7 Best places to stay in Nice

Centrally located on the Promenade des Anglais – Nice’s iconic waterfront – this huge, glamorous hotel was built into a historic Art Deco casino by the Tattinger Champagne group. Rooms are comfy, smart and thoughtfully designed, with plenty of Riviera light pouring in – and there are striking public spaces, including spectacular indoor and outdoor pools, a sauna, gym and business centre.

There’s also a casino, as well as a slinky cocktail bar and excellent modern French restaurant, ticking all the boxes as a great base for couples, families or business travellers. The atmosphere is big, glam and flashy, even for the Cote d’Azur – a Vegas- or Monaco-like vibe – but rooms are cool and calm.

Multilingual staff go above and beyond to help you get out and experience the city in style, and glittering sea views from rooms, balconies and a serene rooftop add glamour to the experience.

A cheerful base for a few days in Nice, the Palais Saleya is set in a buttercup-coloured, 18th-century apartment building on the edge of the city’s old town.

The gleaming white suites, with mid-century furniture, bold art and murals, sleep up to four, while apartments sleep up to eight. The latter are especially good for self-catering, perhaps with produce from the nearby Cours Saleya market.

The location couldn’t be better for enjoying Nice – as well as the Old Town, it’s a few minutes’ walk to the beach, to the new town shopping district, and even the stop for the airport tram.

It has parking, too – great for anyone about to embark on a Cote d’Azur road trip or drive the Grand Corniche.

Located just off Nice’s Promenade des Anglais, this fun-loving, millennial-crowd hotel lives up to its name, with a nautical decor that gives a nod to the area’s sailing heritage.

With a casual-chic feel and bargain room rates (by Cote d’Azur standards), The Deck is filled with luminous Mediterranean shades of cerulean, white and navy, and fun design touches like swinging basket chairs and vintage South of France posters.

All the smart, modern bedrooms (or cabines as they’re known) have workstations, but when it’s time to relax, there’s a games room – with a matching blue and white pool table – and a wooden-deck bar on the top floor, serving affordable, fruity cocktails.

Built into a promontory on the Cote d’Azur, with spectacular views over the Baie des Anges, this 1930s hotel has the most enviable position in Nice.

The city’s pebble beach is just below, while a short walk around the headland is the port, where you’ll find less touristy bars and restaurants than along the promenade. The Cours Saleya flower market and Old Town are a few minutes’ walk away, too.

Recently refurbished rooms all have balconies or terraces, and there’s an impressive heated pool built into the rock – the seafront balconies feel like royal box seats over Nice.

Factor in an excellent restaurant, and helpful staff, and it’s a good bet for first-time visitors, or couples popping down for a romantic Riviera weekend.

Of all the resort towns east of Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer is the most charming and laid-back, with pretty beaches and Medieval history – as well as this charming hotel, right by the sea.

An inn for over two centuries, it’s a key part of Cote d’Azur history: Isadora Duncan stayed here before her fatal Bugatti ride in Nice, and for decades it was a second home for Jean Cocteau, who painted the murals in the nearby chapel of Saint-Pierre des Pecheurs.

Modern, unpretentious, spruced up to a four-star standard and run by lovely people, all of its light-filled rooms have sea views – at great-value rates. Sitting out on a warm summer evening, whether on your balcony or in the hotel’s portside wine bar, is a total delight.

Just outside the pedestrianised area of Old Nice, and a short walk to its beach, this affordable, light-filled boutique hotel has a large, sunny garden, bright with bougainvillea and scented with jasmine.

Breakfast is served there on fine days, and when you’ve done your sightseeing, lounge chairs beckon for lazing with a drink from the bar – you can even join in a game of petanque. Recently renovated, rooms come in various sizes and soothing, modern colours; many have balconies, too. Try to get one overlooking the garden.

The staff are charming and friendly, and there are a handful of parking spaces, too (first come, first served).

Located at the far eastern end of Nice’s iconic Promenade des Anglais, with views over the city’s ‘Bay of Angels’, this cheerful hotel offers the chance to stay in the heart of Nice without breaking the bank.

Set in a particularly picturesque row of pastel facades at the bottom of the city’s Colline du Chateau hill, rooms are airy and modern in soothing shades – and lively Old Nice, with its bars and restaurants, is within easy walking distance.

One big draw is the hotel’s sweeping sea views, seen from this historic building’s many balconies: there are 38 rooms in total and 35 have sea views – traditional rooms don’t have balconies, but superior rooms and all higher categories have balconies facing magical, Matisse-like vistas of the Mediterranean. The one suite has a separate living room, balcony and terrace.

Parking is available, a few minutes away; and the hotel has a special partnership with a nearby private beach club, offering discounts on sunbed rentals.