Nice

Easy. There is a tram from the airport right into town. Transport in and around Nice is easy. Just watch out that some bus lines end quite early in the evening.

We enjoyed our stay at the Hotel Solara .

Was budget friendly , had good ac , very nice staff , our room had a good size balcony also .

It’s in a central area only 5-10 minutes walk to main promenade .
Cafes and several small eateries in same street .

It is a bit strange as it is a hotel that is on top two floors of a residential building ( so felt very safe as you must be rung in )

Yes as Nigel said, with the tramway finally completed between airport and city center, it couldn’t be easier.

It is also fun and cheap to take the buses high along the corniche. I don’t find Monaco interesting, but I know Nigel does. And if you want to stay on until Menton before turning around, Bets will have some tips for you.

With a little more difficulty, you can take a bus to St Paul de Venice. But between exploring Nice, visiting Villa Ephrussi, and savoring views along the corniche, you can spend several nice days!

I haven’t been/stayed at a hotel in nearly 15 years, so I don’t know if my hotel even exists any more. Pat’s is probably a good suggestion.

Nice is the perfect location to stay in order explore the Côte d’Azur. There is frequent bus and train service east and west of the city. The city itself offers museums, dining and a pleasant place to walk along the sea.

My favorite art museums in Nice are not mentioned very often here: Musee des Arts Asiatiques and Musee International d'Art Naif. They're on the west end of town, out in the direction of the airport; they're not particularly close together. Both just lovely. There's a garden out in that area that was recommended to me, but I didn't have time to see it.

I took the public bus to St-Paul-de-Vence without any difficulty. It's a very pretty place in a lovely setting, but it was unpleasantly mobbed on the day I visited. The major sight is the Fondation Maeght, a stunning modern-art gallery; it's walkable from the village, or you can get off the bus near the gallery and later walk to town. I much preferred the larger town of Vence to SPdV. I seemed to be the only outsider walking around the medieval section of Vence the day I was there (May 2017). The Nice-SPdV bus also goes to Vence.

Edited to add: I should also have mentioned the Matisse Chapel in Vence and the Folon Chapel in SPdV.

Allow plenty of time at the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, which has nice gardens. If you wish, you can visit Villa Kerylos on the same day. It's possible to walk between them (under 1.5 miles); I didn't explore bus options. The Beaulieu-sur-Mer RR station is relatively close to Villa Kerylos.

If you like gardens, plan a day in Menton. It has two nice ones outside the center of the city (one of them not too far from the secondary train station, Menton-Garavan). They're both on hillsides. Menton also has a very handsome medieval core; unfortunately, it tends to be overrun, but maybe that won't be the case this summer.

You can easily reach most of the coastal destinations by train. Be careful about your purse, though; there are pickpockets on those trains.

I think Nice has a market of one kind or another at least six days a week.

I'm a single older female and I enjoyed my stay at Hotel Solara. It was centrally located on the pedestrian only street that led to the Place Messena and the tram line. It was clean, safe, nice staff - nothing fancy but worth the budget price. Close enough to walk to old town, the waterfront, and several museums. If you have any mobility issues the tram will get you to most places with very little walking.

People generally like to stay either in the Old Town (Vielle Ville), the Carre d'Or, or the few blocks around Place Massena. The latter two areas overlap and are generally the area bounded by the Promenade des Anglais, Blvd Gambetta, Blvd Victor Hugo, Rue Alberti and the Promenade du Paillon (coulee verte). The Solara is in that area -- other popular choices include the Hotel Windsor. You may be able to find a nicer property at that budget, even in high season, right now because of the decline in tourism.

The tram line is inexpensive, new and frequent. If you prefer not to go into tight spaces right now, most places are walkable from these very central locations. Bus or the train will get you to the surrounding areas (except deep in the countryside, where a tour might suit best). Uber also works well. You will find plenty of restaurants in these areas or in the Port. I recommend the Crespo restaurants: Bar des Oiseux, Bistro d'Antoine, Comptoir du Marche. For traditional Nicois, La Marenda -- the list can go on and on depending on what you are seeking. For lunch, and views of the water, Le Galet or Beau Rivage on the beach or le Plongeoir (platform on the water). Book ahead to avoid disappointment.

The two Musees in Cimiez, the Chagall and Matisse, require a bus from the central area or a long walk uphill. City museums can be seen for one price over a 24 hour period (the Chagall is a National museum; but you can hit the Matisse and then hit Villa Massena the next morning). If you see one in the afternoon you can hit another the next morning (there is also a multi-day tourism pass available -- value really depends on how much you can use it) In the city and the surrounding areas it is not uncommon to have Museums dedicated to an artist or at least a section, like the Picasso in Antibes or the Renoir in Cagnes sur Mer.

There's a Leger Museum on the outskirts of Biot, which I unfortunately didn't have time to see. That requires a train to the Biot station down near the coast and then a bus ride. Biot is known for studio glass.

Hi Kateja,

I was in Nice for five nights last September and had a wonderful time! Here’s my trip report with details to answer some of your questions:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/our-combined-solo-couple-vacation-in-france-2019

Let me add to the list of museums :-)
The Musée des Beaux-Arts is just a few blocks further west from the Massena Museum and has an interesting collection of Romantic sculpture and painting, plus good temporary exhibits - and the building itself has an interesting history.
http://www.musee-beaux-arts-nice.org

Note that the historical exhibits in the Musée Masséna are very helpful for understanding the re-unification of Italy, not least because the various Umbertos that are interred in the Pantheon in Rome spent a lot their time aboveground in the Nice area.

Leading edge exhibits (by artists still trying to pull on the beards of establishment critics and academics) are held at the Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain MAMAC and worth a couple of hours, although the neighborhood around it is a little bit gentrified/touristy.

When you've had a dose of the modern architecture at the MAMAC and the Asiatique (mentioned above) you can recover with the refined lines at the natural history museum:
http://www.mhnnice.org

Nice is one of my absolute favorite places on Earth, and I’m also an older female. Most of my time staying there over the past 5 years has been on my own, although I’ve found a rented apartment each time. I prefer to stay near the old port in the old town. My most favorite place to eat is Alto Resto. Their original location was small, but they moved to a larger location, making it easier to get a table. Reservation is recommended! Alto is a great reflection of the French and Italian history of Nice.

Alto Resto 2.0 is now at 10 Rue Fodéré. Telephone +33 4 89 00 13 02 .