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Nice is the Riviera’s practical answer: a real city with an international airport, a five-kilometre promenade and everything glamorous on the coast within a short train ride. You get Côte d’Azur days without Côte d’Azur room rates.
Use it as a base
Villefranche-sur-Mer is ten minutes by train and has the prettiest harbour on the coast. Cap Ferrat is a walk-and-swim afternoon. Antibes and Cannes are half an hour west.
The beaches
Nice’s beaches are pebble, not sand — bring proper shoes for the water. The private beach clubs along the Promenade des Anglais hire out loungers by the day and are worth it here.
When to go
June and September are ideal. July and August are hot, busy and expensive, and Cannes empties of locals entirely.