Where to stay in Nice: the old town, the Promenade, the Carré d'Or, the port, the station and Cimiez compared, with the hotels in each

In this guide

💡 The Short Version: For a first visit, stay in the old town or in the Carré d’Or on the Promenade side of the centre: the Cours Saleya, Castle Hill and the beach are on foot from both. The station area around Avenue Thiers suits a late train or a day trip: Nice-Ville station is about 1.1 km from Place Masséna in a straight line. The tourist tax is €1.07 to €4.69 a person a night, by star grade, and under-18s do not pay. Rooms are in demand for the Carnival (9 to 28 February 2027), the Cannes Film Festival (11 to 22 May 2027) and the Monaco Grand Prix (3 to 6 June 2027), so book those dates early. Prices change with the dates, so check yours on Hotels.com. Or book a tour: the Old Town and Castle Hill walking tourad is from €26 and the Èze, Monaco and Monte-Carlo half-day tripad from €36 (GetYourGuide).

The areas, compared

The arcaded red and ochre façades of Place Masséna, with the tram line across the chequered paving. Photo: Zairon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

How the city works

The visitor’s Nice is the eastern third of the city. The old town sits at its south-east edge, by the sea, and the Promenade du Paillon, a park, separates it from the modern centre around Avenue Jean-Médecin. The centre, the old town and the seafront are flat apart from Castle Hill, between the old town and the port; the ground climbs quickly to the east and north, to Mont Boron and Cimiez (Go Ask a Local, a guide by a resident).

Distances on this page are straight lines, which run shorter than the walk. From Nice-Ville station, Place Masséna is about 1.1 km, the Cours Saleya about 1.5 km, Castle Hill (the Tour Bellanda) about 1.9 km and Port Lympia about 2.0 km. From Place Masséna, the Cours Saleya is about 0.4 km and the Negresco about 1.0 km. A hotel’s own walking time appears only where its page prints one. Tram line 1 links the station and Place Masséna in about 15 minutes, and Nice airport to the city compares the ways in.

The tourist tax is per person per night, collected by the hotel or rental with the bill, and it depends on the grade. Under-18s do not pay. The Métropole says the 2027 rates are the same (Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur).

An unrated hotel or rental charges 6.7% of the price before tax, per person per night, capped at €6.43.

Dates that affect a stay:

• The Nice-Cannes marathon, Sunday 8 November 2026, limited to 22,000 runners by the organiser.
• The Christmas village, 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, in the Jardin Albert 1er and Place Masséna: Nice at Christmas 2026.
• The Rallye Monte-Carlo, 21 to 24 January 2027, in Monaco.
• The Nice Carnival, 9 to 28 February 2027, and the Lemon Festival in Menton, 13 to 28 February 2027: Nice Carnival 2027.
• The Cannes Film Festival, 11 to 22 May 2027.
• The Monaco Grand Prix, 3 to 6 June 2027, about 22 to 26 minutes from Nice-Ville by train: the Monaco Grand Prix 2027.

Evening works on tram lines 2, 3 and B run from 25 October to 3 December 2026, with earlier last trams and replacement buses: Nice airport to the city has the times.

What the official sources say about safety

The UK Foreign Office says to take sensible precautions against street crime and car crime, that pickpockets can work in gangs, and that thieves operate at mainline stations. It adds that demonstrations can take place with little or no warning, particularly in cities. Australia’s Smartraveller and the Government of Canada both advise a high degree of caution in France. Smartraveller says theft is common, particularly in summer, and Canada says thieves often target tourists. The UK Foreign Office, US State Department, Government of Canada and Smartraveller publish the advice for France. The UK, Australian and Canadian pages name no district of Nice. Keep bags and phones close at Nice-Ville station, in the old town crowds and at cash machines.

The hotels

The links go to the hotel on Hotels.com. Star grades are from Atout France’s register of classified hotels, not the hotels’ own wording; the youth hostel has none. Michelin’s guide gives Le Negresco two Keys and Maison Albar Le Victoria and the Hôtel du Couvent one each, and lists Boscolo Nice, Anantara Plaza Nice, Mama Shelter Nice, the Hyatt Regency and the Hôtel Gounod without a Key. For the seafront in detail, see hotels near the Promenade des Anglais.

The old town (Vieux Nice)

The historic core by the sea holds the Cours Saleya, Place Rossetti, the Baroque churches and the old town’s restaurants, with Castle Hill beside it. The old town page, the Cours Saleya market and Castle Hill cover what is on the doorstep. Most streets are pedestrianised, which makes arriving with a suitcase harder. Nice & Beyond, a resident’s site, lists the crowds and the nightly noise as the drawbacks, and Go Ask a Local calls the area noisy and a bit cramped, with apartments that can lack amenities.

Hôtel du Couvent

1 rue Honoré Ugo · 5 stars · one Michelin Key · Hotels.comad

A former convent at the foot of Castle Hill, with the cloistered gardens kept intact and Roman baths in much of the property, according to Michelin’s entry.

Hôtel Palais Saleya

21 rue du Marché · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

Twenty-six suites and apartments in a restored 18th-century building, a few steps from the Cours Saleya.

Hôtel Beau Rivage

24 rue Saint-François de Paule · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

Behind a 19th-century facade between the Cours Saleya and the Promenade des Anglais. The junior suites have terraces.

Mercure Nice Marché aux Fleurs

91 quai des États-Unis · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

A small hotel backing onto the Cours Saleya and its flower market. The hotel’s page says it has two floors and no lift.

Hôtel La Pérouse

11 quai Rauba Capeu · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

Built into the cliff of Castle Hill, with a pool set into the rock face, a restaurant and the La Vista rooftop.

Hôtel Suisse

15 quai Rauba Capeu · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

An Italian-style building on Quai Rauba Capeu below Castle Hill. The hotel’s page says every floor has a sea view.

AMMI Vieux-Nice

10 boulevard Jean Jaurès · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

Apartments on the first floor of a Niçois building, 15 steps up with no lift, a few steps from the Cours Saleya. Roof works are scheduled from 2 November 2026 to the end of March 2027.

The Promenade des Anglais

The seafront runs almost 7 km along the Baie des Anges. The hotels below sit between Le Méridien at number 1, at the old-town end, and the Radisson Blu at number 223, at the airport end. The Negresco is about 1.0 km from Place Masséna. Go Ask a Local says the area suits people who want to spend a lot of time at the beach, and that many hotels on the water are high-end, with more affordable ones a block or two back. Work on the Mercantour bridge near the airport runs for eleven months from 2 October 2026: see the Promenade des Anglais. Hotels near the Promenade des Anglais lists these in order along the front, and Nice beaches separates the public stretches from the private clubs.

Hôtel Negresco

37 promenade des Anglais · 5 stars · two Michelin Keys · Hotels.comad

A Belle Époque building with a pink dome on the Promenade, its public rooms hung with art from the 17th century to the present, according to Michelin. Le Chantecler, the hotel’s restaurant, holds a Michelin star: see where to eat in Nice.

Hyatt Regency Nice Palais de la Méditerranée

13 promenade des Anglais · 5 stars · Michelin guide, no Key · Hotels.comad

The Art Deco facade of the Palais de la Méditerranée, which opened in 1929 and closed in 1978, stands in front of a hotel rebuilt behind it. It has a courtyard pool, and the Casino Partouche is in the same building.

Anantara Plaza Nice

12 avenue de Verdun · 5 stars · Michelin guide, no Key · Hotels.comad

Rooms and suites facing the sea and the Albert I gardens, with a spa and the SEEN by Olivier rooftop bar, the hotel’s page says.

Le Méridien Nice

1 promenade des Anglais · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

At number 1, the old-town end of the front.

Hôtel Westminster & Spa

27 promenade des Anglais · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

A 400 m² spa with a sauna, a hammam and a counter-current pool, the Le Duc restaurant and a bar with a terrace, all on the Promenade.

Hôtel West End

31 promenade des Anglais · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

Built in 1842 behind a listed Belle Époque facade. The hotel says most of its 121 rooms look over the bay, and it lists a partner private beach.

Mercure Nice Promenade des Anglais

2 rue Halévy · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

Renovated in 2026, with the breakfast room facing the bay. The hotel works with the private Ruhl beach and puts the old town 5 minutes away on foot.

Hôtel Le Royal

23 promenade des Anglais · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

A neo-classical building run by the Vacances Bleues group, which sells it with half board.

Hôtel Flots d’Azur

101 promenade des Anglais · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

Fourteen renovated, soundproofed rooms on the Promenade, with a terrace for breakfast.

Hôtel Villa Eden

99 bis promenade des Anglais · 2 stars · hotel website

Ten rooms in an early 20th-century mansion facing the sea. The hotel’s page says it is not suitable for guests with reduced mobility, and the Magnan bus stop is opposite.

Radisson Blu Hotel Nice

223 promenade des Anglais · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

At number 223, the airport end of the front.

The Carré d’Or, Jean-Médecin and the Musicians’ Quarter

The grid behind the Promenade holds Rue Masséna, the Jardin Albert I and the shopping streets, with Avenue Jean-Médecin running north to the station. Rue Masséna is about 0.2 km from Place Masséna and about 0.9 km from the station; Avenue Jean-Médecin (Nicetoile) is about 0.5 km from Place Masséna. Go Ask a Local calls the modern centre not as visually charming as the old town, with a walk of 10 to 15 minutes to the water, on its own reckoning. The Musicians’ Quarter and Gambetta lie west of the station and Avenue Jean-Médecin, and Boulevard Gambetta is about 0.5 km from the station.

A tram on Avenue Jean-Médecin, looking north from Place Masséna. Photo: Aeris06, Frédéric Oropallo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Boscolo Nice Hotel & Spa

12 boulevard Victor Hugo · 5 stars · Michelin guide, no Key · Hotels.comad

A rooftop with a heated panoramic pool and a solarium, a spa and an Italian restaurant.

Maison Albar Hotels Le Victoria

6 B avenue de Suède · 5 stars · one Michelin Key · Hotels.comad

A family-run group’s flagship, with 102 rooms and 30 suites, a 650 m² spa and a rooftop pool.

Splendid Hôtel & Spa

50 boulevard Victor Hugo · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

Run by one family for four generations and open for more than a century, with 130 rooms and suites and a rooftop with a pool and a jacuzzi.

Hôtel Windsor

11 rue Dalpozzo · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

Owned by the Redolfi family for eighty years, with a garden, a hammam and an outdoor pool that is heated and used from May to October, weather permitting.

Hôtel Aston La Scala

12 avenue Félix Faure · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

The building began as a mid-19th-century hotel for spa visitors and took the name Aston in 1975. It now has a rooftop pool.

Best Western Plus Hôtel Masséna Nice

58 rue Gioffredo · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

A Belle Époque facade, 110 rooms, a valet garage and a partner private beach on the Promenade. The hotel puts the beaches and the Promenade 5 minutes away on foot.

Ikonik Jean Médecin

47 bis avenue Jean Médecin · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

Fifty-four rooms in a Haussmann-style building, a few minutes’ walk from Place Masséna and the old town, the hotel’s page says.

Hôtel Gounod

3 rue Gounod · 4 stars · Michelin guide, no Key · Hotels.comad

In the same family for four generations, in a building from the 1870s. Guests can use the pool, sauna and gym of the Splendid Hôtel & Spa, and the rooftop bar opens in the evening.

Hôtel Les Cigales

16 rue Dalpozzo · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

Nineteen rooms in a former private mansion with a white facade. The hotel puts the Promenade three minutes away.

The port, Garibaldi and Riquier

East of the old town and behind Castle Hill, the port quarter holds Place Garibaldi and the cafés round Place de l’Île de Beauté. Port Lympia is about 0.9 km from the Cours Saleya and about 1.2 km from Place Masséna. Go Ask a Local calls it calmer, a little less touristy and better connected by public transport than the old town, and a little further from the beach. Michelin lists Épicentre on rue Fodéré and Colita on rue Catherine-Ségurane in this part: see where to eat in Nice. Nice-Riquier station is about 2.3 km from Nice-Ville.

Yachts on the quay at Port Lympia, with the pastel buildings of the port quarter behind. Photo: Zairon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Mama Shelter Nice

21-23 boulevard de Riquier · 4 stars · Michelin guide, no Key · Hotels.comad

A rooftop pool, free to guests. The hotel’s page says access depends on the weather from April to October, and the pool closes on 1 November.

Nice Pam Hôtel

26 rue Smolett · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

The Pamela’s bar-restaurant is open to everyone from 06:30 to 23:00. The hotel puts itself 700 m from the beach and 900 m from the old town.

Hôtel Palais Ségurane

22 rue Catherine Ségurane · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

Forty-three suites, each with a full kitchen, plus a private spa with a sauna, a hammam and a jacuzzi, a private cinema and a 24-hour reception.

Ibis Styles Nice Vieux Port

8 rue Emmanuel Philibert · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

Beside the old port, with two tram stops at its foot and a bar open every day until midnight.

Hôtel du Pin

6 rue Emmanuel Philibert · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

Ninety-one rooms, a beer bar with twelve draught taps, a terrace and parking. The hotel’s page points to tram line 2 from the airport.

Near Nice-Ville station

The station faces Avenue Thiers, and the hotels on Avenue Thiers and Avenue Durante are the nearest to it. The station is about 0.6 km from Avenue Jean-Médecin and about 1.1 km from Place Masséna, so the old town is a tram ride or a longer walk, and a station hotel is not an old-town hotel. Trains to the coast leave from here: day trips from Nice has the journeys. Several of these hotels print their own distance to the station, and the page says so with the hotel named.

The front of Nice-Ville station, facing Avenue Thiers. Photo: m-louis, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

DoubleTree by Hilton Nice Centre Iconic

8 avenue Thiers · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

At number 8, on the street the station faces.

Hôtel Excelsior Nice

19 avenue Durante · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

A Belle Époque building with a swimming pool, a few steps from Nice-Ville station, the hotel says.

Maison Durante

16 avenue Durante · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

Down a small dead-end street two minutes’ walk from the station, with a garden of orange and palm trees, according to the hotel’s page.

Ibis Nice Centre Gare

14 avenue Thiers · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

The hotel’s page puts the station 50 m away, 2 minutes on foot. It has an outdoor pool with a solarium, and breakfast from 06:00.

Ibis Styles Nice Centre Gare

3-5 avenue Durante · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

A Belle Époque facade and a sunny terrace, with the station under 500 m away by the hotel’s count.

Hôtel Aria

15 avenue Auber · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

Thirty rooms on Place Mozart, facing a small garden. The hotel puts the station 450 m away and the Promenade 15 minutes on foot.

Hôtel So’Co

27 avenue Thiers · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

Between the station and the sea, with a breakfast buffet. The page says the station is a few minutes’ walk away.

HI Nice Les Camélias

3 rue Spitaliéri · hostel · Hotels.comad

A traditional villa with a patio and a terrace: 130 beds in 24 rooms of two to eight beds, open all year with 24-hour access.

Libération

Libération lies north of the station, with its centre about 0.6 km from Nice-Ville. Go Ask a Local calls it a family-friendly, very local district known for its produce market, with tram line 1 running through it and a longer walk to the beach than most visitors want. Lonely Planet’s neighbourhood guide calls it the farthest district from the beach and one of the least touristy.

Hôtel Monsigny

17 avenue Malausséna · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

One hundred and ten rooms, three duplex studios and two apartments, and a seventh-floor rooftop on the pedestrian Malausséna street. The rooftop restaurant is open from late April to September.

Ibis Nice Centre Notre-Dame

41 rue Lamartine · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

The hotel’s page puts the station 500 m away, 5 minutes on foot, and a public car park 50 m away.

Cimiez

Cimiez is the hill north-east of the centre, with the Matisse museum, the Roman site and the monastery gardens: about 2.0 km from the station and 2.5 km from Place Masséna in a straight line, uphill. Go Ask a Local calls it almost entirely residential. Buses 5, 16, 18, 33 and 40 stop at the Matisse museum, and bus 5 reaches the Chagall museum: see Cimiez, the Matisse museum and the Chagall museum.

A coral-red villa behind iron gates on a Cimiez hillside street. Photo: GFreihalter, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Hôtel Le Petit Palais

17 avenue Émile Bieckert · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

Twenty-five rooms in a renovated boutique hotel with a Belle Époque feel and garden terraces looking over the Baie des Anges. The page dates the house to almost a century ago.

Hôtel Villa Rose

43 avenue Bellevue · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

Open since 1889, its page says, with nine rooms and two cottages, a garden and parking. The Valrose tram stop is 150 m away.

Mont Boron

Mont Boron is the wooded hill east of the port. Go Ask a Local calls it much more residential and not ideal for most visitors, but a good choice for a big apartment or a villa with a car. The Fort du Mont Alban is about 3.1 km from Nice-Ville.

Hôtel Le Saint Paul

29 boulevard Franck Pilatte · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

In a renovated 19th-century seminary at the foot of Mont Boron, facing the sea and close to the port.

Villefranche-sur-Mer

Villefranche is a separate town on the coast, about 7 minutes by train from Nice-Ville. Its station is about 3.4 km east of the Cours Saleya in a straight line. Villefranche-sur-Mer from Nice has the trains, the buses and the beaches. For Antibes, Cannes, Menton or Monaco as a base instead, see day trips from Nice.

Welcome Hôtel

3 quai Amiral Courbet · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

Built in 1710 on the quayside, with 35 rooms that all have a balcony and a sea view. The page quotes Jean Cocteau’s dedication to the hotel in 1957.

Hôtel La Flore

5 boulevard Princesse Grâce de Monaco · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

A hotel from the beginning of the 20th century, refurbished in Provençal style, with a pool and a jacuzzi.

Hôtel Le Provençal

4 avenue du Maréchal Joffre · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

Run by the same family since 1926, with a garden bar. The hotel’s page puts the citadel 150 m away.

The airport side

Terminal 2 is about 6.3 km from the station and about 6.1 km from Place Masséna in a straight line. Nice-Saint-Augustin station stands in the Arenas district beside the airport. Tram line 2 reaches the centre in under 30 minutes: Nice airport to the city compares it with the bus and the flat €32 taxi fare.

Ibis Nice Aéroport Promenade des Anglais

359 promenade des Anglais · 3 stars · Hotels.comad

Renovated in 2020. The hotel puts the airport 1 km away and the beaches 600 m away.

Novotel Nice Aéroport Arénas

455 promenade des Anglais · 4 stars · Hotels.comad

A free shuttle to the airport runs 24 hours a day. Tram line 3 goes to the Nikaïa arena and the Allianz Riviera stadium.

Plan the rest

Once you have your dates, 3 days in Nice fits the sights round the closed days, and the best time to visit Nice has the weather by month. Where to eat in Nice covers the meals, and what to book before you go to Nice has the hours of every sight. Nice public transport has the trams and buses, and Nice with kids sorts the sights by age.

Common questions

Where should I stay in Nice for a first visit?

In the old town, or on the Promenade side of the centre in the Carré d'Or. The old town puts the Cours Saleya, Castle Hill and the Promenade on foot; the Carré d'Or puts the beach and Place Masséna on foot. Nice-Ville station is about 1.1 km from Place Masséna and 1.5 km from the Cours Saleya in a straight line.

Is there a tourist tax in Nice?

Yes. In 2026 it is €1.07 per person per night in a one-star hotel, bed and breakfast or hostel, €1.34 in a two-star, €2.28 in a three-star, €3.48 in a four-star and €4.69 in a five-star. Under-18s do not pay, and the hotel collects it with the bill.

Which dates make a Nice stay busier?

The Nice-Cannes marathon on 8 November 2026, the Christmas village from 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, the Carnival from 9 to 28 February 2027, the Cannes Film Festival from 11 to 22 May 2027 and the Monaco Grand Prix from 3 to 6 June 2027.

Which Nice hotels hold Michelin Keys?

Michelin gives the Negresco two Keys, and Maison Albar Le Victoria and the Hôtel du Couvent one each. Boscolo Nice, Anantara Plaza Nice, Mama Shelter Nice, the Hyatt Regency Nice Palais de la Méditerranée and the Hôtel Gounod are in the guide without a Key.

Are the star grades on this page the hotels' own?

No. They come from Atout France, the French tourism agency, which classifies hotels from one to five stars in a public register. The youth hostel has no grade.

Is it better to stay in Nice or in Villefranche-sur-Mer?

Nice for the sights, the trams and the restaurants; Villefranche, about 7 minutes by train, for a harbour town as a quieter base. Villefranche's station is about 4.2 km from Nice-Ville in a straight line.