Nice is a true gem of the Côte D’Azur, combining a rich, layered history shaped by many different cultures with gorgeous scenery and quintessential French Riviera glamour. Its compact and colourful Old Town is easily explored on foot, and venturing beyond the historic heart of the city, you’ll find a wealth of interesting architecture, Roman ruins, ritzy neighbourhoods and spectacular viewpoints. Our comprehensive full-day tour, combining a stroll through Vieux Nice with a scenic drive through the rest of the city, offers the best of both worlds, with your experienced local guide helping you discover the major highlights as well as some intriguing local favourites tailored to your particular interests.
On your private full-day tour, you will:
- Explore Nice with a knowledgeable local driver-guide;
- Enjoy convenient hotel pick-up and drop-off;
- Embark on a walking tour of Vieux Nice, and hear the stories behind historic buildings such as the Palais de Justice and the Sainte‑Réparate Cathedral;
- Visit the charming Cours Saleya Market;
- Climb up Castle Hill to take in stunning views over the city;
- Cruise along the majestic Promenade des Anglais, Nice’s grand main avenue;
- See some of the city’s most striking architecture, including the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, the Hôtel Negresco, Place Garibaldi, and the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum (MAMAC);
- Uncover remarkable Roman Ruins and lush gardens in Cimiez;
- Make the scenic journey up to Mont Boron, a verdant enclave with grand villas and extraordinary panoramic vistas.
Your guide will meet you at your hotel and lead you into Vieux Nice, the old town that has been the soul of the city since its earliest days. These narrow, cobblestone streets reward slow exploration, and your guide will ensure you see both the landmarks and the hidden corners that most visitors walk straight past. You'll take in the grandeur of Place Masséna, the city's elegant central square, before weaving through the old town to discover impressive buildings like the Palais de Justice and the Palace of the Kings of Sardinia, both of which speak to Nice's layered and often surprising history.
Your route may take you to the Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate, a lovely Baroque church that presides over the intimate Place Rossetti with quiet authority, and to the Opéra de Nice, whose ornate facade is a reminder of the city's longstanding appetite for culture and spectacle. You’ll also step inside the charming Cours Saleya, Nice's irresistible open-air market, where the stalls are piled high with olives, fresh produce, flowers, and the kind of local specialities that you'll find yourself thinking about long after you've left.
The morning culminates with a climb up Castle Hill, rising dramatically above the old town and the sea. The panoramic views from the top are among the finest in Nice, with the curve of the Baie des Anges laid out below you in one direction and the glittering harbour in the other. Along the way, you'll pass the Bellanda Tower, a distinctive round fortification with its own quiet history, and a picturesque waterfall that tends to catch visitors pleasantly off guard. It's a fittingly dramatic high point to the morning's explorations, after which you'll stroll back down into the city and along the Promenade des Anglais to lunch. Your guide will be happy to suggest somewhere that suits your taste, whether you're after a classic Niçois bistro or something a little more relaxed.
After lunch, you’ll avail of your private transportation to cruise along the Promenade des Anglais, with its procession of grand facades and that endlessly photogenic sweep of coastline. You'll pass the legendary Hôtel Negresco, with its pink dome and Belle Époque extravagance making it one of the most recognisable buildings on the entire Riviera, before heading to the Cathédrale Saint-Nicolas, Nice's Russian Orthodox Cathedral, a building so ornate and unexpected in its surroundings that it tends to stop people in their tracks. Built in the early 20th century to serve the large Russian aristocratic community that wintered on the Riviera, it remains one of the most architecturally striking buildings in the city.
From there, the tour heads up to Cimiez, the hillside neighbourhood that rises above the city to the northeast. This is where the European nobility came to winter in the belle époque era, and the grand villas and hotels of that golden age are still very much in evidence. But Cimiez also holds older secrets: the remains of a Roman settlement, including baths, an amphitheatre and the traces of a significant ancient town, sit in the middle of a quiet residential neighbourhood, surrounded by beautiful gardens that are peaceful enough to feel like a world apart from the city below.
Next comes Mont Boron, the wooded hill to the east of the city, whose position makes it one of the great viewpoints in the area. From up here, the perspective shifts dramatically: behind you, Nice and the full arc of the Baie des Anges; ahead, the stunning Rade de Villefranche, one of the deepest natural harbours in the Mediterranean, its impossibly blue water enclosed by hills on every side. It's a view that puts the whole stretch of this coastline into perspective, and a deeply satisfying note on which to approach the end of the day. The tour rounds out with a visit to Place Garibaldi, the handsome arcaded square on the northern edge of the old town named after the Italian nationalist hero who was born in Nice, and a look at the striking MAMAC building (The Modern and Contemporary Art Museum) whose bold geometric architecture makes it one of the city's most distinctive landmarks even from the outside.
By the time your guide returns you to your hotel or any alternative central location of your choice, you'll have enjoyed a riveting ride through one of the most beautiful cities in France, and gained a deeper appreciation for its distinctive history, architecture and culture.
