A long weekend in Nice

We recently visited Nice for a long weekend birthday trip, which was our first time in the South of France. We kept the trip fairly low-key without doing too much prior planning, other than checking out a few blogs to get ideas on what to do.

We stayed in Villa Leonie, which is on the other side of the port to the main city centre, but still walkable or accessible by bus. The villa has large rooms with quaint kitchenettes in an old style. We didn’t end up using our kitchenette as we decided to eat out every day, but it could be useful if you want to save time and money. The rooms are also quite large with the characteristic high ceilings of old villas, and antique style furniture.

On our first evening, we went out for a birthday dinner at La Reserve de Nice, an established fine dining restaurant with great food and service. To add to the ambience, our table was on a balcony with an amazing view over the sea. Nearby is Le Plongeoir, a beautiful Victorian restaurant on top of a piece of rock jutting out into the sea, which I would totally try if we ever visit again.

We spent the first full day exploring some of the famous art museums, including the Matisse Museum and Musee Marc Chagall. The queue to get into Musee Marc Chagall was extensive so unless you’re visiting during an off season, it’s worth avoiding the middle of the day. Both museums were quite different, I personally preferred the Matisse Museum since it had more variety, but Marc Chagall’s work is certainly unique. Both museums are north of Nice city centre, so it makes sense to combine them in one day, and they can both be accessed by bus.

We visited Monaco on our third day after a rather bungled journey attempting to combine bus and train, and getting thoroughly confused by the French train ticket machines. Personally, I would recommend just getting a train from one of the central Nice stations to Monaco, it’s far less stressful. We first visited the Prince’s Palace, which is a beautiful building full of stunning artefacts and rich with history. The palace is perched up on a cliff with stunning views and complete with uniformed guards. We then wandered around the town, briefly poking our heads inside Monte Carlo Casino, but since we didn’t want to gamble, decided it wasn’t worth the entry fee.

Our visit to Sant-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and the beautiful Villa et Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild was my favourite. The villa itself is magnificent, but the history is even more intriguing. The original owner, Beatrice Rothschild, was incredibly eccentric and obsessed with her pet animals, which can be seen throughout the villa. The gardens are like something out of a fairytale, with different sections for different types of plants, layouts and parts of the world. The villa also has a cafe, but we instead headed toward Plage Cros Dei Pin for a relaxed lunch by the sea and a swim. The beaches in Sant-Jean-Cap-Ferrat are significantly nicer than in Nice itself, with almost sand (very fine shells) and a better view. There are also plenty of nice restaurants and shops near the beach, so it’s a good spot to spend half a day unwinding.

Our last day started with exploring the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, a large multi-floor museum with galleries focused on different eras and themes. Once you’ve finished perusing all the art, the rooftop offers a spectacular view across the city with a rooftop garden and walkways.

The view from the rooftop of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

We took a quick trike tour around the city in the afternoon primarily to kill time before our flight and were recommended a walk up to Panorama sur la Vieille Ville de Nice. This hilltop, which offers sweeping views across Nice and the sea can be accessed either via lift on the city side, or via a walking path on the port side. It would be a lovely spot to relax, however, we were in a rush to get our flight so had a quick look around and then headed back down.

Where to eat in Nice

Cuisine is Nice seems to be an interesting blend of both French and Italian food. We discovered on our final day that the area only recently joined France in the late 1800s and culturally has a lot in common with Italy. There are also plenty of gorgeous cafes and brunch spots with a French touch - expect sweet breakfasts of classic French pastries. Some places I recommend:

Marinette - A gorgeous spot for breakfast if you like your food sweet
Maranna - We didn’t get to try this one but it looked delicious and more brunch focused than Marinette
La Reserve de Nice - We had an amazing dinner here for my birthday. This historic restaurant is perched on the edge of the water and we lucked out on a balcony seat with a stunning view across the sea.
Le Plongeoir - This stunning restaurant is very close to La Reserve de Nice. We didn’t get to go but I would book a table in advance here if I went back to Nice, even if it was just for the view. The original restaurant was an old sailing ship perched on a rock in the sea, but it has been renovated.
La Ptite Cocotte - This cute little restaurant was great value, with delicious fresh food in a narrow laneway. It’s tucked away from the main strip of restaurants and a great find to avoid the most popular tourist traps.