The Ideal Nice Itinerary for 3 Days

The French Riviera is truly packed with great destinations for travelers to seek out, but one city that has no difficulty standing out is Nice. What makes Nice so special is how it ties in so many elements that make the South of France such a tempting place for tourists to explore. In the course of a day, you can easily jump from quaint alleys to hilltop gardens to an elegant art museum and the beach.

Day 1 in Nice
Since it’s your first day visiting Nice, let’s start with the most popular attractions in the city, many of which can be found either in the Old Town or down by the city’s beautiful waterfront.

Old Town
Begin your visit with a relaxing stroll through the oldest part of Nice, the Old Town. Known both as Vieux Nice or Vieille Ville, the Old Town is full of narrow streets lined with tall and colorful tenement houses, not to mention loads of restaurants and stores.

Nice Cathedral
One of the standout landmarks in Vieux Nice, not that you’d know looking at its plain exterior, is Nice Cathedral. тнᴀтs ʙᴇcᴀusᴇ тнᴇ cᴀтнᴇᴅʀᴀʟ ғʟᴀuɴтs ᴀ ԍoʀԍᴇous ʙᴀʀoQuᴇ ιɴтᴇʀιoʀ wιтн ɴuмᴇʀous ιɴтᴇʀᴇsтιɴԍ sιᴅᴇ cнᴀᴘᴇʟs тнᴀт ᴀʀᴇ wᴇʟʟ woʀтн vᴇɴтuʀιɴԍ ιɴsιᴅᴇ тo sᴇᴇ. Officially called the Basilique-Cathédrale Sainte-Marie et Sainte-Réparate de Nice, this cathedral took over 200 years to complete after work began in 1650.

Cours Saleya Market
Interestingly, though, it’s the local Cours Saleya Market that claims the title of the main attraction in the historical center of Nice. People come to this market just off the seaside promenade for its flower stalls, even though the market also sells various fresh produce and hosts a flea market each Monday.

Castle Hill
Castle Hill is the large hill that directly overlooks the Old Town, making it a great place to enjoy views of the city. The hill owes its name to the castle that once stood there, but today it’s covered in pretty gardens and terrace viewpoints. To reach the top of the hill you can either take the stairs or go the easy route and use the elevator. Either way, you’ll be rewarded with the hill’s superb views.

Day 2 in Nice
While you could easily spend the rest of your vacation enjoying Nice’s beach, there’s plenty more to see around the city, especially once you begin to explore areas away from the Old Town.

Musée Masséna
Just a little way down the Promenade des Anglais west of Vieux Nice lies the glamorous Musée Masséna. This museum is another of Nice’s fine cultural establishments to take up residence inside a beautiful mansion, this time inside a stunning 19th-century Belle Époque villa.

sт. ɴιcнoʟᴀs ʀussιᴀɴ oʀтнoᴅox cᴀтнᴇᴅʀᴀʟ

ʙᴀsιʟιQuᴇ ɴoтʀᴇ-ᴅᴀмᴇ ᴅᴇ ɴιcᴇ
Back toward the center of the city, you’ll find one last church that you need to see, the ʙᴀsιʟιQuᴇ ɴoтʀᴇ-ᴅᴀмᴇ ᴅᴇ ɴιcᴇ.

Mont Boron
After a long day of sightseeing, treat yourself to a spectacular view of the sunset from the top of Mont Boron east of the city.

Day 3 in Nice
There’s no doubt you could easily spend the remainder of your 72 hours in Nice exploring the city, but why not use this last day to see what else the French Riviera has to offer? You’ll find plenty of great destinations along the coast to visit on day trips from Nice, but below are the ones that we think are the easiest and most worthwhile.

Èze
First up among is the delightful hilltop town of Èze. With a day trip here, you have the choice of exploring a classically quaint medieval village or taking it easy at the beach – or a bit of both.