Nice Travel Guide

Getting There:

By Air:

Fhe Nice-Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE) (+33 4898 8828/http://www.nice.aeroport.fr) provides some of the world's most beautiful take-offs and landings. Expanding out on a peninsula like a beached sunbather, some four miles outside of Nice proper, the dual terminal airport butts up against the Mediterranean Sea, with flights shooting out over the waters offering views of the Alps, the jaw dropping cliffs between Nice and Monaco and the beaches along the Rivera. The airport has numerous amenities like shops, restaurants and bars, massage-while-you-wait services (+33 6 8833 6697), a business center (+34 9321 3073), vaccination center, currency exchange stations, info desks, and ATMs. Airlines include:

Air France (+1 800 237 2747 +0820 820 820/ http://www.airfrance.com )

Air Transat (+877 872 6728, http://www.airtransat.com )

Alitalia (+800 223 5730 (US)/+0820 315 315 (France)/http://www.alitalia.com )

Blu-Express (+39 06 60214577/ http://www.blu-express.com )

Blue1 (+358 20 585 6000/ http://www.blue1.com )

BMI Baby (+0890 710 081 (France)/http://www.bmibaby.com )

British Airways (+1 800 247 9297 (US)/+0825 825 400 France)/http://www.britishairways.com )

Delta (+1 800 221 1212 (US)/+0800 354 080 (France)/http://www.delta-air.com )

Easy Jet (+871 244 2366/ http://www.easyjet.com )

Germanwings (+44 870 252 12 50/ http://www1.germanwings.com )

Jet 2 (+44 207 1700737/ http://www.jet2.com )

KLM (+0890 710 710 (France)/http://www.klm.com )

Lufthansa (+1 800 645 3880 (US)/+0820 20 2030 (France)/http://cms.lufthansa.com )

My Travel (+870 238 7710/ http://www.mytravel.com )

Norwegian (+47 21 49 00 15/ http://www.norwegian.no ) Qantas (+1 800 227 4500 (US)/+0820 820 500 (France)/http://www.qantas.com )

SAS (+0825 325 335 (France)/http://www.scandinavian.net )

Sky Europe (+421 2 4850 1111/ http://www1.skyeurope.com )

Sterling.dk Airline (+457 033 3370/ http://www.sterlingticket.com )

TAP Portugal ( +351 707 205 700/ http://www.flytap.com )

Transavia (+312 0406 0406/ http://www.transavia.com )

Virgin Express (+0821 2230 202 (France)/http://www.virgin-express.com )

Ground Transportation:

Car hire companies at the airport include:

ADA (+0825 169 169 (France)/http://www.ada.fr ) Avis (+1 800 230 4898 (US)/+0820 050 505 (France)/http://www.avis.com ) Budget (+1 800 527 0700 (US)/+0825 003 564 (France)/http://www.budget.com ) Europcar (+0825 352 352 (France)/http://www.europcar.fr ) Hertz (+1 800 654 3131 (US)/+0825 361 361 (France)/http://www.hertz.com ) Sixt (+33 (0)1 44 38 5555/http://www.e-sixt.com ) Citer/National (+33 (0)1 44 38 6161/http://www.citer.com )

Driving into Nice from the airport is a simple matter of finding your way through a couple of roundabouts to the famed Promenade des Anglais. For a less dramatic entrance opt for the N7. If Cannes or Monaco/Italy is the final destination, the A8 travels to both, although in different directions. The N7 and N98 will also get you to Cannes.

Taxis line up outside each terminal. Trips into Nice are relatively quick and once all the surcharges add up the fare will set you back about EUR25. If Cannes is your destination expect to pay around EUR70.

Various bus companies combine to offer 23 routes connecting the airport with more than 100 destinations between Genoa in the east and Marseille and Avignon in the west and Valle d'Allos and Auron up north in the Alps. Buses depart from the airport to Nice every 10 minutes from 6a-10p.

The Nice St Agustin train station lies just north of terminal one, but is still a good 15-20 minute hike on foot, which is troublesome with a load of luggage. Plus, service at the station varies widely so waiting for a train could be inconvenient depending on when you touch down. Getting into Nice proper is less of a hassle by bus or cab. If Cannes or one of the other regional towns is your destination, then the train is a viable option. .trains leave every 30 minutes or so. Other alternatives include taking one of the frequent buses that go to Gare Nice Ville (the central train station) where the rail choices open up considerably.

Alternatives for the jet-setters include helicopter transport to just about any place in the region, although Monaco and St. Tropez get the most attention, with flights leaving about every 20 minutes. Also, during the summer Air France (+0820 820 820/http://www.airfrance.com ) has a speedy water ferry that shuttles passengers to and from St Tropez. The journey lasts two hours and fares start at EUR59.

By Bus:

Eurolines (http://www.eurolines.com ) has a limited number of routes between Nice and other European cities. Most buses pull into the Gare Routire station in the town center. A fleet of local bus companies serve the region with frequent jaunts from Nice to Genoa, Cannes, Antibes, Marseille, and St Tropez.

By Car:

The A8 toll expressway rushes along the northern edge of the city heading west to Cannes and east to Monaco and Italy. The N7 also runs east/west and cuts through the heart of the city. The road is toll free, but only two lanes and can be congested during the peak season. The N98 parallels the coast and is the winding scenic drive connecting Nice with Cannes, Monaco and Italy. The narrow, bike filled D19 and the three-lane (the third being a nerve racking shared passing lane) N202 descend into Nice from the Alps to the north. The A7 is the major northbound approach from Paris and Lyon. It merges with the A8 at Aix-en-Provence.

By Train:

Gare Nice-Ville is the headquarters for all trains coming to and from Nice. SNCF (+33 4 9214 8252/http://www.sncf.fr ), France's national rail management company, oversees the lines, which run east along the coast through Monaco and down the boot of Italy to Rome, and west to Marseille before turning north to Paris. If you can nab a seat on a TGV high speed train (four to five daily in summer/two daily in winter) the journey time between Paris and Nice is 6 hours. If you catch a regular train you are looking at drifting across France for 8 to 12 hours, making numerous night trains are available. Chemins de Fer de Provence (+33 4 97 03 8080/http://www.trainprovence.com) zigzags and climbs into the Alps four times daily to Digne.

By Water:

Next to the Caribbean, more cruise liners sail the Mediterranean Sea than any other water way in the world. A multitude of the massive cities on water call at the port of Nice-Villefranche (+33 (0)4 93 01 78 05/http://www.riviera-ports.com ). The luxury yachts and pleasure boats that are as synonymous with the Riviera as sunshine moor up the coastline at the Port of Nice (+33 820 425 555/http://www.riviera-ports.com).

Getting Around:

Nice and its environs are deceptively spread out, which you quickly learn this if you choose to tackle sightseeing on foot. Plus, once the city starts heading inland from the sea it begins to rise toward the Alps. Thus, steep inclines can make walking more of a workout than a leisurely excursion. This is where a car comes in handy, or Nice's public transport system, which consists primarily of Sunbus (+33 8 92 70 7407/http://www.sunbus.com) buses rumbling to all nooks of town.

Cruising up and down the long crescent stretch of the Promenade des Anglais, preferably in a convertible soaking up the summer sun, is a popular pastime for those who travel to Nice. And unlike Cannes' compact center, which is plagued with traffic year round, Nice is exceptionally manageable by car during the off season, with parking readily available just about anywhere. However, during the peak summer season streets clog with the flashy automobiles and parking becomes a street by street lottery...with poor odds. That said, a car isn't necessary to get around town. Taxis are readily obtainable outside Gare SCNF (train station) and the Acropolis (convention center), along the Promenade des Anglais and the Esplanade Massna. Or you can telephone Central Taxi Riviera (+33 4 9313 7878) 24/7.

Nice is also extremely bike friendly (barring a few cobblestoned passageways), and is the perfect destination for any cycling enthusiast looking to endure the hilly roads like the pros riding the Tour de France. During the peak season (June-August) the long stretch of concrete boardwalk alongside the Promenade des Anglais becomes congested with two wheeled machines of all sorts. Dodging sight-seers peering off to sea, walkers (opting to avoid the pebble ridden beach), runners and roller-bladers is an adventure in and of itself.

If a day trip to Corsica is on the agenda the appropriately named Corsica Ferries (+33 4 92 00 42 93/http://www.corsicaferries.com ) has daily service to both Calvi and Bastia.2008-08-02T07:29:22.000 17