Probably the most important thing we do when planning a trip (after buying plane tickets and securing accommodations) is downloading necessary apps to our phones. To date, every major European city that we visited has one app for its local public transportation system, including maps, routes, and tickets.
If someone can explain to me why Nice, France has three separate apps for its public transportation system, I’d love to hear it. First, I downloaded the app for the local transportation company, Lignes d’Azur. I created an account, which was easy. The app allows you to plot bus and tram routes, or find public parking. But it does not sell tickets. Huh?
Okay, after further research I discovered that a separate app is required to buy tickets, the aptly named Lignes d’Azur Tickets. Another download, another new account. Bingo, this app allows you to buy and validate bus and tram tickets. Almost. To buy a mobile La Carte card (metro pass), you are directed to first download and install yet another app, Carte Lignes d’Azur Mobile. Wonderful.
[Editor’s note: If you don’t care about metro passes in Nice, you might as well stop reading here and skip down quite a few paragraphs before resuming. The author got a bit carried away writing about the metro …]
After some time and much frustration, we finally figured out how to purchase metro tickets, specifically a month long metro pass for €45, on my Android phone. The month is 31 days from the date of purchase, not a calendar month. This is great news for travelers.
The bad news is that, as of our visit, a mobile La Carte can only be purchased on Android phones. Lignes d’Azur uses tap to pay technology for validating metro tickets that is not currently compatible with iPhones. Because Stephanie has an iPhone, she purchased a physical card for an additional cost of €2. Cards can be purchased at ticket machines or from authorized sellers.
Tickets must be loaded onto your card, or phone, prior to use. You can buy tickets from the Lignes d’Azur machine located at each tram station. Each trip on a tram or bus costs €1.70, but you get a small discount if you buy a larger bundle of trips (starting with 12 or more). Stephanie is going to buy trips as we go as we’re not really sure how many we will use.
You can return a physical Le Carte to an authorized seller for a €2 refund (a €2 Euro coin) when you leave town, as the cards are recycled. Conveniently Lignes d’Azur has a location just across the street from Nice Ville (the train station), making it easy for us to return Stephanie’s La Carte on the way out of town. Unfortunately, there is no place to return a card for a refund at the airport.
Speaking of the airport, Nice has an ingenious trick to rip off tourists traveling from the airport to the city. The Lignes d’Azur ticket machine at the airport is unique in that it sells only four ticket types: 1, 2, or 7 day passes (€7, €13, or €20), or a Carte Aero (€10), all of which are aimed at tourists.
The daily passes require one to ride a tram or bus several times a day, which is unlikely, to be worthwhile. The Carte Aero is a round trip airport ticket, effectively costing €5 per trip to and from the airport.
Individual trip tickets at standard prices are not sold at the airport. What a welcome. Locals, however, pay only €1.70 per trip to and from the airport. We did too. A cursory internet search brings up the fact that it is free to ride the tram between airport terminals and to the first stop, Grand Arenas.
We took the No. 2 tram to Grand Arenas, hopped off, and bought tickets there. The Lignes d’Azur ticket machine at Grand Arenas sells a full range of ticket options, notably individual trips (from 1-100) at standard prices. If you do not have a La Carte to reload, which we did not, the ticket machine will automatically add €2 to the price and give you a card. So Stephanie’s La Carte and initial three trips cost €7.10.
Whew. If you just read all of that, sorry for the long explanation on what should be a simple matter. Lignes d’Azur doesn’t make it easy.
[Editor’s note: Again, sorry. On with the post …]
We chose to visit Nice in March and April seeking great weather and minimal tourists. We could not have made a better decision. During our stay in Nice the weather was consistently sunny and warm, with highs in the range of 65° F to 70° F (17° C to 21° C) and relatively few rainy days.
Our Airbnb is in the Thiers neighborhood, conveniently located near Promenade des Anglais (along the seaside), Nice-Ville (the train station), and four grocery stores. During our first 48 hours in Nice we walked to the seaside once, but made seven trips to a grocery store: Lidl (three); Carrefour City (two); U Express (one); and, Monoprix (one).
Lidl has the best prices and a good selection of items overall. Unfortunately it’s almost always crazy busy with locals. The first time we went to Lidl we left without buying anything because it was so crowded. Carrefour City has good prices but a negligible selection of fresh foods and meats. It’s best for packaged items, drinks, and paper goods. U Express is similar to Carrefour City, but has a better selection of fresh foods and meats.
Monoprix, much larger and slightly more expensive than the other grocery stores, has – by far – the best selection of items for sale including fresh meats, fish, seafood, breads and pastries, a large cheese section, and take-out meals.
Being the only full-size grocery store in the vicinity of our Airbnb, Monoprix’s size and convenience more than justifies its slightly higher prices. It quickly became our go to grocery store … except for beer, as that is cheaper at Carrefour City.
For the first week or so in Nice we took advantage of the weather and spent as much time as possible outside, starting with the Promenade des Anglais. This waterfront promenade, several miles long, is the perfect place to walk, run, jog, bike, and so forth. It is the one area of town that is heavily trafficked at pretty much all times.
Even though the promenade and waterfront are very popular, and sea gulls are everywhere, Nice did not come across as a waterfront town to us. I’m not sure if that is because there is so much else to do, or because we came in March and there is no way in hell we’re getting in that cold sea at this time of year.
East of old town Nice are two prominent hills, Colline du Château and Mont Boron. Each is worth visiting, for different reasons.
Colline du Château (castle hill) essentially separates old town from Port Lympia. The hill looks somewhat imposing, but really is an easy uphill walk. Or, if you prefer, take the elevator (search for ascenseur du Château, free, from 10:00 to 17:00).
At the top of the hill, at the southern end, is a nice city park, with fields, playgrounds for kids, and several observation decks. Our favorite observation decks are at the southern tip of the park where you can walk back and forth to areas facing east (to Port Lympia) and west (to old town) in about 50 feet / 15 meters.
The center of the hill is occupied by Fouilles Archéologiques, ruins of old castle and cathedral dating to the 11th century. All that is left is parts of the foundations. Basically, not much to see. Here you will also find the main observation deck above the cascade, a manmade waterfall visible from Promenade des Anglais. This is ground central for most of the tourists, with a café, plenty of sea gulls, and folks singing and playing guitars for tips.
Cimitière du Château, an historic cemetery dating to the 1700s, makes up the northern section of castle hill.
Make sure you know what time the park closes, because it is closed and locked up at night. About fifteen minutes before closing time police sweep through the park pushing folks out before closing and locking the gates on the walkways.
Mont Boron, to the east of Port Lympia is much larger, taller, and more imposing than Colline du Château. It is not really developed as a park, but rather has some residential areas with quite a few walking and jogging trails through the woods. If you want a park experience, go to Colline du Château. If you want trails, then Mont Boron is your place.
Instead of hiking up Mont Boron, we wussed out and rode bus 33 from the Bavastro stop to the top. There we walked the loop trail circling Batterie du Mont Boron before taking the Chemin des Cèdres hiking trail across to the panorama viewpoint. Finding a random park bench about halfway along the trail, we made an early stop to eat our picnic lunch.
After admiring Nice from the panorama viewpoint, we headed over to what is named the Escalier du Bois (wooden steps). We did not find wooden steps but a sloping concrete sidewalk running about halfway down the hill. After crossing the street (near the Fort Thaon bus stop), we followed the Chemin du Fort Thaon signs down a series of staircases to the base of the hill near Parc Castel des Deux Rois.
On Google Maps it looks like the entire hike up the hill is designated as Chemin du Fort Thaon, so we’re really not sure about that the sign for Escalier du Bois.
Anyway, Mont Boron is quite a bit taller than we realized, so in hindsight it was probably a good idea to bus up and walk down. If you want to walk up, start at the Chemin du Fort Thaon near Parc Castel des Deux Rois, or try the Sentier du Cap Nice farther south towards the sea.
Perhaps not surprisingly, beer tasting was a bit difficult in Nice as there are relatively few French beers available in our preferred styles of lagers and pilsners. We quickly came to a unanimous decision, with Kronenbourg being our favorite (€4.50 for a six-pack). Atlas and Starberg were close behind in second and third. The rest? No, thanks.
We also bought a ten-pack of Panaché bottles, not realizing that it is a non-alcoholic radler. In our defense it is stocked in the beer section. After having a good laugh about it, I realized that we could mix Panaché with the beers we did not like to create an acceptable drink. Panaché masked the lousy taste of those beers whereas the beers watered down the flavoring of the Panaché. Perfect!
Notably, for perhaps the first time ever, we bought a beer that neither of us could drink – Grimbergen Blonde. It got poured down the sink. Just not for us. Panaché can’t fix everything.
After a few days in Nice we were already discussing our usual hypothetical question: could we actually live here? Yes, without a doubt. Nice quickly joined Krakow and Prague as the only cities that we both agree on this point. And of those three, it has by far the best weather.
Garrett and Stephanie
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