Nice getting there
Nice holidays - TravelSavvy travel guide to Nice France
Nice Cote d’Azur Airport, the second busiest airport in France, is on the shoreline just 4km west of Nice city centre. It's served by more than 40 scheduled airlines, 70 destinations and is reached from 23 countries.
There are direct flights to Nice from most European countries and from North America too.
Flights to Nice from the UK include the four London airports and also several provincial airports. Budget airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet have extensive services to Nice and Aer Lingus has economical fares from Gatwick.
Nice airport has two terminals, plus a freight terminal, with most UK arrivals using Terminal 2. Depending on wind direction, your landing either gives a bird's eye view of Nice beach or the resorts to the west of Nice, notably Cannes and Antibes.
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There's a full range of car hire companies at Nice airport and drop-off points are near the terminal. It’s a short, cheap trip into the city – bus #98 runs to Nice city centre every 20min from both terminals between 6am and 11.50pm.
The #23 bus goes to the SNCF railway station in Nice centre – every 30min, from 7.53am to 9pm – but the #98 driver will drop you off at Nice railway station after 9pm if you ask.
Taxis are available 24 hours but they can be expensive at around €35 for the relatively short drive into Nice city centre.
Helicopters are the smart way to fly from Nice to nearby Monaco and the price is not prohibitive compared to a taxi. Try Monacair – tel: 049 321 8086 for information.
It’s a long drive to Nice rom Paris - 931km, but the French autoroutes are good. Alternatively, arrive in Nice via the mountains from Digne on the Route Napoleon or from Turin, Italy, through the Tende tunnel.
If you are travelling through French ferry ports from Britain it’s 1,135km from Le Havre and 1,329km from London.
Trains arrive at Nice SNCF railway station, near the centre of the modern town – call 089 235 3535 for all enquiries. There are six daily services from Paris (5hrs 30min) and other TGV connections from Dijon; Geneva; Lille-Brussels and Metz.
The train is a lovely way to arrive in Nice, along a wild and beautiful coastline and then into the heart of the city. The SNCF station also provides trains to resorts along the French Riviera and to Italian destinations such as San Remo or Genoa/Genova or, as the French call it, Genes.
There was a ‘train-auto’ service designed for UK drivers from Calais which cuts out the lengthy drive but this has been dropped for 2010 after years after declining use.
The port is around a small headland to the east of the city. It has about 10 quays and has both ferries and high-speed vessels to and from Corsica with SNCM and Corsica Ferries.
The yacht harbour will be of interest if you are lucky enough to be arriving in your own vessel – there are floating pontoons, catways, quays and fuelling facilities as well as showers/toilets etc. More information from the port on 049 389 5085.
The Riviera has one of the worst road accident records in France
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