Nice sits between the sea and the hills on the Baie des Anges, the Bay of Angels, named for the golden light that falls on the water in the afternoon. The city is Frances fifth largest and the unofficial capital of the French Riviera. 48 hours in Nice is just enough time to get the rhythm, smell the lavender, eat the socca, and leave wondering why you did not book four nights. Here is the tightest 48-hour itinerary you can manage without feeling rushed.
In This Article
Day One Morning: The Old Town and the Market
Start at the Cours Saleya market, open Tuesday to Sunday from 6am to 5.30pm (until 1.30pm on Sundays). The flower stalls fill the square with colour and the fruit and vegetable vendors display produce that looks like advertising. Buy socca, the chickpea pancake that is the Nice street food, from the stall at the eastern end. It costs €3, comes on a paper plate, and is eaten hot with pepper. Walk through the old town, Vieux Nice, on the narrow streets that run perpendicular to the market. The pastel buildings, the laundry hanging from the shutters, the cats sleeping on the doorsteps. The Palais Lascaris, a 17th-century aristocratic palace turned museum, has original frescoes, tapestries, and a collection of musical instruments. It is free if you show your passport. The cathedral Sainte Reparate is worth 10 minutes. The interior is Baroque and the dome is visible from the port.
Day One Afternoon: The Promenade and the Hills
Walk the Promenade des Anglais, the 7 km seafront boulevard paid for by the English aristocracy in the 1820s. The pebble beach is free but lies on sharply angled stones that require an inflatable cushion. The public section of the beach is between the port and the Negresco hotel. Private beach clubs charge €20-30 for a lounger and umbrella. At the eastern end of the Promenade, climb Castle Hill, the 92-metre park that is not a castle but was the site of the original Greek and Roman settlement. The climb takes 15 minutes by the stairs or you can take the free lift at the eastern end of the Promenade near the port. The waterfall, the playground, the view of the entire Baie des Anges from the top. The cafe at the summit sells ice cream at €4 and the view is free.
Day One Evening: Dinner in the Old Town
Dinner in Vieux Nice means seafood, pasta, and the local wine. The streets around Rue Pairoliere and Rue de la Prefecture are dense with restaurants. Avoid the ones with the plastic menus in multiple languages. Look for the one where the clientele is French and the specials are written on a blackboard. The menu includes pissaladiere (caramelised onion tart), salade nicoise (the real one with anchovies and olives and no cooked vegetables), and daube (beef stewed in red wine). A three-course dinner with a bottle of local rose costs €35-50 per person. The rose from Bellet, the small appellation in the hills behind Nice, is worth paying extra for. Finish the evening with a walk along the Promenade. The light on the water at 10pm in summer is Picasso colours.
Day Two Morning: Museums or Markets
Choose between the Matisse Museum in the Cimiez district or the Marc Chagall National Museum 15 minutes from the city centre. The Matisse Museum sits in a 17th-century Genoese villa in the olive groves of Cimiez and holds the largest collection of Matisse works in France. The Chagall museum holds the complete biblical message series, 17 paintings commissioned by Chagall in the 1950s. Entry to each costs €12 as of 2026. If museums are not your preference, take the bus to the Cours Saleya for the antique market on Monday (the only day the flower market is closed). The Russian Orthodox Cathedral, built between 1903 and 1912, is the largest Orthodox cathedral in Western Europe and costs €3 to enter. The five onion domes and the interior icons are worth the 10-minute walk from the train station.
Day Two Afternoon: Villefranche-sur-Mer or Eze
The bus from Nice to Villefranche-sur-Mer takes 15 minutes and costs €1.70. The old town is medieval, the beach is pebbled but the water is clear, and the port is deep enough for cruise ships. The walk from the beach up to the Citadelle takes 10 minutes and gives a view of the entire bay. Alternatively, take bus 82 from Nice to Eze, a medieval hilltop village perched 427 metres above the Mediterranean. The walk through the village, the Jardin Exotique with its cactus garden and the sea view through the aloes and agaves, costs €7 entry. The perfume factory, Fragonard, is free to tour and a good thing to do when the sun is high. Both options take 3-4 hours including travel. The bus back to Nice runs every 30 minutes. Finish at the port, where the fishing boats unload anchovies from May to September.
Would you spend your 48 hours in Nice on the Matisse trail or on the hilltop at Eze with the sea 400 metres below?
Explore all our France travel guides, from Parisian boulevards to Provence lavender.
Explore More
If you enjoyed this article, you might also like:
