Nice and area beaches

If it is public anything works including top-less.

The beach at Nice is gravel, not very comfortable for lying on, with or without a towel. Beaches in some of the nearby towns are sandy (I know Villefranche is), check ahead.

There are private beach areas with chairs for rent and there are public areas too. We just brought our beach towels and sat on them in the public areas. When we stayed at a hotel with it’s own beach area then we sat there on their chairs..

the beach at Villefranche sur Mer isn't what most Americans think of as sandy - there is no soft sand. There is what looks like sand from a distance but it is actually fairly large pieces of sharp sand, or gravel with sharp points all over. Best to be wearing water shoes, and your towel needs some heft.

only the paid for beaches in Nice have (trucked in) sand, the rest is gravel.

If you want a white sandy beach, the closest are in Antibes and Juan-les-Pins. Juan-les-Pins is easier to get to by train: from the train station just turn right and walk a few blocks to the public section. Antibes is closer to Nice but it is a farther walk or bus ride from the train station to the sandy beaches (Ponteil, Salis).

You can also purchase a beach mat at any number of seaside shops, made of foam.