I first came to Nice, the capital of the Cote d’Azur, in the strange summer of 2020, when the world was half-shut and the city was quieter than it had been in a century….

The sun still shone, the Belle Époque façades still glowed, and we walked the Promenade des Anglais and the old town’s shaded lanes more or less alone – and fell completely in love. We’ve returned every year since, sometimes twice, in summer but also in winter, which is how the city built its name: long before the beach clubs, Nice was where European aristocracy came for the season’s coldest months.

That history explains a lot – the grandeur, the confidence, and the fact that this is a proper, lived-in city of several hundred thousand locals, not a resort that empties in September. It also happens to be perfectly positioned: minutes from one of Europe’s best-connected airports, within easy reach of Èze, Villefranche, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and Menton, and home to one of France’s great regional cuisines.

And right now, Nice is in serious form – Hôtel du Couvent has just entered the World’s 50 Best Hotels, the Negresco remains gloriously itself, Anantara has arrived, and charming hideaways keep appearing between them. It can all be overwhelming: thousands of restaurants, bars and coffee shops line these streets. So here is the refined version – where to stay, eat and drink in Nice, curated by us and our friend Aymeric Perret, Nice local, drinks expert and bon vivant.

– Isabella Craddock

Our Local: Aymeric Perret

Aymeric is a Nice local who splits his time between the South of France and London as head of sales for Palmaráe, the Moroccan-made golden gin poured in the best bars from St-Tropez to Dubai. He spends his evenings where this guide will send you – the port’s wine bars, the old town’s counters, the terraces in between – and his recommendations come road-tested, usually twice.

Our Editor: Isabella Craddock

Near+Far founder and editor Isabella has been returning to Nice for six years – summer, winter and spring, several times a year – and counts it among her favourite cities in the world. Each visit is spent hunting out the genuinely good new openings, away from the main tourist drags and the dozens of perfectly lovely but average cafés trading on Niçoise classics. What follows is the shortlist that survived.

Where to stay in Nice

Hôtel du Couvent: The opening that changed the conversation: a 17th-century convent on the flank of the castle hill, restored over years into cloistered gardens, Roman-inspired baths and rooms of monastic calm. Nice’s most significant hotel arrival in a generation, and somehow the city’s most peaceful address too – grandeur worn impossibly lightly.

Le Negresco: The icon, pink-domed and gloriously itself since 1913. Its late owner, Jeanne Augier, filled it with art and counted Salvador Dalí as a friend; the hotel has starred in everything from Elton John videos onwards. Stay for the history and theatre, and book N La Plage, its fabulous seafront beach club, for the full production.

Hotel Amour: The Paris cult classic gone south: playful, flirtatious rooms a few streets back from the sea, with none of the Riviera’s grande-dame stuffiness. The kind of hotel where the crowd is half the point – young, stylish and largely French – and the courtyard hums from aperitivo hour onwards.

Where to eat

Le Plongeoir: Nice’s most improbable table: a restaurant built onto a rock in the sea, beneath the 1941 diving board that gives it its name, on the site of a Belle Époque folly. Modern Mediterranean cooking, a magical sunset, and a lounge bar from late May for cocktails without the reservation battle.

Peixes: The city’s raw-fish specialists, with one foot in South America and one in the Mediterranean – ceviche, tartare, tataki and tiradito built on that morning’s catch, plus a natural-leaning wine list. Two sites, Opéra and Bonaparte, both permanently busy; expect a wait, and consider it part of the experience.

Le Bistrot des Serruriers: A tiny old-town bistro on the street that names it, and the sort of intimate, produce-first cooking locals guard jealously – a handful of tables, a short menu that changes with the market, and zero concessions to the tourist trade three streets away. Book, or befriend a regular.

Le Félix: The institution on avenue Félix Faure, feeding the city’s business lunches and post-theatre dinners since 1966. Come for Niçois classics done without fuss or reinvention, waiters who have seen everything, and some of the best people-watching in the city – proof that in Nice, longevity is its own recommendation.

Bocca Nissa: Generous Mediterranean sharing plates at the entrance to Cours Saleya, crowned by old Nice’s only rooftop: 250 square metres, entirely planted, lanterns swaying overhead as the evening builds to festive. Aymeric’s tip is precise – arrive at 6.45pm to claim a rooftop table before the crowd descends.

Carmela: Italy at the end of Cours Saleya: a retro-chic room channelling the palazzi of 1950s Florence, a 90-seat sun-drenched terrace with the sea glinting through the Ponchettes archways, and sharing plates – vitello tonnato, artichokes alla giudia, arancini – that back up the glamour. The pizzas and pastas hold their own too.

George’s Roll Seafood: A hole in the wall with a serious following: crab and lobster rolls built on that morning’s catch, made in limited numbers and gone by mid-afternoon accordingly. No frills, no tables to speak of, no compromise on the seafood. Go early, eat standing, and thank us later.

BEURRÉ Sandwicherie For the jambon-beurre, the humble French masterpiece done properly – good bread, proper butter, ham that’s earned its place. In a city that can overcomplicate lunch, there’s real luxury in something this simple executed this well. Take it to the Promenade and eat facing the blue.

Hôtel du Couvent: Less hotel, more destination village: wander in without a booking and see the old convent unfold around you – tables under umbrellas and trees, greenery on every side, and interiors as cool as the courtyard is calm. Order from a lovely menu of cocktails, iced coffee and Niçois snacks (the pissaladière is the move) and settle in. The rare hotel that welcomes the city in rather than shutting it out.

On the water

Castel Plage & Les Bains du Castel: Two venues, one legendary address at the foot of the castle hill: Castel Plage, the Art Deco beach club that has embodied Niçois dolce vita for decades, and Les Bains du Castel, its newer sibling carved into the Rauba-Capeù rock – seafood cooking suspended directly above the Baie des Anges. Book the latter for sunset; it may be the best sea view in the city.

Coffee

La Claque: Probably our favourite addition to the city: a small, beautifully designed specialty coffee shop in the old town, all minimal interiors and seriously good cups. It has quickly become one of the most talked-about independents in Nice, and locals rate it as highly as visitors do – always the telling sign.

Blend Coffee & Vinyl: Coffee and records under one roof, and exactly the sort of place you won’t find in every guide: browse the crates while your flat white is poured, and leave with a Serge Gainsbourg pressing you didn’t plan on. Contemporary without trying too hard – the hardest trick of all.

Café Alma: A tiny, design-led neighbourhood café that remains genuinely under the radar – the one you’d keep to yourself if you lived here. Come for the calm as much as the coffee, and for the pleasure of a place that isn’t performing for anyone.

Le Kawa: The polished, established end of Nice’s specialty scene, and consistently the recommendation of the city’s serious coffee lovers. If La Claque is the exciting newcomer, Le Kawa is the safe pair of hands – precise roasting, professional pours, and no bad cups on record.

HOBO Coffee: The institution of the bunch: central, reliable, and the one name locals and visitors agree on. If you only have one coffee stop in you, this is the low-risk, high-reward option – and its old-town people-watching comes free.

Where to drink

La Cave de Peixes: The Peixes team’s third act, opened last summer under the stone vaults of rue Ségurane: more than 600 references, seasonal tapas that finally take the group beyond fish, and the same effortless cool as its siblings. Nice’s wine moment, distilled into one room – arrive early, the vaults fill fast.

Le 1913, at Le Negresco: The old-world hotel bar, done as only the Negresco can: wood panelling in amber tones, artworks on every wall and bespoke cocktails, channelling the English clubland once haunted by dandies and elegant ladies. Enigmatic by day, festive by night – dress up, order a martini, feel the century.

Le Victoria rooftop, at Maison Albar: Not a hotel recommendation but a bar one: ride up to the rooftop of this design-led five-star for one of the best sundowner perches in the city, with views running over Nice’s terracotta rooftops to the sea. Time it for golden hour and settle in.

Hotel Amour: Come evening, the Amour’s courtyard is one of the most charming places in the city for a drink – fairy-lit, flirtatious and full of good-looking people pretending not to notice each other. You don’t need a room key; you do need to arrive before the tables go.

Barrique: Tiny, natural and full of people who come back weekly – the definition of a local’s wine bar. The list leans low-intervention, the pours are generous, and the room rewards squeezing in: this is where Nice’s wine conversation happens, one small table at a time.

Cave Tambour: One of the newest and most exciting additions to the port’s drinking scene: natural wine, an intimate room and a very cool crowd, without a whiff of exclusivity. The kind of bar that makes you consider moving to the neighbourhood – which, around here, is saying something.

La Cave du Cours: The classic old-town wine bar, with the atmosphere to match: no natural-wine manifesto, no reinvention, just good bottles, a proper buzz and a front-row seat on old Nice going about its evening. Sometimes the traditional version is exactly what the night requires.

Au Cœur des Terroirs: For the genuinely wine-curious: a small-producer focus, careful pours and conversation included in the price. This is where to go when you want to actually learn something about French wine rather than simply drink it – though it delivers handsomely on the latter too.

Rouge: Behind the port in the antiques district, with a terrace running along the old castle fortress wall: hundreds of natural and biodynamic bottles, proper cooked small plates rather than token tapas, and a Michelin Bib Gourmand to prove the value. No reservations – join the joyful scrum and stay longer than planned.

View all Near+Far insider guides.

Sign up for the latest travel news, reviews, inspiration and so much more from the Middle East and beyond straight to your inbox.