Located in the French Riviera, Nice is France’s fifth largest city and is just under 35 km from Cannes.
Popular for its Promenade des Anglais and its 7 km of beach alongside, Nice has one of the largest stretches of beach in the French Riviera.
The old port of Nice is a marina today, lined with the luxury yachts of the super-rich visitors and residents. Enjoy a stroll along the narrow streets and admire the houses painted in warm colours, reds, yellows and ochre.
Nice Côte d’Azur Airport is the third busiest airport in France. It is the principle arrival port for the passengers of Cote d’Azur and it is very easy to navigate. People continue to go to this airport because they know that it gives them ample access to the nearest destinations, such as getting to Cannes, Le Cannet and Vallauris. Like most airports, it maybe advisable to arrange transport in advance to save waiting around at busy times
Many popular airlines fly to the French Riviera from Great Britain including ones such as Ryanair, Monarch and EasyJet. Even British airways have scheduled flights to Nice airport. With more than thirty countries offering low priced flights, Nice has become a very popular holiday resort for all.
For things to do in Nice, you don’t need to look any further than the Promenade de Paillon and Marineland, both thrilling days out for children. The Promenade de Paillon is an acrobatic show of choreographed water features spread over a beautiful layout of gardens. The shows set out have artistic and creative flair in abundance and capture the imagination with the intricate displays of shoots, swirls and added light affects. It’s free for all so it’s a must see as well as a cheap alternative to the big trips out. Kids have plenty of room to run around in the scenic gardens and lots of things for them to play on as well.
Just fifteen minutes from Nice international airport is the incredible Marineland. This marine park includes some very entertaining dolphin shows, a fascinating shark tank & penguin shows. Marineland is also one of those places that captures the imagination of a child but it is also a show the whole family will love. With the orcas as the star attractions you can visit day and night shows of these majestic, powerful and extremely intelligent creatures perform unbelievable displays of power, skill, intelligence and dexterity. You can see the bond they form with their trainers and the trust the orcas and the trainers have with each other is nothing short of absolute. It’s a show you’re going to want to see again and again, one that will still give you goosebumps when you look back at the pictures that you take of it.
You’re going to want to save space on your phones for photographs of the other shows as well, which include the dolphin and sea lion shows. This too is entertaining yet revealing, especially when it comes to observing the animal’s intelligence.
The facilities and food are good and accessible car parking is available. All the staff are very helpful and friendly so if you need anything they’re always available to help you out.
Marineland may not be as cheap as the Promenade de Paillon but it is a whole day event and has far more things to do and explore so get a good nights sleep, get there early and don’t leave until the end of the orca night show at the very earliest. After a day spent here, you too may echo the sentiments of many adults, who often say that “this was the best day out of my childhood, I can’t praise it enough” Yes its a ‘must see’ and it’s recommended to put it at the top of your ‘things to do’ list if you’re planning a visit to the fun and always sunny Nice.
For more information and reviews on various France regions, please see our Cannes and the French Riviera page
