Plage (open since 1889), Castel Plage at the foot of the Castle Hill, or Blue Beach on the Promenade.

If you are after sand and calmer water, head for the bay of Villefranche-sur-Mer, better sheltered, or push on to Antibes.

A practical tip the brochures skip: the public beaches in Nice have free showers and basic facilities, but no shade and no loungers, so bring a mat and an umbrella if you plan to stay the afternoon. The private beaches charge roughly €20 to €30 for a lounger and parasol in season, which is worth it for a full lazy day but overkill for a quick dip. And the sea here stays cold well into June, often around 18°C in late spring, before warming to a comfortable 23 to 25°C from July through September. If you want a proper swim rather than a bracing one, late summer is the sweet spot.

What to eat on the Riviera

Niçoise cooking is a destination in itself, and it is mostly eaten on the go, in the street. Here is what to taste, and where not to go wrong.

• Socca, the local star: a chickpea-flour pancake baked in a wood-fired oven, crisp on top, soft inside, served piping hot and peppered. You eat it standing, by the slice, around €3. The best are in the Old Town and at the Cours Saleya market.
• Pan-bagnat, the Niçois sandwich: a round loaf filled with tuna, anchovies, egg, raw vegetables and olive oil. Hearty, perfect before a hike or a beach day.
• Pissaladière, a thin tart of slow-cooked onions, anchovies and olives, sold by the slice at the bakers.
• The real salade niçoise: raw, with no green beans or cooked potatoes, unlike the tourist versions. If you are served tinned tuna with potatoes, it is not the original recipe.

An honest marker: avoid the terraces with menus translated into five languages right on the harbour or facing the Promenade, often pricey for average quality. The good addresses hide in the Old Town lanes, a street or two back from the sea.

When to go

The season makes all the difference on the Riviera. Our recommendation: May-June and September to early October. You get mild weather, a sea still swimmable in September, and far gentler prices, without the crush.

Conversely, avoid mid-July to mid-August. That is the peak: saturated roads, hotels at top rates, packed beaches. And a frank view on the chic hinterland: Saint-Tropez and Pampelonne beach turn into a trap in July, between endless traffic jams and steep bills. The charm barely survives the crowds. To place this region in the wider summer strategy, see our guide on France in summer.

Getting around and staying connected

Travelling “without a car” has a direct consequence: you depend on apps, constantly. And without a connection, the system seizes up fast. In practice, you will need your phone for:

• SNCF Connect: to buy and show your digital TER tickets at the gate.
• Lignes d’Azur: to check bus and tram times in real time.
• Navigation in the perched villages, where the lanes are not always signed.
• Translation as soon as you cross the border into Ventimiglia, on the Italian side.

A detail worth flagging for 2026: works on the Nice-Ventimiglia line interrupt services on certain nights, between 10pm and 6am. That can complicate late returns from Menton or Monaco. Check the times that very evening, in real time, to avoid being left on the platform.

Hence the value of arriving already connected. Rather than chasing cafe wifi, activate a eSIM for France before you leave: you scan the QR code emailed to you, and you have internet on the 4G/5G network the moment you land at Nice airport. Enough to buy your tickets, follow your buses and cross the border without a break. Our France eSIM guide explains the install step by step.

With Orange, the service of more than 300 million customers, you travel with peace of mind: 200+ destinations covered, human support 24/7, and 100% refunded if you do not use your eSIM.