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Bucket list experience:

Last updated: 29 November, 2022
Expert travel writer: Dana Facaros

The region’s cuisine is a mix of Provencal and Italian food, using plenty of olive oil, sun-ripened fresh fruit and vegetables, seafood and lamb from the mountains.

Pasta often features – flavoured with pistou (similar to pesto) – and salad is ever-popular; truffles, caviar, lobster, and foie gras commonly feature in fine dining restaurants.

What to try

Although fashionable restaurants may disdain it as ‘common’, a salade Nicoise is a must-try – made with sun-ripened tomatoes, cucumber, onion, tuna, anchovies, hard-boiled eggs, capers and good olive oil. Look out for street stalls selling socca (a chickpea flour pancake), pissaladiere (onion and anchovy tart), pan bagnat (salade Nicoise sandwich) and tourte de blettes, a sweet pie made with Swiss chard.

Also see our round-up of traditional French foods to try in France.

The dining scene

Nice is the Cote d’Azur’s foodie central. It’s the only French city with a real street food culture; the almost-daily Cours Saleya food market has fresh produce food stalls selling all kinds of tasty local specialities. It’s also the only city in France with an AOC wine region right in the city limits: the excellent Vin de Bellet.

Like any big city, Nice offers a range of gourmet and inexpensive restaurants and bistrots; the new trend is bistronomy – creative gourmet food in informal bistro-style setting (these are usually tiny so be sure to book). Top chefs follow the money, so expect excellent restaurants in and around Nice, many of which are connected to five-star hotels.

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Price: Free
Minimum age: Any
Age suitable: 10+
When: All year around
Duration: Any

Getting there & doing it

Excellent restaurants are scattered fairly evenly across Nice, but the biggest concentrations are in Le Vieux Nice and Jean Medecin areas. Find Nice’s Michelin-starred restaurants in the online Michelin guide.

When to do it

In France most restaurants, especially in the evening, only do one ‘sitting.’  In Nice, however, many restaurants open earlier than the norm in France: the tourists dine at 6.30pm–7pm, while the locals don’t usually show up until 8.30pm or 9pm.

Chantecler
Experience

Chantecler

Nice, Cote d'Azur, France

Stunning after its recent restoration, the Negresco’s Chantecler restaurant is helmed by one of France’s top female chefs, Michelin-starred Virginie Basselot, whose cuisine deftly combines classic and contemporary. With its superb wines and service, dining here is an unforgettable experience.

Best for ages: 13+ | £70

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View looking down from above to the busy market of Cours Saleya in the centre of Nice City
Experience

Cours Saleya Food and Flower Market

Nice, Cote d'Azur, France

Nice’s food and flower market, held along the pedestrianised Cours Saleya esplanade, is packed with all the vibrant, sensuous colours, flavours and scents of the south: lavender, marzipan, sugared almonds, spices, herbal teas, takeaway socca and pissaladiere snacks. Held Tuesday to Sunday, around 6.30am to 1.30pm.

Best for ages: 13+ | Free

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Deli Bo
Experience

Deli Bo

Nice, Cote d'Azur, France

Nice’s most exquisite pastries are the stars, but Deli Bo (short for Delicatessen Bonaparte) also offer one of the city’s best breakfasts (including scrambled eggs with truffles), light lunches, fancy teas and coffees.

Best for ages: 13+ | Free

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Aerial view looking down onto a counter full of colourful home-made gelato
Experience

Fenocchio

Nice, Cote d'Azur, France

Since 1966, the Fenocchio family has produced Nice’s favourite ice cream and sorbets and sold them from their shop in the historic centre. The only downside is trying to decide which of the 94 flavours to try.

Best for ages: 13+ | Free

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Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity

NO DIET CLUB - Unique Local Food in Nice !

NO DIET CLUB - Unique Local Food in Nice !

Nice

We are Claudia and Anthony, two crazy frenchies passionated about food and carbs. Two years ago we've created the No Diet Club in London and...

€63 | Rating 4.94 / 5 [101 ratings]

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Nice Small-Group Walking Food Tour with Local Specialties & Wine Tasting

Nice Small-Group Walking Food Tour with Local Specialties & Wine Tasting

Nice

Eat your way around Vieux Nice – Nice’s old town – on a 3.5-hour food walking tour! Led by a local guide passionate about the region’s rich ...

€70 | Rating 4.75 / 5 [350 ratings]

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Viator Exclusive: Local Cooking Class & Dinner with View of Nice

Viator Exclusive: Local Cooking Class & Dinner with View of Nice

Nice

Learn how to cook like a local, from a local, by signing up for this Mediterranean cooking class in the beautiful home, with a sea view, of ...

€78 | Rating 4.22 / 5 [31 ratings]

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Nice Local Vineyards Small Group Half Day E-Bike Tour with Wine Tasting

Nice Local Vineyards Small Group Half Day E-Bike Tour with Wine Tasting

Nice

On this tour you will discover Nice's best kept secret on a E-bike tour to Bellet vineyard, where you'll sample high-quality AOC stamped win...

€80 | Rating 4.91 / 5 [293 ratings]

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Tour supplied by:

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Our writer’s picks of the best places to stay near this experience, closest first

Deck Hotel

Nice, Cote d'Azur, France

This fun, colourful and affordable design hotel channels this area’s beach clubs, just off Nice’s Promenade des Anglais.

Official star rating:

Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat

Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Cote d'Azur, France

This iconic hotel is the A-list choice along the Cote d’Azur, in a gorgeous seaside setting between Nice and Monaco.

Official star rating:

Hotel La Perouse

Nice, Cote d'Azur, France

Peaceful hotel next to Old Nice with to-die-for views over the ‘Bay of Angels’. The Cours Saleya market and Old Town are a few minutes’ walk away. Great for a first visit to the French Riviera.

Official star rating:

Hyatt Regency Palais de la Mediterranee

Nice, Cote d'Azur, France

Big, full-service hotel with a flashy image, set in a historic casino on Nice’s famous Promenade des Anglais seafront.

Official star rating:

Destination guides including or relevant to this experience

French Riviera

Cote d'Azur, France

Money, glamour and bombshell looks: this beach-trimmed stretch of French coast offers decadent hotels, lounging in beach clubs, fine restaurants and world-class art.

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Nice

Cote d'Azur, France

The buzzing, art-filled, foodie capital of the French Riviera, with a charming, Italian-influenced historic centre. The ideal base for a first-time visit to the Cote d’Azur, and home to the world-renowned Nice Carnival.

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