Gîtes and Villas near Nice

Nice sits on the Côte d'Azur with the Mediterranean on one side and the Maritime Alps rising behind. The Promenade des Anglais stretches along the seafront, backed by Belle Époque hotels and apartment blocks painted in ochre and terracotta. The old town — Vieux Nice — is a grid of narrow streets where shutters hang above greengrocers and small restaurants serving socca and pissaladière.

British holidaymakers fly direct into Nice Côte d'Azur in under two hours, or drive down through France in a long day. The gîtes near Nice offer a base for the beaches, the hilltop villages inland, and day trips into Monaco and the mountains.

About Nice

Nice has been a resort since the 19th century, when English aristocrats wintered here and funded the seafront promenade that still carries their name. The city feels more Italian than Parisian — it was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia until 1860 — and you hear that in the accent and see it in the architecture of the old quarter.

The Colline du Château is a park on a low headland that divides the old port from the sweeping bay. Climb the steps for views over the terracotta roofs and the curve of the coast. The Russian Orthodox Cathédrale Saint-Nicolas de Nice, with its six onion domes, marks the Belle Époque when Russian nobility settled here. The Matisse Museum and Marc Chagall National Museum sit in the northern suburbs, both holding significant collections of 20th-century art.

Self-catering options suit families and longer stays. The covered market at Cours Saleya opens every morning except Monday, when it becomes an antiques market. You can buy olives, cheese, fruit, and flowers, then cook in your rental or eat on a café terrace. The weather is warmest June to September, but spring and autumn are quieter and still mild enough for the beach.

Things to do near Nice

The Colline du Château is a public park on the site of a former citadel, reached by steps or a free lift, with panoramic views over the city and bay. Èze Village is a medieval hilltop settlement perched 400 metres above the coast, about 20 minutes east by car, with stone houses clinging to the rock and craft shops in the narrow lanes. The Jardin Exotique d'Èze surrounds the ruins at the summit, planted with succulents and cacti.

Monaco is 20 kilometres east. The Prince's Palace of Monaco overlooks the harbour and opens for guided tours in summer. The Musée océanographique de Monaco is built into the cliffside, with aquarium tanks and exhibits on marine science. The Casino de Monte-Carlo, in its Belle Époque building with gilt interiors, draws visitors for the architecture as much as the gaming rooms.

Inland, the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild sits on a headland at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. The pink villa holds decorative art collections and is surrounded by nine themed gardens with views over both sides of the peninsula. Nice itself has the Matisse Museum, showing paintings, sculptures, and paper cut-outs, and the Marc Chagall National Museum, purpose-built to display the artist's biblical works.

Food & drink

Niçoise cuisine borrows from Provence and Liguria. Socca is a chickpea pancake cooked on a wide iron pan and sold hot from street stalls in Vieux Nice. Pissaladière is a flatbread topped with onions, anchovies, and black olives. Salade niçoise — when made properly — includes tomatoes, anchovies, hard-boiled eggs, and olive oil, but no cooked vegetables.

The Marché Aux Fleurs at Cours Saleya runs every morning except Monday, selling fruit, vegetables, cheese, olives, and cut flowers under striped awnings. It's the best place to stock a gîte kitchen. Local wines come from the Bellet appellation in the hills north of the city — small production, mostly red and rosé. Olive oil from the hinterland is peppery and green. In summer, look for courgette flowers and small violet artichokes at the market stalls.

Getting there

Nice Côte d'Azur airport is six kilometres west of the city centre, with direct flights from London, Manchester, Bristol, and Birmingham taking around two hours. Tram line 2 connects the airport terminals to the centre in 30 minutes. Marseille Provence airport is 168 kilometres west, an alternative if you're touring Provence as well.

Driving from Calais takes around 11 hours on the autoroutes via Lyon and Aix-en-Provence. Paris Gare du Nord, the Eurostar terminus, is 688 kilometres north — you can connect to TGV services down to Nice, a journey of about six hours in total. The ferry port at Caen/Ouistreham, served by Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth, is 844 kilometres northwest, a full day's drive through central France.