Is Nice worth it?

True the beaches are smooth pebbles, not rocks, but the beaches are pretty typical of Italy beaches. White sand is not common. The last time I was there, tops were optional and in short supply. Most of Europe is touristy so that is not a reason not to go. It has some interesting architecture and rich history since it belonged to Italy 100 plus years ago.

I'll start by saying that I'm not in your age group and I do like art and architecture and I loved my stay in Nice, even though I did not go to any museums when I was there. I used Nice more as a base to see some other places in the area - day trips to Monaco and St Paul de Vence and a boat cruise around the harbor area - and I loved just walking around the old town, walking along the promenade des Anglais, visiting the flower market, and just hanging out there.

With that being said, it doesn't sound like it's real high on your wish list, so I would say if it isn't a comfortable fit with the rest of your itinerary, meaning it's a bit of an outlier on your route then it may not be worth it to you and you may be happier using those days in your other stops. Don't go there just because others say you should or because you've heard a lot about it or saw it in a guide book.

It's extremely hard to recommend someplace to someone you don't know so all we can do is tell you whether or not we enjoyed it. I'd actually go back there again if it fit in my itinerary but probably wouldn't go 'out of the way' to go again.

Thanks for both of your inputs! I should clarify that we do enjoy art, but we will be visiting London and Paris which I've read have some amazing art galleries so the draw of Nice for us was the beach! We were definitely thinking of it as a nice little break from the busy cities in our trip. I just wanted to make sure it wouldn't be too overrun with people in July that it wouldn't be enjoyable. However if we skipped Nice I was thinking of adding Kraków, Poland instead (we will be in Prague later in our trip). I know Nice and Kraków are vastly different and I'll probably just have to do some research and pick which seems like the best fit for my interests, but wanted to hear some personal experiences from people who've been there.
Thanks so much!

When my cousin was your age he went to Nice for two days but found a cheap hotel and ended up staying three weeks. A few years later, my son had a great time on the beach every night singing, playing guitars, hanging with people from many countries.

Yes for sure it is touristy and packed in summer but u could also stay in a hostel to curb the costs. If u wish to stay in fr riveria there are other towns also beautiful but fewer crowds and reachable by bus. Antibes , Villefranche sur la mer or further west Cassis a real gem

Nice itself is a big city, so one of the nearby smaller towns could be more relaxing. Cassis (closer to Marseille) is where I would go for a beach. But it's still not necessarily worth a long journey if you just have two nights total in the south of France.

If you skip Nice, then what's your remaining route? If you were departing Paris by train toward Italy, for example, the French coast would be a detour, not the most direct route. On the other hand, direct flights from Paris to Italy are often cheap. If you are heading that way, a flight to Pisa gets you close the Cinque Terre.

We will be in Paris and then heading to Italy after south of France. We were also thinking of going to Interlaken, Switzerland so if we skipped Nice I think we would go straight to Switzerland from Paris and then continue to Italy. Nice is a little out of the way but we don't mind if it seems like it will be worth the excursion. We would love to spend some time by the ocean! I will look into Cassis. Thanks for your reccomendations!

We enjoyed Krakow a lot and I think people your age would too. There are many Universities there and young people all over the place. They were very friendly and wanted to practice their English. Whatever you decide, have a great trip!
Mimi

Switzerland is more expensive then nice! And you will need swiss francs there.

My 19 yr has a long trip planned for this spring too,,,after much figuri g out they had to decide to cut switzerland.

18 yr old co worker went to europe two years ago and loved Nice, lots of young energy there, they stayed in a hostel and visited alot of places easily from there( ( its a one euro bus ride ti Monaco, fun easy outing) there are many easy daytrips from nice.

Thanks Mimi for your input! The more I research Kraków the more interesting and exciting it seems!

Pat, we know Switzerland is expensive (I've been before) but we know we're gonna love it so don't mind spending the extra money.

My main concern with Nice is trying to figure out if it will be worth the amount of money we will have to spend to stay there, and if we'll have a good time being there. Since we only have two days, we wouldn't have much time for side trips so I want to make sure there is a lot to do in the town itself. Based off the reviews on the beaches I think we might pick a different town or skip south of France altogether. All of your inputs have been very helpful!