Nice old town walk: from Place Masséna through the Cours Saleya, the Palais Lascaris and Castle Hill to Port Lympia, with what is open each day

One of 2 self-guided walks in Nice. See every walk.

In this guide

💡 The Short Version: Start at the Masséna tram stop and finish at the Port Lympia tram stop: 4.6 km, about an hour of walking and half a day with the visits. Go on a Wednesday to Sunday morning: the flower market runs from Tuesday to Sunday and the fish market on Place Saint-François closes at 13:00. Monday is the antiques market, and the fish market and the Bellandarium are shut. The Palais Lascaris is shut on Tuesdays. Castle Hill closes at 18:00 from 1 November. The streets, the markets and the hill are free; the Palais Lascaris is €5 and the Bellandarium €5. A public lift at the foot of the hill saves the climb. Or book a tour: the walk that ends on Castle Hillad is from €26 (GetYourGuide).

The route

Map of the walk numbered stops in walking order

Open the whole route in Google Maps - all the stops in walking order, set to walking directions, which is the version to put on your phone.

The route runs west to east along the old town and takes the markets first, because they finish by 13:00. The cathedral shuts from 12:00 to 14:00, the Palais Lascaris opens at 10:00, and the hill and the port are for the afternoon. The old town page says what each sight is; this page puts them in walking order with the days they are open. Prices are the adult rate in euros from each operator.

Walk it with a guide

A guide adds the stories. None of these lists an entry ticket. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person.

• Nice Old Town and Castle Hill: Guided Cultural Walking Tourad: from €26, 4.8 stars from 1,038 reviews, 2 hours 15 minutes, and it covers the flower market and ends on Castle Hill.
• Nice: Old Town & Castle Hill Informative Guided Walking Tourad: from €36, 4.9 stars from 381 reviews, 2 hours 30 minutes.
• Nice: Old Town & Promenade Walking Tour in Englishad: from €23, 4.7 stars from 226 reviews, 2 hours 30 minutes.
• Nice: Old Town Treasures Walking Tour & Local Food Tastingad: from €29, 4.7 stars from 426 reviews, 1.5 to 3 hours, with a tasting.
• The City’s own English walks run on Mondays at 10:00 and must be booked. Nice walking tours compares them with the free and paid walks.

1. Place Masséna

Free · always open · tram line 1, Masséna

The Masséna tram stop is at the north edge of the square. Red façades with arcades inspired by Piedmontese architecture frame a black-and-white paving and the Sun Fountain, crowned by a statue of Apollo. Jaume Plensa’s seven figures, Conversation à Nice, stand above the square and light up at night. The square opens onto the old town, Avenue Jean Médecin, the Promenade des Anglais and the Albert I Gardens: the Promenade des Anglais starts here.

Walk to the Opéra: 340 m, along Rue Jacques Médecin and Rue Saint-François de Paule.

2. The Opéra

Guided visit €8 · Monday afternoons · 1 hour 30 minutes · 4-6 rue Saint-François de Paule

Fire destroyed the earlier theatre, and the architect François Aune, helped by advice from Charles Garnier, rebuilt it in 1885. Statues on the façade stand for Music, Comedy, Dance and Tragedy. Inside, the horseshoe-shaped hall seats close to 1,000 under a ceiling painted by Emmanuel Costa.

The façade of the Opéra on Rue Saint-François de Paule. Photo: Qjafcc, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

• Visits: the Opéra opens to visitors only on the Centre du Patrimoine’s guided visits, on Monday afternoons, for 1 hour 30 minutes, at €8 (€3 reduced, free under 18). They run at certain periods of the year, and the booking page gives the time.
• Booking: no tickets are sold at the door. Buy at the Centre du Patrimoine, 14 rue Jules Gilly, or at vah.nice.fr. The Centre is closed from 2 to 6 November 2026 and reopens on 9 November.
• Otherwise: look at the façade and walk on.

Walk to the Cours Saleya: 190 m, along the same street.

3. The Cours Saleya

Free · flowers, fruit and vegetables Tuesday to Sunday mornings · antiques Monday 7:00 to 18:00

The old town’s market square. From Tuesday to Sunday the flower market runs here in the morning, with fruit, vegetables, local crafts and regional food; the tourist office dates it to 1861 and lists it among the 100 most picturesque markets in France. On Mondays about 180 antiques dealers take the square from 7:00 to 18:00. The Baroque Chapelle de la Miséricorde, with murals by Bistolfi, stands on the square. The Cours Saleya page has what to buy.

• Socca: Chez Thérésa has a stand here from Tuesday to Sunday mornings, and Chez Marie-Thé sells socca on the square from Wednesday to Sunday between 9:30 and 13:30. A slice is €3.50 at each.
• The view: the Ponchettes steps, opposite Place Pierre Gautier, look down over the stalls.
• In summer: an arts and crafts market runs here in the evening.

Walk to Place Rossetti: 410 m, by Rue Saint-Gaëtan, Rue de la Préfecture and Rue Sainte-Réparate.

4. Place Rossetti and Sainte-Réparate

Free · cathedral Monday to Friday 9:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 18:00 · Saturday to 19:30 · Sunday 9:00 to 13:00 and 15:00 to 18:00 · 3 place Rossetti

The Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate stands on the square, with a colourful tiled dome and ten or so chapels that wealthy families and guilds once kept and decorated. Visit before noon, because it shuts for two hours at midday. Terraces fill the square, and Fenocchio’s ice-cream parlour is a few steps from the cathedral.

• Hours: the tourist office’s hours for 2026.
• Ice cream: Fenocchio is at 2 place Rossetti and 6 rue de la Poissonnerie.

Walk to the Palais Lascaris: 120 m, down Rue Droite.

5. The Palais Lascaris

€5 · 10:00 to 18:00 · shut Tuesdays · 15 rue Droite

The City calls it the most remarkable civil Baroque monument in Nice. Jean-Baptiste Lascaris, a marshal of the Duke of Savoy, began it in 1648, and it opened as a museum in 1963. The monumental staircase is decorated with frescoes. On the upper floor the state apartments keep fresco ceilings, among them the fall of Phaeton in the Grand Salon, and the museum shows two collections of musical instruments, the Gautier bequest and the Tissier-Grandpierre harps. Allow an hour.

• Tickets: €5 (€4 in a group of 10 or more), free for under-18s, students and job-seekers with proof. The 4-day Museums Pass is €15. Tickets are sold through the City’s museum ticket office.
• Closed: Tuesdays, 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May and 25 December.
• Guided visit: €7 on top of entry, 1 hour 30 minutes, by reservation only.
• Access: there is no lift, because the palace is a listed monument. English booklets are at the reception.
• Exhibition: Merveilles et curiosités du Palais Lascaris, a cabinet of curiosities, runs to 11 January 2027.

Walk to Place Saint-François: 180 m, further along Rue Droite. Chez Thérésa, at 28 rue Droite, is on the way: see Where to eat.

6. Place Saint-François

Free · fish market Tuesday to Sunday 6:00 to 13:00 · shut Mondays

A square with a clock tower, the Baroque former town hall (first built in the 16th century) and the fish market around the dolphin fountain. The market is shut on Mondays and closes at 13:00 on other days. The Tour Saint-François, the old Franciscan bell tower beside the square, can be climbed on one weekend a month.

The Tour Saint-François, the clock tower beside the square. Photo: Jesmar, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

• The tower: 288 steps up a metal spiral stair to a 360-degree view with four orientation tables, a 30-minute visit. €5 (€3 reduced, free under 18). Visits run on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 13:00 (last climb 12:30) and 14:00 to 17:00 (last climb 16:30), on 28 and 29 November, 19 and 20 December 2026, 23 and 24 January, 27 and 28 February and 27 and 28 March 2027. Flat shoes are advised, children under 7 and dogs are not admitted, and the tower shuts in rain or wind.
• Tickets: by card only on the spot, or at vah.nice.fr or the Centre du Patrimoine.

Walk to Place Garibaldi: 410 m, through the lanes to the north-east.

7. Place Garibaldi

Free · always open · tram line 1, Garibaldi – Le Château

The tourist office calls it the oldest square in Nice. Ochre façades and long arcades frame the statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was born in Nice in 1807, and the Chapelle du Saint-Sépulcre, the chapel of the Blue Penitents, stands on the square. Cafés and restaurants line the arcades. On the third Saturday of each month the Cours Saleya’s antiques dealers also set up here.

The climb starts here. Tram line 1 stops at Garibaldi – Le Château if you want to end the walk here.

Walk to the waterfall on Castle Hill: 980 m, along Rue Catherine Ségurane, then 320 m up the pedestrian Montée Eberlé to the park’s Montée Montfort entrance and on through the park.

8. Castle Hill

Free · daily 8:30 to 18:00 to 31 March · 8:30 to 20:00 from 1 April to 31 October · Parc de la Colline du Château

Greek settlers from Marseille founded Nikaia on the hill in the 3rd century BC, and the citadel that grew there was razed on Louis XIV’s orders. The City made the hill a public walk in 1882, and its 19.3 hectares are part of the 2021 World Heritage property. The belvédère stands 92 m above the city. The waterfall is beside the terrace, and shaded paths link the two.

• Hours: the park shuts at 18:00 from 1 November to 31 March, so be here by 16:30 in winter.
• Facilities: public toilets, two snack bars and a playground of 1,600 m² with a wooden castle. Picnics and dogs are allowed.
• Without the stairs: a public lift at the foot of the hill, beside the Tour Bellanda on the Quai des États-Unis, reaches the park. To use it, leave Place Garibaldi out: walk down from stop 6 to the quay, ride up, and come back down the same way.

Castle Hill has the waterfall, the playground and the two ways up.

Walk to the Tour Bellanda: 420 m, across the hill to its south-west end.

9. The Tour Bellanda

Bellandarium €5 · Tuesday to Saturday 9:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:00 · shut Sunday and Monday · Montée Lesage

The tower stands at the south-west end of the hill. The panorama of the Baie des Anges from its terrace is the view on the postcards. Inside, the Bellandarium tells the hill’s history through 52 costumed figures, showing dress and equipment from antiquity to today, and visitors can try on costumes. Allow half an hour.

• Tickets: €5 (€3 reduced, free under 18), at vah.nice.fr or the Centre du Patrimoine, 14 rue Jules Gilly, which is closed from 2 to 6 November 2026.
• Last entry: the Bellandarium shuts at 17:00, an hour before the park.
• The way down: the Montée Lesage, a flight of stairs, leads to the Rue des Ponchettes and the Quai des États-Unis. The lift is beside it.

Walk to Port Lympia: 1.2 km, along the Quai des États-Unis and round the foot of the hill by the Quai Rauba Capeu, then along the quay to the tram stop at the north end of the basin.

10. Port Lympia

Free · always open · tram lines 2 and 3, Port Lympia

The port combines boating, commercial shipping and maritime heritage. The pointus, the traditional wooden boats with colourful designs, moor in the Lympia basin, and the quays are lined with terraces and the façades of the port quarter. The tram stop is at the north end of the basin.

Pointus moored in the Lympia basin. Photo: Jorge Franganillo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

• Eat: Chez Pipo, the socca restaurant at 13 rue Bavastro, is a few minutes’ walk from the tram stop: see Where to eat.
• Home: trams 2 and 3 run to Jean Médecin, and tram 2 to the airport. Evening works cut lines 2 and 3 short of the port from 15 November to 3 December 2026: Nice public transport has the dates.

Where to eat

Chez Thérésa

28 rue Droite · Tuesday to Sunday 9:30 to 15:00 · no reservations · stand on the Cours Saleya, Tuesday to Sunday mornings

A socca counter since 1925 that bakes in a wood-fired oven, a minute from the Palais Lascaris. A slice of socca, pissaladière or pizza is €3.50 and a pan bagnat €6.00. It is shut on Mondays. Best socca in Nice compares the counters.

Fenocchio

2 place Rossetti and 6 rue de la Poissonnerie

An ice-cream parlour since 1966 with more than 96 flavours made in its workshop at La Gaude. The Place Rossetti shop has a terrace under the cathedral, at the fourth stop.

Chez Pipo

13 rue Bavastro, near the port · Wednesday to Sunday 11:30 to 14:30 and 17:30 to 22:00 · no reservations

A socca restaurant whose operator says it has kept the tradition for close to 100 years. It is shut on Monday and Tuesday. Where to eat in Nice lists the restaurants.

The best day to go

The timing that works, on a Thursday: the Opéra’s façade and the Cours Saleya at 9:00, the cathedral by 10:15, the Palais Lascaris from 10:30, the fish market on Place Saint-François by 11:30, socca at Chez Thérésa, then the climb from Place Garibaldi at 14:00 and the Tour Bellanda by 16:00, an hour before the Bellandarium shuts. The port is a 20-minute walk beyond. From 1 November the hill shuts at 18:00 and the sun sets at about 17:00.

Without the hill: stop at Place Garibaldi and take tram line 1 at Garibaldi – Le Château.

What closes:

• Mondays: the fish market and the Bellandarium. The flower market becomes the antiques market.
• Tuesdays: the Palais Lascaris.
• Sundays: the Bellandarium, and the cathedral from 13:00 to 15:00.
• After 12:00: the cathedral, until 14:00. After 13:00: the fish market. After 17:00: the Bellandarium. After 18:00: the cathedral (19:30 on Saturdays) and, from 1 November, the hill.
• 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May and 25 December: the Palais Lascaris.
• 2 to 6 November 2026: the Centre du Patrimoine, which books the Opéra’s visits and sells the Bellandarium’s tickets.

What does not close: the streets, the squares and the port.

Getting there and back

• To the start: tram line 1 stops at Masséna. From Nice-Ville station, tram line 1 from Gare Thiers reaches it in about 15 minutes. Nice public transport has the fares.
• From the end: tram lines 2 and 3 stop at Port Lympia, and both call at Jean Médecin. Tram line 2 reaches the airport.
• From the airport: tram line 2 runs to Jean Médecin and Port Lympia. See Nice airport to the city.
• From the cruise port: Nice public transport lists the ways in.

What to do with the rest of the day

• The sights: the old town says what to see and skip, the Cours Saleya has the market days and Castle Hill the playground and the waterfall.
• The seafront: the Promenade des Anglais starts at Place Masséna, where this walk begins.
• The other walk: the Cimiez walk is a separate trip up the hill north of the centre, on bus 5, to the Chagall and Matisse museums and the Roman baths. Do it on another day.
• Free: free things to do in Nice lists what costs nothing.
• The days: 3 days in Nice fits the old town onto the days it is open, and what to book before you go to Nice has the closed days for every sight.
• Guided walks: Nice walking tours sets the City’s English walks against the paid ones.
• Where to sleep: where to stay in Nice compares the areas.

Common questions

How long is the Nice old town walk?

4.6 km from the Masséna tram stop to the Port Lympia tram stop, measured along the streets: about an hour of walking. The visits fill half a day, because the market, the Palais Lascaris, the hill and the Bellandarium each take their own time.

Which day is best for the old town walk?

Wednesday to Sunday, in the morning. The flower market runs Tuesday to Sunday mornings, the fish market on Place Saint-François closes at 13:00 and is shut on Mondays, the Palais Lascaris is shut on Tuesdays and the Bellandarium on Sundays and Mondays.

Is the Nice old town walk free?

The streets, the squares, the markets, Castle Hill and the port cost nothing. The Palais Lascaris is €5, the Bellandarium €5, the Tour Saint-François €5 and the Opéra's guided visit €8.

What do I need to book for the walk?

Only the Opéra, whose guided visit is booked through the Centre du Patrimoine. The Palais Lascaris sells tickets through the City's museum ticket office, and the Bellandarium through vah.nice.fr or the Centre du Patrimoine at 14 rue Jules Gilly.

Where does the old town walk start and finish?

It starts at the Masséna tram stop on line 1 and finishes at the Port Lympia tram stop, which tram lines 2 and 3 serve. Tram line 1 also stops at Garibaldi – Le Château, which is on the route.

Can I do the old town walk on a Monday?

Yes, with a different market. The Cours Saleya holds the antiques market from 7:00 to 18:00, the Palais Lascaris is open and the Opéra's guided visit runs in the afternoon. The fish market and the Bellandarium are shut.