Renting a Vacation Apartment in Nice

An apartment rental in the Old Town2026 Update: Nice has been cracking down hard on short-term rentals, so now many apartments rent by the day/week only in the summer and do long stays all winter to meet the new rental limits.

The result: summer rental prices are now higher, but there is now a super selection of low-cost long-stays in the off season, which is a better time to come here anyway, and is great if you want to stay a while to consider a move, work on your French, have an adventure, or finish your novel.

There is a weird little twist to the long-term rental rules…  some specifically require a ‘Mobility Lease‘ which means that some apartments are restricted to students or people on temporary work assignments (…which could also potentially be fudged if you do remote work or enroll in a language class… unclear how closely they check).  But there are plenty of winter deals outside the Mobility Lease thing, you just have to plow through the listings.

Ok, so back to regular short term vacation rentals: Not only do they offer a more authentic experience, but they are still less expensive per night than conventional hotels, plus you save a lot more since you are no longer obligated to go out for every meal, and having a kitchen allows you take take advantage of the fabulous open-air markets and delectable food finds in Old Nice.

With Airbnb, VRBO, and Holiday Lettings, you can pay a partial amount up front when you book (credit card, debit card or paypal), but they hold your funds and don’t transfer even a centime to the apartment owner until after you have arrived and have been in the apartment for 24-hours, to be sure that everything is exactly as promised.

You also rate the apartment at the end of your rental, which is a strong incentive for the owner to make sure that everything is perfect.  Read all the reviews carefully before booking an apartment on any of these sites, especially read any bad reviews, because sometimes the photos can be deceptive and the only way to find out is through the reviews.

Any sites that cuts out the middleman and allows you to pay direct to the owner (some owners send contracts, some don’t) might be cheaper, but if there is no middleman, there is no standard insurance… or assurance of quality.  Your one ace-in-the-hole is that you can critique and rate the apartment at the end of your stay if things are not as they should be: even one terrible review can tank a rental property.

Balcony looking into Old NiceThe most popular apartment rental site is AirBnb, with over 200 private apartments for rent in Old Nice alone.  They are the safest thanks to their massive Air Cover insurance for apartments and guests, plus if there is a problem they have 24-hour hotline and if something goes really wrong, they have the most apartments available to relodge you and the financial heft to even put you in a hotel if need be.

Alternately, you can rent through a reputable local apartment rental agency like Nice Pebbles, who only deals in quality apartments and maintains a high service standard; they’re pricey, but their reputation assures you a good experience.  Another reputable Nice-focused rental agency is the very friendly and professional My Flat in Nice, with over 80 apartments and their office right in the Old Town at 7 rue Jules Gilly, just off Cours Saleya. With a local rental agency, there is always someone to call, and you are guaranteed a rapid professional response if anything needs fixing.

The worst way to rent a private apartment is through Craig’s List or the local want-ads like Le Bon Coin.  You might find cheaper apartments, but there are no reviews, no verification of the owner’s identity, and no vetting to make sure the person placing the ad really owns the apartment, or even that the apartment even really exists.  There are several local news stories every year where renters arrived with their luggage to find that they were scammed and that the apartment either didn’t exist, or was not for rent at all!

Nice Hotel Tax

There is a hotel tax in Nice of 1.90€ a night, and starting in 2015 all rental apartments are supposed to collect it and pay it, but most don’t unless the rental platform does it for them. Some unscrupulous property owners try to extract a larger tax saying that the government requires it, but just know that the max tax for you as a renter is 1.90€/night, and with Airbnb it is included in your rental fee and Airbnb pays it directly to the government.

Luggage Storage

If you arrive early before check-in, or leave long after check-out, there are several luggage storage services available. The Nice train station has luggage storage, but only accessible during business hours, and the airport has storage as well. Click here for details on all your luggage storage options in Nice.

A Few Things to Bring

A long phone-charging cable for the bed, a cheap plastic doorstop for extra security, a pair of flip-flops for the balcony, and a small bluetooth speaker to fill the place with tunes (find FIP radio on your phone for an eclectic background music mix…)

An Awesome Fix for Noisy Apartments

If you have an iPhone, you may not realize that you also have a white noise machine!  ‘White noise’ is a little hmmm that acts like a ‘sound curtain’ blocking out noise spikes coming from the street below or the neighbors above.  On your iPhone click the Settings icon, then Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Background Sounds.   Now click Sound for your choices of hummms including generic and nature sounds.  You will be amazed how well you will sleep!

Also, if you want to fill your Airbnb with your music but don’t have a bluetooth speaker, a really great workaround is to just put your phone in the bottom of a large pot: voila, instant makeshift speaker!

See related pages:

Back up to Main Hotel/SLEEP Page

Photo credits: all photos by Best of Nice

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