For the benefit of those who might plan a late-April/early May trip to southern France in the future (and have good memories): I knew May 1 was a holiday in France and that the tourist office might not be open when I flew into Nice that day (which was indeed the case), but it never occurred to me that there would be no public transportation from the airport into the city. Neither train nor bus service was available, and there were only three cabs in the queue. I managed to connect with another traveler headed into town, so were able to split the estimated 35-40 euro taxi fare. The cab driver was a gem; when he realized his two passengers were not going to the same hotel, he volunteered to drop me off quite near my lodgings on the way to the ultimate destination, at no extra charge. I ended up with a 3- or 4-block walk rather than the 1.25 miles I was expecting. Which turned out to be fortuitous, because when I unpacked my suitcase, I realized that the airline had destroyed one of the wheels. First time that has happened to me; yes, it's a spinner--my first. Or rather, it was a spinner.
On the positive side, there aren't many tourists here yet, and the weather, though not 100% sunny, has been warm enough for me but cool enough for haters of summer weather.