Travel: Nice

Where we stayed: Studio By the Beach in Center Nice (airbnb)

Length of stay: 10 days (September 11–21)

Favorite activity: evening picnics on the beach

Favorite meal: Salmon pizza (little weird, but unique!) and Leffe ruby beer

 

 

I absolutely loved our time in Nice and was not ready to leave, even after 10 days (our longest stay on the trip). By this point we were about half way through our 3 month trip, having traveled through Germany, Austria, and a quick stop in Italy, and were pretty tired. This week in Nice was exactly what we needed.

Though this was the tiniest Airbnb we stayed in during our entire trip, it was only 2 blocks from the beach, which was perfect because that was where I wanted to spend all of my time anyways. The palm tree-lined promenade was lively with different activities at all times of the day, though it was clear there were many more night owls than early birds here. Each morning I would join the few other runners for a short jog along the water, the air quiet aside from the sound of waves (legit the best way to wake up ever). And every evening the promenade was alive with even more runners, bikers, tourists, and residents walking along the beach, eating and drinking. We even got to view participants of the Iron Man run into the finish line of the World Championships.

When we weren’t spending time by the water we were exploring the rest of the city. The brightly colored buildings, the quaint cafes, and the tiny winding streets of Old Nice. Our favorite way to visit any city is to just walk and see where it takes us, which was the perfect way to see all of Nice (before heading back to the water, of course). New official dream: a vacation home on the French Riviera.

 

 

Things we did:

• swam in the sea every day- the beach may be rocky, but once you get past that the water temperature is perfect and you don’t leave covered in sand
• visited the Jardin des Arènes de Cimiez for pretty gardens and nice views
• enjoyed a pizza and beer picnic on the beach as the sun set
• walked up to La Tour Bellanda for the best views of the colorful city

 

Tips and tricks:

• Walk everywhere- Nice is not that large and has so many cute streets that you might miss if you took another form of transportation
• Take advantage of the many potential day trips, including Monaco and Cannes
• Prioritize location over quality for your stay- trust me, you’ll want to spend all your time along the promenade anyways