More than just the French Riviera’s big airport, Nice boasts the same high-end luxury as its smaller neighbors but also a heap of down-to-earth urban charm — so you can have some fun here without destroying your bank account.
Where to Eat:
If the boss is paying:
Restaurant JAN is an intimate, Michelin-starred experience in the French style, but with some decidedly new-world flair. Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen is one of the first South African chefs to earn a Michelin star. The former yacht chef did it with a restaurant in the Old Port district that’s cozy in design but exciting in its culinary flair.
If you’re paying:
Near Restaurant JAN, Chez Pipo offers a traditional taste of Nice’s distinctly Med take on French cuisine. It does a great version of Nice’s traditional socca, a kind of chickpea flour and olive oil pancake. The menu is not large or complicated — and you won’t need it to be, either.
What to Do:
The Marc Chagall National Museum gives fittingly powerful space to the modern French master. It includes stained glass and other Biblically inspired works, as well as a selection of works that serve as a solid foundation of education for a visitor who might not be overly familiar with the artist, who died in 1985. A charming, slightly wild garden features an inevitably lovely café. The museum opened during Chagall’s life, and he took specific interest in many
of its details. The overall effect is a museum that acts not as memorial to an artist, but a true extension of the artist.
Castle Hill sits overlooking the Bay of Nice and was home to a military fortress that survived several attacks in the city’s colorful history before being destroyed at the behest of King Louis XIV. Today it offers an expansive park with opportunities for refreshment as a reward for those who start at the port and attain it via the many steps it takes to get to a militarily defendable position.
Avenue Jean Médecin is the city’s main shopping thoroughfare. Near its southern terminus it offers, as any good French shopping street must, a Galeries Lafayette. From there it gives way to boutiques large and small, with any major brand you might want accounted for, and some smaller surprises as well. One of the city’s tram lines runs along it as well, in case your shopping haul gets too heavy to walk with.
Where to Drink:
For a truly unique imbibing experience, seek out Kai’s Monkey Business. The tiny bar is also a second-hand shop; when nature calls, you may find yourself answering it in a room festooned with a frankly unnerving number of cuckoo clocks. There are typically several interesting beers on, some solid wines and the overall vibe of a place that Indiana Jones might seek out for information on a mysterious pendant. The semi-retired Scandinavian owner only opens it several times a week, so hopefully you’ll get lucky.
Gare du Sud might seem like an odd name for a food court and event space but it makes more sense when you see it — this is in fact a grand old former train station. It’s now a place where you can grab a beer, play some video games or other similar entertainment and possibly catch a DJ set. There’s also a cinema next door.
Classic Crew Haunts
Wayne’s Bar is a favorite Anglo spot with live music and a party atmosphere into the night. The Sailor’s Pub is, well, just what it says over the door. There’ll most likely be a band on the stage, a match on the TV or both. It’s a fairly new addition to the Nice scene, but it doesn’t feel that way.