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Nice: Airport to City Center – 12+ Bus vs L3 Tram/Train

Posted by on

Hi everyone,

We are two adults traveling relatively light (one checked bag, one carry-on, and two small backpacks total), and I am trying to decide the best way to get from Nice Airport to the city center.

Google Maps is giving me two main options:
1. Route 12+ Bus from Aéroport / Promenade to Congrès / Promenade : ~22 minutes. Stops just a block from our hotel (very convenient)

  1. Tram to Grand Arénas + Tram Line 3 to Jean Médecin: ~35 minutes total. Requires about a 10–12 minute walk afterward

The bus option looks more appealing since it’s faster and drops us much closer to where we are staying. That said, I have a couple of questions:

Is it practical to take the 12+ bus with luggage? We don’t have much, but I am not sure how crowded it typically is or if there’s space to keep bags without getting in the way of locals.
Is there any designated luggage space on these buses, or would we just keep bags near our seats?

Can tickets for the bus be purchased via the Lignes d’Azur app, or is it better to buy them another way?

We definitely want to be considerate of regular commuters and avoid causing inconvenience, so any advice from locals or recent travelers would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

Posted by
23697 posts

What is the name of your hotel? You don't need to change on the tram at Grand Arenas as the L2 tram goes direct to Jean Medecin from the airport. That being said, any bus from the airport will have people with luggage, so you should be fine with the 12+ bus.

Posted by
847 posts

Answers:
1. You can take the 12 bus. There is no special luggage space but there is some standing space. But your will nevertheless need to walk from the terminal to the main road from Terminal 1. If you arrive at Terminal 2, you will need to take the tram or walk even longer. That would be narrowing the effect of your effort to save the walk to your hotel. Both walks are along flat ground.

2. It can be crowded on this bus, especially on Saturdays, as it is the bus from the center that goes to the big shopping mall. It also can be crowded on the tram too, but you are at an end point so you can get a seat.

3. The app can be more convenient as you can recover your tickets if you lose the ticket card. You only need to get off the tram at Grand Arenas if you don't want to buy the overpriced tourist-gouging "special fare" tickets from ticket machines at the airport (or don't have the Android app, and allegedly from September, the iPhone app).

Taxis are flat rate (32E + extras) and Ubers/Bolts can save some money (as low as 20 to 25E, but can be a little more challenging to take, you often need a working phone. But they are more expensive

Posted by
1010 posts

If you are already planning to purchase a multi day Sud Azur pass for unlimited bus, train, and tram around the region, then it would make sense to buy the pass at a machine at the tram stop right outside the airport and then use it on either the bus or the tram. With the pass, you don't need to get off at Grand Arenas to save money. But the pass is only worthwhile if you plan on doing a number of daytrips out of Nice.

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