traveling to Nice, France area in mid January 2026 for two weeks

Do you have a good guide book?

Start here
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/nice

Also look here: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/nice

In particular, the At a Glance and Plan sections.

Googling "Riviera art museums" will provide a lot of info on that topic. There are at least 6 art museums in Nice alone. Others reachable by train or bus include the Picasso Museum in Antibes, the Leger Museum (and a glass museum) in Biot, and Fondation Maeght in St-Paul-de-Vence. That's just scratching the surface; there are many more. Pick some that match your particular preferences. For somewhat unusual collections I especially liked the naive art museum and Asian art museum in Nice, but YMMV. Those two are accessible via the tram that goes (past the museums) out to the airport. I'd say they aren't really within walking distance of each other.

Since you're traveling deep in the off-season, you'll need to verify operating hours of indoor sights on your target list. There may be little if any difference for the major museums, but I noticed during my pre-trip planning that a few small museums were open only 3 or 4 days a week in the winter. You'll have plenty of time to work around any schedule limitations as long as you're aware of them in advance.

I took the Train des Pignes from Nice (not from the regular station) up to Digne and back. It's an interesting ride away from the coast. At the moment they're working on the northern part of the line, so that segment is covered by bus. You can get to and beyond the picturesque medieval village of Entrevaux by train, though. This train doesn't run often and is priced for tourists rather than for local traffic, but I thought it was worth the expense. Hold out for a day with nice weather.

https://www.dignelesbains-tourisme.com/en/decouvrir/les-incontournables/train-des-pignes/

During my 2016 visit I found the tourist office just outside the Nice Ville station very helpful. It could supply brochures for many of the towns and villages in the area. I'd trust those folks to suggest attractive, less-known destinations.

Rick has a guidebook dedicated to the Riviera and Provence. I'm sure it would be very useful for you. There are many interesting, accessible towns even if you limit yourself to those visitable as day trips from Nice. Among the places I especially liked were Menton (which has two nice gardens), Antibes and Vence. The latter was not touristy at all on the afternoon I visited. The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on Cap Ferrat is another interesting stop; it has an impressive garden as well as the villa interior to admire. Note: I don't know what the Riviera gardens are like in January.

Be careful to protect your personal belongings on the very handy coastal train. I don't know about January, but there were pickpockets working that train in May. I was targeted and was lucky they didn't get anything. If someone gets into your personal space with no reason, assume that person is a thief and may have associates nearby.

The Nice tourist information office at the train station closed about a year ago. The one at the Promenade closed last week. It is being consolidated on Boulevard Jean Medecin, across from the Nice Etoile shopping mall near the intersection of the two tram lines, in a larger facility but it won't open until Jan 20th. There is a temporary station at the Nice Xmas market but I don't know, other than the airport, what coverage there will be at that time. The website is quite robust, however, as is the app.

January is one of the lowest months for tourism, between the holidays and the Carnaval. Some vendors like restaurants take their annual leave at this time. The most popular ones may still need a reservation, especially on the weekend. Happily, though, the organized pickpockets also are well down in number at this time of year (normal precautions still apply).

As mentioned, you can take the train to most locations along the coast or in combo with the bus. You can also go into Italy (a change at Ventimiglia/Vintimille is still required to continue on the Sanremo, Bordighera or Genoa). However, a rental car or tour may be required for the backcountry of Nice and into the Var. There is also a public train that heads up to the hill villages at the Italian border (in the Alps) and the snow buses (to the ski resorts) are also active now. The ferry from Cannes to St. Honorat (and the monastery, small vineyard and tower there) is still open.

For wine, although the Bellet region is on the outskirts (taxi, reserve a tasting), there are organized wine minivan tours that go into the Var. There are a number of wine bars throughout the city, however, as well as caves with tastings for sale.

I spent 2 nights in Marseille and enjoyed it, albeit in early March, not January. Take warm clothes and windbreakers - the mistrals can be bone-chilling. It's too far for a day trip from Nice, though. It's very easy to visit the towns along the coast from the Italian border at least to Cannes (as far west as I went from Nice). The RS guide was very helpful, and I enjoyed the self-guided walks.