The Perfect 7 Day Itinerary in Nice, France

For our 2023 sister trip my sister Lauren and I decided to go to the South of France. We spent 7 days and 6 nights in Nice, and then ventured to Antibes for the remainder of our trip (another post on this coming soon). I would like to preface this post by noting that this trip has been one of the pricier ones we’ve gone on, so make sure to save up if SOF is on your list!

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Where We Stayed in Nice

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We rented the cutest Airbnb right in the middle of Place Massena, the main square in Nice. It was small, but decorated nicely, and was an easy walk to restaurants, shopping and the beach. The link to the exact place we stayed is HERE. Overall I would highly recommend! The hosts were so nice, very responsive and accommodating when we arrived early, letting us put our bags in the room while they finished cleaning.

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DAY 1

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When we arrived in Nice, we took an Uber to our Airbnb. We arrived very early so we dropped off our bags and walked around the Place Massena area while they finished cleaning. This area has a ton of amazing shopping and is only a 5 minute walk to the ocean. Once our apartment was ready we unpacked and got ready for dinner at Bocca Nissa at 7PM.

We walked to Bocaa Nissa, and to our surprise had to queue for a few minutes. Most restaurants in Nice don’t open until 7pm, so we were the first few people there haha. It was located on a rooftop with an amazing vibe and great Mediterranean food.

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DAY 2

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Thursday morning we woke up, grabbed a coffee and went for a hike on the coastal trail which leads to a beautiful waterfall and view of the ports and downtown Nice. It is a decent uphill climb so make sure to wear comfortable shoes if you decide to do this.

We were hungry when we got back so we walked to Edmonds Cafe which I highly recommend. The fresh squeezed orange juice and Nutella pancakes were amazing!

We did a little shopping after lunch. Even though it’s a lot of the same stores we have in the states (Zara, Mango, etc) the clothes are always better in their Europe locations in my opinion. Then we popped to a restaurant across from our Airbnb for a quick glass of champagne and some Burrata to tie us over while we waited for our friend Ella to arrive!

We met Ella in Chicago when she was working as an expat. She’s back in the UK now so it was so fun she could take a short flight to come join us! Once she arrived, we got ready for dinner and headed to Oscar for a 7:30 reservation.

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DAY 3

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On Friday we booked an Airbnb experience with “Lovely Little Trip” to get a tour of the coast and it was one of my favorite things we did! After grabbing a quick croissant and coffee at Jeannot, we walked to meet our tour guide. Our driver took us through some of the most exclusive spots in Côte d’Azur…, explaining stories about different properties and the crazy wealth in the area. We also went to Eze and saw an amazing viewpoint! Highly recommend you do this on your trip!

After the tour we stopped for lunch at Ginette. Originally we were only going to get a quick drink, but they said we had to buy food and we decided that was probably a good idea LOL.

We relaxed for a bit and then went for drinks at La Terrasse a rooftop bar down the street. You don’t need reservations depending on the time your go. Great spot for photos and scenic views!

Don’t judge – but we were so hungry when we left, and didn’t feel like having a full sit down meal, so we stopped by McDonalds before heading down the street to the Le Bar at the Negresco hotel. Saving our money for you guessed it – more champagne 🙂 This hotel was Gorgeous!! If you have the money to splurge I would recommend staying there for a night.

We ended the day having some more champagne at the beach to watch the sunset. The beaches in Nice are ROCK so keep that in mind. The little liquor store down the street from our Airbnb would give out little paper cups you can bring with you to go at the beach – and had the nicest people working there!

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DAY 4

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Saturday we spend almost the whole day at the Rugh Plage Beach Club. We booked chairs in advanced, and I would recommend checking all the options and making a plan for where you want to go before your trip. If you go to South of France this is a must do activity! Again – these are ROCK beaches, so make sure to bring appropriate shoes!

That night we got ready and headed to dinner at Carmella which was maybe my favorite meal we had in Nice. It was Italian and just so delicious! This was after drinking champagne on the beach all day… so take that as you will.

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DAY 5

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Sunday morning we went for a walk and grabbed Brunch at Garden Cafe. Since Ella wasn’t with us the first day, we decided to do the hike again after breakfast which was much needed after all the food and champagne we were having. We walked down the opposite way we did on Day 2, and ended up closer to the wharf, where we stopped at FOAM for a relaxing drink.

After our hike, we went back to the Airbnb so Ella could pack up her stuff and head to the airport. Lauren and I wanted to have a chill evening, so we grabbed a Pizza at Bistrot De L ‘opera and went to the beach to watch the sunset again.

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DAY 6

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Monday we woke up, grabbed a quick breakfast and headed to the Rothschild Villa. We made a last minute decision to come here and I am so glad we did. There are 9 different gardens on the property: FRENCH, SPANISH, FLORENTINE, STONE, JAPANESE, EXOTIC, ROSE and PROVENÇAL. The history of this place is really interesting.. I can’t imagine calling a place like this home.

After we spent a few hours there, we walked around the surrounding area and ended up at Paloma Beach which is where they shot all the “Saint Tropez” scenes in Emily in Paris the Netflix Series. Funny how they weren’t actually in Saint Tropez. Since we were not dressed to actually lay out at the beach, we just walked down and took in the views.

That evening we booked a perfume making experience at Molinard. You got to smell a variety of different scents and put them together to make your own custom scent! The coolest part of this, is they give you a card with a number on it, so if you would like to re-order your signature scent, you can on their website!

After the class we headed to my most memorable dining experience in Nice at Le Plongeoir. This is a MUST if you go to Nice, but book far in advanced because the reservations fill up quickly. For reference – I booked in February for our trip in September. We did get a tip from our tour guide earlier in the week, that if you go early and have a cocktails right when they open you are more likely to get a table if there are any cancellations. Our reservation was at 6:45 and was the perfect time! We got there before it was super busy so we could get good photos, and as we ate dinner we got to see the most incredible sunset.

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DAY 7

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Our last morning in Nice, we packed up our Airbnb, and grabbed an Uber to head to Antibes where we would spend the rest of our trip. I will have another post recapping everything we did in Antibes! Including going to the famous Dior Spa!

Thanks for stopping by! If you are interested in the full itinerary drop a comment with your email and I will send it over!