# Three nights in Nice by plane from Spain: Vieux Nice, Chagall and Matisse, a boat to Villefranche and dinner over the sea

Direct flight to Nice, tram 2 to the centre and three days on foot and by bus: the Cours Saleya and the hill, socca and a boat, Chagall and Matisse in Cimiez and a dinner over the sea.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/france/provence-alpes-cote-dazur/nice/itineraries/three-nights-by-plane-from-spain · Revisado: 2026-11-12

Dónde: Nice

Nice is one of the cities of the French Mediterranean that is best done by plane from Spain: there are direct flights from Madrid and Barcelona, the airport is beside the sea and tram 2 drops you in the centre without needing a taxi. In three nights you see Vieux Nice and its market, the bay from the hill, the coast from a boat and the two painters' museums on Cimiez hill, and you eat socca, Niçoise cooking and a dinner on a rock in the sea.

## How do you get there from Spain?

By plane to Nice Côte d'Azur (NCE), with direct flights from Madrid and Barcelona. From both terminals, tram 2 goes to the centre and the port. A single ticket costs €1.70 and the AERO return €10; you pay with a €2 rechargeable card sold at the machines or with the Lignes d'Azur app. By car from the La Jonquera border it is over 600 km of motorway, and in Nice the car is surplus.

## Where to sleep?

AccommodationAreaFor whom

Hôtel Beau RivageBetween Vieux Nice and the beachTo have everything on foot; admits dogs and has apartments for families

Hôtel WindsorNear the Promenade des AnglaisArtist rooms and a garden with a pool

Villa Saint-Exupéry Beach HostelNext to the place MassénaTo spend little, with private rooms and dorms with a bathroom

## And in winter?

From November to early March there is no boat from Nice. Swap Friday afternoon's trip for the museums and leave Sunday for Monaco by train. The Cimiez museums close on Tuesdays, so the plan, from Thursday to Sunday, does not hit them.

## With children

The hill has a play area and a climbing net, the boat costs €20 for ages 4 to 10 and is free for under-4s, and Chez Pipo is food to eat with your hands. Under-18s do not pay at the Matisse. The Beau Rivage has apartments for four and six people.

## El plan

### Thursday · 19:00 · Arrival
You land in Nice, take tram 2 and leave your suitcase at the hotel. Dinner at Le Safari, on the Cours Saleya, which serves until midnight.

### Friday · 09:00 · Cours Saleya market
Flowers, fruit and coffee on a terrace. The market opens Tuesday to Sunday mornings.

### Friday · 10:30 · Castle Hill
By the steps at the end of the old town or by the free lift. The Baie des Anges on one side and the port on the other.

### Friday · 12:30 · Socca at Chez Pipo
Next to the port, no booking. Open Wednesday to Sunday.

### Friday · 15:00 · Boat to Villefranche
An hour with Trans Côte d'Azur from the quai Lunel, March to October. €24; book beforehand.

### Friday · 19:30 · Dinner at Le Plongeoir
On a rock at the harbour mouth, with the sunset. Book on its website.

### Saturday · 10:00 · Chagall Museum
The Biblical Message first thing. Free for under-26s from the European Union.

### Saturday · 11:45 · Matisse Museum
By bus to Cimiez. Afterwards, the monastery garden and the painter's tomb.

### Saturday · 14:00 · Free afternoon
Go down to the centre, eat something in Vieux Nice and stroll along the Promenade des Anglais to the beach.

### Sunday · 10:00 · Train excursion
Take a regional train at Nice-Ville to Villefranche, Monaco or Antibes, and return in time for the tram to the airport.

## Un consejo más

If you are going to see more than one municipal museum, the four-day pass costs €15 and covers the Matisse. The Chagall is national and is not included.

## Cuándo no ir

Private beach loungers in August: you pay for a patch of pebbles next to a hundred others. Swim early at the public stretches.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How much does the getaway cost?
Excluding flights, with a mid-range hotel, tickets, boat, transport and meals, from about €400 per person for the three nights.

### Do you need a car?
No. The centre is done on foot, Cimiez by bus and the excursions by train.

### What is the best time?
May, June and September: there is a boat, the sea is mild and there are fewer people than in July and August.

### Can it be done in two nights?
Yes, dropping the Sunday excursion; Friday and Saturday stay the same.

## Dónde dormir without a car
- **Hôtel Beau Rivage, between the Cours Saleya and the Sea**: Where it is
On the rue Saint-François-de-Paule, the street that separates Vieux Nice from the Promenade des Anglais: on one side you have the Cours Saleya; on the other, across the promenade, the beach. For a first trip to Nice without a car it is hard to find a better-placed spot. The flower market is next door and tram 2 from the airport stops nearby. The hotel reckons 20 minutes by tram from the airport, or 15 by taxi.
It is one of the oldest hotels in the city. Henri Matisse stayed at the Beau Rivage when he arrived in Nice in December 1917, and the hotel recalls that Chekhov also passed through here. Behind the 19th-century façade, the interior is contemporary, with nods to Niçois tradition.
Rooms and apartments
There are many categories. The classic rooms, of 15 to 20 m², look onto the street or a quiet inner courtyard. The superior ones, of 22 m², are on the third floor. The Privilège and Premium rooms, of 24 to 33 m², are the most recent, with Mediterranean décor; some have a private terrace over the courtyard. The junior suite has 35 m² and a terrace with a little sea view. The hotel also rents apartments with kitchens: a studio for two, two 50 m² apartments for four and one 70 m² with two bedrooms and a sea view for six, useful if you travel as a family.
Breakfast, beach and services
Booking on their website or by phone, breakfast is included; through other platforms it costs €22 per person. It is served from 7:00 to 10:30. There is no restaurant in the hotel, but the bar is open from 11:00 to midnight with something to eat. Opposite, across the promenade, is the Plage Beau Rivage, from the same group, with loungers at €35 for hotel guests, payment in cash and booking a day ahead, and a beach restaurant open all year. Animals are accepted, with a supplement of €22 a night. It has no parking of its own: there is a public car park nearby at €22 a day that the hotel books for you if you ask.
- **Hôtel Windsor, the Artists' Hotel with a Tropical Garden**, desde 90 € / night: The house
The Windsor is a stone building from 1896, the work of an architect from the Eiffel school, turned into a hotel in the early 20th century. Since 1942 it has belonged to the Redolfi family, who have raised it from a two-star guest house to a four-star hotel, a category it has held since 2012. It is on the rue Dalpozzo, a few steps from the Promenade des Anglais and the pedestrian zone.
What sets it apart is art. Since 1989, the family has invited contemporary artists to turn entire rooms into works: today there are 33 artist rooms, others with frescoes by Antoine Beaudoin and others dedicated to an artist or a work. The lobby changes with each exhibition and at the end of November the hotel hosts a contemporary art fair in its own rooms.
The rooms and the garden
No room is the same as another. They range from the Intimité, of 15 m² and with a shower, which look onto the street, to the Privilège, of 27 m², with a balcony over the garden; the Premium ones have a whirlpool bath. All have air conditioning.
The garden is the other reason to sleep here: a small tropical forest around a giant ficus, with bamboo, palm trees, fruit trees and an aviary, in the middle of the centre. It has a 10 by 4 metre swimming pool, heated from May to the end of October. In summer breakfast, at €19 as a buffet, is served in the shade of the ficus from 7:00 to 10:30, and the restaurant, with the Maître Restaurateur label, cooks Mediterranean dishes with local produce. There is a hammam, sauna, fitness room and massages by reservation.
Prices and how to get there
The hotel states that in winter, on promotion, a small room on the street can cost from €90, and that in summer the Privilège rooms can exceed €340. Booking on their website or by phone, cancellation is free up to 24 hours before. It has eight parking spaces and a garage, always by reservation. From the airport, tram 2 drops you in the centre.
- **Villa Saint-Exupéry Beach Hostel, a Hostel by Place Masséna**: Where it is
On rue Sacha Guitry, a short street behind the Galeries Lafayette, a step from place Masséna. The hostel says it is fifty metres from Vieux Nice and two minutes' walk from the beach. It is a good base if you travel alone, with friends or on a small budget and want to get around on foot and by tram: the Cours Saleya, the Promenade des Anglais and avenue Jean-Médecin are just round the corner.
From the airport, take tram 2 at terminal 1 or 2 and get off at Jean Médecin; from there follow the tram line to the Masséna stop and pass the Galeries Lafayette. From Nice-Ville station it is about ten minutes on foot following the tram line, or two stops to Masséna. The hostel says trams run about every six minutes, from 6:00 to 2:00.
Rooms and dorms
There are private single, double, twin and triple rooms, and shared dorms of 4 to 10 beds. All rooms, dorms included, have their own renovated bathroom and air conditioning, and are cleaned daily. The dorms have lockers. Towels are not included: bring your own or buy one at reception. For groups of young people there is a separate space.
Services and atmosphere
It is a sociable, lively hostel, one of the big ones in Nice. It has a bar with a happy hour from 18:00 to 20:00, a gym, free wifi, free left-luggage, laundry service and access to a kitchen. They organise a free walking tour with a guide and a pub crawl, and sell diving and snorkelling excursions. If you are after silence at midnight, it is not your place; if you want to meet people and spend little in an expensive city, it is.

## Dónde dormir if you're flying
- **Hôtel Beau Rivage, between the Cours Saleya and the Sea**: Where it is
On the rue Saint-François-de-Paule, the street that separates Vieux Nice from the Promenade des Anglais: on one side you have the Cours Saleya; on the other, across the promenade, the beach. For a first trip to Nice without a car it is hard to find a better-placed spot. The flower market is next door and tram 2 from the airport stops nearby. The hotel reckons 20 minutes by tram from the airport, or 15 by taxi.
It is one of the oldest hotels in the city. Henri Matisse stayed at the Beau Rivage when he arrived in Nice in December 1917, and the hotel recalls that Chekhov also passed through here. Behind the 19th-century façade, the interior is contemporary, with nods to Niçois tradition.
Rooms and apartments
There are many categories. The classic rooms, of 15 to 20 m², look onto the street or a quiet inner courtyard. The superior ones, of 22 m², are on the third floor. The Privilège and Premium rooms, of 24 to 33 m², are the most recent, with Mediterranean décor; some have a private terrace over the courtyard. The junior suite has 35 m² and a terrace with a little sea view. The hotel also rents apartments with kitchens: a studio for two, two 50 m² apartments for four and one 70 m² with two bedrooms and a sea view for six, useful if you travel as a family.
Breakfast, beach and services
Booking on their website or by phone, breakfast is included; through other platforms it costs €22 per person. It is served from 7:00 to 10:30. There is no restaurant in the hotel, but the bar is open from 11:00 to midnight with something to eat. Opposite, across the promenade, is the Plage Beau Rivage, from the same group, with loungers at €35 for hotel guests, payment in cash and booking a day ahead, and a beach restaurant open all year. Animals are accepted, with a supplement of €22 a night. It has no parking of its own: there is a public car park nearby at €22 a day that the hotel books for you if you ask.
- **Hôtel Windsor, the Artists' Hotel with a Tropical Garden**, desde 90 € / night: The house
The Windsor is a stone building from 1896, the work of an architect from the Eiffel school, turned into a hotel in the early 20th century. Since 1942 it has belonged to the Redolfi family, who have raised it from a two-star guest house to a four-star hotel, a category it has held since 2012. It is on the rue Dalpozzo, a few steps from the Promenade des Anglais and the pedestrian zone.
What sets it apart is art. Since 1989, the family has invited contemporary artists to turn entire rooms into works: today there are 33 artist rooms, others with frescoes by Antoine Beaudoin and others dedicated to an artist or a work. The lobby changes with each exhibition and at the end of November the hotel hosts a contemporary art fair in its own rooms.
The rooms and the garden
No room is the same as another. They range from the Intimité, of 15 m² and with a shower, which look onto the street, to the Privilège, of 27 m², with a balcony over the garden; the Premium ones have a whirlpool bath. All have air conditioning.
The garden is the other reason to sleep here: a small tropical forest around a giant ficus, with bamboo, palm trees, fruit trees and an aviary, in the middle of the centre. It has a 10 by 4 metre swimming pool, heated from May to the end of October. In summer breakfast, at €19 as a buffet, is served in the shade of the ficus from 7:00 to 10:30, and the restaurant, with the Maître Restaurateur label, cooks Mediterranean dishes with local produce. There is a hammam, sauna, fitness room and massages by reservation.
Prices and how to get there
The hotel states that in winter, on promotion, a small room on the street can cost from €90, and that in summer the Privilège rooms can exceed €340. Booking on their website or by phone, cancellation is free up to 24 hours before. It has eight parking spaces and a garage, always by reservation. From the airport, tram 2 drops you in the centre.
- **Villa Saint-Exupéry Beach Hostel, a Hostel by Place Masséna**: Where it is
On rue Sacha Guitry, a short street behind the Galeries Lafayette, a step from place Masséna. The hostel says it is fifty metres from Vieux Nice and two minutes' walk from the beach. It is a good base if you travel alone, with friends or on a small budget and want to get around on foot and by tram: the Cours Saleya, the Promenade des Anglais and avenue Jean-Médecin are just round the corner.
From the airport, take tram 2 at terminal 1 or 2 and get off at Jean Médecin; from there follow the tram line to the Masséna stop and pass the Galeries Lafayette. From Nice-Ville station it is about ten minutes on foot following the tram line, or two stops to Masséna. The hostel says trams run about every six minutes, from 6:00 to 2:00.
Rooms and dorms
There are private single, double, twin and triple rooms, and shared dorms of 4 to 10 beds. All rooms, dorms included, have their own renovated bathroom and air conditioning, and are cleaned daily. The dorms have lockers. Towels are not included: bring your own or buy one at reception. For groups of young people there is a separate space.
Services and atmosphere
It is a sociable, lively hostel, one of the big ones in Nice. It has a bar with a happy hour from 18:00 to 20:00, a gym, free wifi, free left-luggage, laundry service and access to a kitchen. They organise a free walking tour with a guide and a pub crawl, and sell diving and snorkelling excursions. If you are after silence at midnight, it is not your place; if you want to meet people and spend little in an expensive city, it is.