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⚠  MONACO GRAND PRIX 5–7 JUNE 2026 — Qualifying Saturday 6 June · Race Sunday 7 June · All buses and trains through Monaco jammed both days · Skip Monaco entirely or plan a different weekend [76]
UNESCO World Heritage · 2021 · 522 ha

Nice & Côte d'Azur

Weekend anchored on JAN ★ at 19:30 Saturday — Chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, 1 Michelin star, 20 seats. No car needed: TER + Lignes d'Azur reaches Cannes to Menton from €1.70.[67]

☀ June 24–27 °C 🌊 Sea 23 °C 🏨 Old Town from €160/night 🚆 TER every ~15 min Less crowded than Jul–Aug[75]

June Weather

☀ 24–27 °C daytime
🌙 17 °C nights
🌊 23 °C sea
⛅ ~12 h sunshine/day
🌧 ~4 rainy days[63]

📅 Saturday — anchored on JAN at 19:30
08:30–10:30
Cours Saleya market
Cours Saleya
Flower + Provençal market · socca slice · Tue–Sat 06:00–17:00[5]
10:30–13:00
Vieux Nice streets
Vieux Nice Walk
Place Rossetti · Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate · Palais Lascaris · 2–3 h loop[8]
13:00–14:00
🍕
Socca Lunch
Chez Pipo (port) or René Socca (Pairolière) · €4–8[38]
14:00–16:30
Nice beach Promenade
Promenade des Anglais
7 km · Le Negresco · pebble swim · 22 free sections[10]
16:30–18:00
View from Castle Hill over Bay of Angels
Castle Hill
360° views · free elevator (unreliable hours)[6]
18:00–19:15
🥂
Aperitivo
Place Rossetti gelato · or rosé on a Cours Saleya terrace
19:30
★
JAN Restaurant
1★ Michelin · Chef Jan Hendrik · 20 seats · tasting menu 2.5–3 h · book months ahead[42]
🗺 Day Trips — pick one for Sunday
bus #82 / #602 · 30+20 min · €1.70/leg
Corniche view towards Monaco
Èze Village + Monaco
Hilltop medieval village in the morning (beat cruise crowds), principality sights in the afternoon.[14]
⚠ June 6–7 = Monaco GP qualifying + race. Do Èze only and return.
TER 5 min €2.10 + bus #15 · full day ~7 h
Cap Ferrat coastal path
Villefranche + Cap Ferrat
Citadel · Rue Obscure · Plage des Marinières · 6–7 km sentier littoral · Villa Ephrussi €18.[15]
Skip if: you don't swim.
TER 25–40 min · €5.20–€7.90
⚓
Antibes + Cannes + Lérins
Musée Picasso at Château Grimaldi · Cap d'Antibes coastal path · ferry to Île Sainte-Marguerite from €16.[19]
Skip if: you can't handle June crowds in Cannes.
TER 40 min · ~€6 each way
Menton pastel old town
Menton
Belle Époque pastels · Cocteau Museum · citrus-tinted Old Town · Plage des Sablettes. Sit right side for sea views.[22]
Skip if: you want quintessential Riviera — Menton feels Italian.
TER + Zou #655 · ~€5.90
🎨
Saint-Paul-de-Vence + Maeght
Fondation Maeght €18: Miró, Giacometti, Calder in Sert's purpose-built complex.[30] Medieval hill town.
Skip if: 2-leg public-transport puzzle frustrates you.
🍽 Eat Niçoise
What to order

Socca

Wood-fired chickpea galette — pure, hot, cheap. The canonical Niçoise street food.[40]

→ Chez Pipo or René Socca

Pissaladière

Caramelised onion + anchovy + Niçois-olive tart on thin crust.

⚠ No cheese — ever.

Pan-bagnat

Round bread soaked with salade niçoise fillings — takeaway single portion.

Salade niçoise

Raw veg + hard-boiled egg + tuna/anchovy. Jacques Médecin codified it, 1972.[41]

⚠ No potato. No green beans.

Petits farcis

Courgette, tomato, onion stuffed with herbs and meat.

Tourte de blettes

Chard tart with raisins + pine nuts. Sweet or savoury — the definitive Niçoise vegetable-as-dessert oddity.[48]

Where to eat
La Merenda
Cult bistro · Vieux Nice
Pissaladière, stockfish, tourte de blettes[45]
No phone · no cards · walk in to book
Bistrot d'Antoine
Bib Gourmand
Off the chalkboard, daily market menu[44]
Book ahead · closed Sun–Mon
Olive & Artichaut
Bib Gourmand
Mediterranean small plates · rue Sainte Réparate[47]
Chez Acchiardo
90-yr family trattoria · Vieux Nice
Petits farcis, grilled meats[46]
Flaveur ★★
Only 2 Michelin stars in Nice
Tourteaux brothers · 25 rue Gubernatis[42]
L'Effervescence
Champagne bar · Vieux Nice
80+ champagnes · Tue–Sat 18:00–00:00[49]
🎨 Museums
🖼
Musée Matisse
Cimiez · bus #5 · €10 · closed Tue
~600 works · 57 sculptures (world's largest public Matisse-sculpture collection)[26]
🕊
Musée Chagall
Cimiez · bus #5 · €10–12
Biblical Message cycle · 1st Sun free[27]
∞
Fondation Maeght
Saint-Paul-de-Vence · €18
Miró · Giacometti · Calder · Braque
France's leading private art foundation[30]
🌹
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
Cap Ferrat · €18
Pink Belle-Époque villa · 9 themed gardens[31]
🐂
Musée Picasso
Antibes · Château Grimaldi · €12
Picasso worked here in 1946
Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00[34]
🚧
MAMAC
CLOSED Jan 2024–~2028
Renovation[28]
Do not visit.

4-day Nice Museums Pass: €15 — covers Matisse + Chagall + all municipal museums. Pays for itself at 2 visits.[25]

🏖 Beaches — locals leave town to swim

Plage de la Mala

Cap d'Ail · pebble · cliff-walled cove · long staircase keeps crowds thin · cleanest water in the region[54]

Plage des Marinières

Villefranche-sur-Mer · sand · ~1 km bay · shallow · locals' default[56]

Paloma Beach

Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat east side · end of the cape's most photogenic stretch[53]

Plage de la Garoupe

Cap d'Antibes · fine sand · crystal-clear · entrance to the coastal path[55]

Nice in town

Pebble · 22 free public sections along 7 km · private clubs €30–90/day[10]

🚆 Getting Around (2026)

TER Coastal Train from Nice-Ville

DestinationTimeFare
Villefranche5 min€2.10
Monaco20 min€4.40
Antibes25 min€5.20
Cannes40 min€7.90
Menton40 min~€6

Every ~15 min until 22:00[67]

Lignes d'Azur City Fares

TicketPrice
Single (74 min)€1.70
24-hour pass€7.00
10-trip card€15.00
Airport T2 tram€1.70

T2 airport → centre 20–30 min, every 7–8 min[70]

Key Bus Lines
#5 → Matisse + Chagall (Cimiez)
#15 → Villefranche + Cap Ferrat
#82/#602 → Èze Village (hilltop)
#600 → Èze-sur-Mer ≠ village!
#600 → Monaco · Menton (15 min headway)
⚠ #82 or #602 for hilltop Èze — NOT #600[13]
✕ Skip · Watch Out · Where to Sleep

What to Skip

  • MAMAC — closed Jan 2024 through ~2028 (renovation)[28]
  • Monaco on June 6–7 — Grand Prix qualifying + race[76]
  • Bus #600 to "Èze" — stops at sea-level Èze-sur-Mer, not the hilltop village[13]
  • Salade niçoise with potato or green beans — Parisian remix[41]
  • Calanques National Park — hours west of Nice, day trip impossible[66]
  • Vélo Bleu bike share — dead; use Pony or Lime e-bikes instead[82]
⚠ Gotchas
• La Merenda: no phone, no cards, walk in to book[45]
• Castle Hill elevator: free but hours unreliable[6]
• Pickpockets: Promenade, markets, trams[81]
• Maeght bus stop is before the village — tell the driver[21]
• Saint-Paul #400 bus is gone — it's TER + Zou #655 now[20]

Where to Stay

Vieux Nice — from ~€160/night. Walk to JAN. Earplugs advised.

Carré d'Or — boutique-hotel band, central and quieter.

Promenade des Anglais — ~17% below city average (~€143).[80]