Nice with kids: free City museums for under-18s, the little train, the Castle Hill playground and Parc Phoenix

💡 The Short Version: City museums are free for under-18s with proof of age; the national Chagall museum is free for everyone on the first Sunday of the month. The little train is €6 for ages 4 to 12 and free under 4. Castle Hill has a 1,600 square metre playground with a wooden castle; the Promenade du Paillon has water jets, a carousel and a children’s zip line, both free. Parc Phoenix is free under 12 and open 9:30 to 18:00 to 31 March 2027. The Chagall museum runs creative visits from age 4 and the Matisse museum family tours are for ages 7 and over, in French. Tuesday shuts the Matisse and Masséna museums; Monday shuts the Natural History museum. Prices are in euros. Or book a tour: the little electric train ridead is from €14 and the children’s perfume workshopad from €32 (GetYourGuide).

Tickets and prices for children

Prices are the operators’ own.

Tours worth paying for

Two products suit children. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person.

The little electric train

From €14 on GetYourGuide, €12 from the operator · 50 minutes · 4.3 stars from 1,382 reviews

Nice: A gentle ride on a small electric train with panoramic viewsad is the castle circuit, with a 10-minute stop on Castle Hill. France Voguette sells the same circuit at its kiosk at €12 for adults and €6 for ages 4 to 12. It is wheelchair-accessible.

Molinard perfume workshop for children

From €32 · 30 minutes · 4.8 stars from 50 reviews

MOLINARD Parfums Nice: Perfume Workshop for Childrenad is a half-hour workshop run by the perfumer Molinard in Nice.

What to see

Playgrounds and water

1. Castle Hill. A 1,600 square metre playground with a wooden castle, inclusive equipment, a spider-web climbing structure for ages 6 and up and a play area for ages 2 to 6 with a fence around it. The hill also has a waterfall, two snack bars, toilets and a baby-changing table. Picnics are allowed and the paths are stroller-accessible. Castle Hill has the hours.
2. The Promenade du Paillon. A 14.5-hectare park with wooden sea-animal play structures (a whale, dolphins, an octopus and a turtle), a 3,000 square metre reflecting pool with 128 water jets, a mist garden, a carousel in the Albert I garden, a zip line for children, petanque courts, ping-pong tables and a baby-changing table. The park is open 7:00 to 21:00 to 31 March 2027, and the pool 9:00 to 20:00.
3. The Cimiez olive grove. Playgrounds, petanque courts, toilets and a refreshment stand among the old olive trees, open 8:30 to 18:00 to 31 March and to 20:00 from 1 April. Cimiez pairs it with the Roman arena.
4. The beaches. Pebbles, so shoes help; public stretches are free, and a municipal service at Carras and Centenaire gives people with reduced mobility amphibious chairs in summer. Nice beaches has the clubs.

A double-decker carousel in the Jardin Albert 1er. Photo: Dr. Andreas Giessauf, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Parc Phoenix

West of Nice, opposite the airport · free under 12 · 9:30 to 18:00 from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027

Seven hectares and 2,500 plant species, a lake with ducks and black swans, one of Europe’s largest greenhouses, Le Diamant Vert, with six tropical climates, and areas for crocodiles, exotic birds, iguanas and a family of vari lemurs. The ticket desks close an hour before the park, and a tree-top adventure park charges separately.

The tropical greenhouse at Parc Phoenix. Photo: André Alliot, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

Museums

• Chagall. Creative visits for children from age 4, lasting 1 to 1.5 hours, at €4 or €5.50 with free museum entry for the child, limited to 15 people; booking is strongly advised, by phone on weekdays. A children’s audio guide is in French and English. The Chagall page has the lunch closure.
• Matisse. Family tours for ages 7 and over cost €7, free for children under 13, in French; family workshops from age 4 and holiday workshops for ages 6 to 11 and 12 to 15 cost €9. The Matisse page has the rules.
• Natural History. More than a million specimens and a route from the deep sea to the mountains; €5 for adults, closed Mondays. Best museums in Nice has the rest.

The order that works: a morning on Castle Hill and its playground, the little train from the Centenaire monument, and the Paillon water jets in the afternoon. What to skip: the Tour Saint-François, which has 288 steps and is shut in rain or wind.

Practical information

• Rainy days: the Natural History museum, Parc Phoenix’s greenhouse, the City museums and the Chagall museum’s creative visits.
• The tourist tax: children under 18 do not pay it. What to book in Nice has the rates.
• Getting around: a Lignes d’Azur ticket is €1.70; Nice public transport has the lines.
• The one thing that ruins a day: planning the Matisse or Masséna museums on a Tuesday, or the Natural History museum on a Monday.

Free things to do in Nice lists what costs nothing, and things to do in Nice lists everything with its price. For a bed, see where to stay in Nice, and 3 days in Nice builds a plan around the closed days.