What to do in Nice at Night

Lights reflecting on the tramway as it goes through Place Massena at night

Nice nightlife is vibrant.  I have whole pages on:

…but here’s a list of surprising other options for things to do in Nice after dark:

Immersive Light Show in Nice’s Largest Church

Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, check out the spectacular all-new immersive light show in the magnificent Notre-Dame Basilica. The all new  Luminiscence: The Celestial Odyssey is a real wow, with ultra-realistic projections, meticulous mapping, a newly curated soundtrack, and a live choir.  The show projects in 360° from multiple sources that all sync perfectly on every surface, creating an intricate moving 3D tableau that seamlessly weaves together art, history, nature, and sacred music.  Choreographed to an orchestral soundtrack augmented further by a live choir on Friday and Saturdays, and with the faint scent of incense and votives, the whole experience has the effect of temporarily transporting you to another plane if you let it.  Tickets are as low as 13€ or up to 39€.  The side seats are half price but still great since the show is 360° even from the sides; Thursday nights are less expensive without the live choir, discounts if under -25 or over -65 or with a family, and there is promo right now for 15% off the second showing each night.  Tram stop Jean Medecin; entry is on the right side of the church.

Free Nighttime Walking Tour

Riviera Bar Crawl Tours offers a FREE night walking tour of Old Nice in English!  Despite their name, this is not a bar crawl tour but a real history/stories/hidden places walking tour.  It starts at 6pm at the Apollo Statue at Place Massena, lasts 2 hours, and there is no fee but you can tip your guide at the end if you enjoyed it (and you will).   Reservations a must via their site.

Stand up comedy showStand-up Comedy in English

The new Bobar Comedy Club in Old Nice does weekly stand-up comedy shows in English every other Sunday – just check the Sunday schedule and look for ‘Spill the Tea’, usually at 7:30pm in summer and 5:30pm in winter, and cover charge is just 8€ or 5€ students.  27 rue Benoit Bunico, tram stop Cathedrale.

 

Pub Quiz Nights

Dave standing outside Sailor's Pub in Old NiceDave’s Quiz Nights in Nice are legendary, and his loyal quizites follow him to whatever pub is currently hosting.  Dave formulates his 30 questions (in both French and English) using a wide compass of interests and appealing to all age groups.  The teams of 4 compete for the pot, into which everyone ponies up a euro at the start of the soiree. These days  Quiz Night is on Wednesdays at 8:30pm at The Sailor’s Pub in Old Nice, 2 rue Jules Gilly, at the very top of rue de la Prefecture.  Tram stop Cathedrale

O’Neill’s Irish Pub in Old Nice does Music Quiz Nights (‘Blind Test’) on Thursdays. 40 Rue Droite, tram stop Cathedrale.  Actually, almost all the pubs in the Old Town do weekly music quiz nights, just look for ‘Blind Test’ on their chalkboard signs.  It’s become a thing.

Boules, Billiards, Hatchet-Throwing, Tattoos and More

Here’s a new one: Flash Tattoo/Piercing Nights at O’Neill’s Irish Pub in Old Nice on Wednesdays starting at 7pm until midnight.  Come create an indelible memory …that you will never forget even if you want to… 40 Rue Droite, tram stop Cathedrale

Poster of man playing boulesLa Boulisterie Club is a super fun original-concept bar where you can have a beer and play pentanque, the quintessential pass time in the South of France.  The retro bar full of vintage memorabilia, and they have a happy hour until 8pm. 16 rue Lascaris in the Port, tram stop Port, open Tuesday-Saturday 6:30pm to midnight.

Le Blast, a fun American bar on Cours Saleya, has a popular snooker table upstairs. 8 place Charles Felix, Tram stop Cathedrale.

La Boule Noir (the black ball) is a small Pool Hall located at 12 rue Halevy, the pedestrian street that runs between rue Massena and the Promenade des Anglais, tram stop Massena.

Louis XI Billiards is a little out of the way (near the airport), but omg is it worth it!  It is THE place to play pool in Nice.  It’s huge, lots of tables (15?), fun ambiance, great music, sports on tv, dining area, and super cool/friendly owner/barman.  Check out this virtual visit… Open every night 5pm-2am. 45 blvd Rene Cassin, right across from the Cassin Kirshner tram stop

Foam bar in the Port holds monthly foosball (babyfoot in French, lol) tournaments at 7pm, usually on the third Wednesday of the month (but check the sched on the link to be sure),  3 Quai des Deux Emmanuels, tram stop Port Lympia

Tomahawk is a bar where you can really get your aggressions out.  The targets rent for around 50€/hour for up to 4 people, and then you just hatchet-throw until you feel all better.  Hii-yaaaa!   10 blvd Rizzo Tram stop Palais des Expositions

Moon between 2 palm trees with the sea in the backgroundTango, Salsa …and Celtic Dance

Why not dance the Tango under the stars? Meet at Place Massena on Wednesdays from 8-9:30pm.

Thursdays it’s La Ketje with Tango lessons with Tigre Tango every Thursday at 7pm, followed by practice from 8-11pm.  rue Auguste Gal, tram stop Port or Republique.

For more, click here for a good tango calendar, and here for a different tango calendar with courses/dancing farther from the town center.

There is Salsa Dancing somewhere in Nice almost every night click here for the current salsa calendar.

Here’s a new one: Group Celtic Dancing at O’Neill’s Irish Pub in Old Nice on Thursdays starting at 8pm until midnight.  To find it, head to the back of the pub and to the right.  40 Rue Droite, tram stop Cathedrale

Poster for Snug's Open Mic nightMake Your Own Music

Mondays is Open Mic night at Snug and Cellar Pub in the Old Town… they have a small house band and diverse instruments to sit in with, but a lot of people bring their own.  It goes from 9pm-11ish, and then often continues acoustic after that.  On the corner of rue Rossetti and rue Droite, tram stop Cathedrale.

Tuesdays you have 2 choices: Kings Pub in Old Nice does a rock-n-roll oriented open mic jam session backed up by one of their house bands, tram stop Opera.  Or try Pub Le Ketje in the port with a Tuesday open mic starting at 8:30pm. 15 rue Aguste Gal, tram stop Port Lympia

Wednesdays LA recording artist Derek Vanderhorst hosts a folk/bluegrass open mic/jam with special emphasis on composers and songwriters at Allez Hops Beer Bar 15 rue Defly, from 7-9:30pm, tram stop Garibaldi.  Also Wednesdays is Jam Session night at Bistrot Rossetti in the Old Town.

Thursdays you can usually find a open mic/jam session at Zonme, a happenin’ hangout located in kind of a dicey area behind the train station, 7 bis rue des Combattants en Afrique du Nord, tram stop Liberation.  The entry is kind of hidden but it’s just down from the Aldi supermarket.

Fridays the jam session is at Le Quartier du Poulpe by Delphine, a super local hangout at 34 boulevard Auguste Raynaud which is a little bit farther out of town, but easily accessible by tram line one, tramstop Borriglione.

Drag Show Cabarets

Check out Le Swing, a fun gay/hetro friendly bar with a lively and everchanging schedule of drag shows, theme parties, and happenings.  Open nightly, 6pm-2:30am; located just behind the Modern Art Museum at 10 rue Delile, tramstop Garibaldi.

Cave Wilson is a gay wine bar during the week, but on the weekends becomes a sort of “Cage au Folles” with retro 1930’s-style drag cabaret shows on select Sunday and Monday night, but tickets sell out fast, so you need to book as soon as each soiree is announced.  Open 6pm Thursday-Monday, 16 rue Gubernatis, tram stop Massena or Opera.

Play Dinner-Roulette

The newest trend to meet new people is Timeleft, where every Wednesday an algorithm matches up 6 strangers for compatibility and sets up a dinner.   Popularized first in Lisbon, then Paris and Marseilles, it’s now all the rage in Nice. Fill out the online form before applications close Monday at midnight, then the algorithm works its magic, and Wednesday morning you get an email with which restaurant, and a little about the 5 people with whom you’ll be dining that evening.  The dinners are held every Wednesday, and the cost is just 13€ plus the cost of the dinner (and even less if you sign up for several).

Language Exchange Soirées

Blabla Language Exchange does an Apero Party every Tuesday at 8pm at Le Bateleur at 12 Cours Saleya in Old Nice.  It’s kind of like language ‘speed dating’: you join a table and try to converse for 7 minutes in English, 7 minutes in French, then… switch tables and come into a new conversation with new people!

Foam bar at 1 Place du Pin also has a Language Exchange night every Tuesday from 7:30pm to 9pm.  It’s free (but you need to order a drink) and there are usually around 20 people that show up.  It’s a fun way to practice French and meet new people, and the more you drink the better you sound!  Tram stop Garibaldi or Port Lympia.

Meet Ups of All Stripes

MeetUp.com‘s motto is “Neighbors getting together to learn something, do something, share something…”  which just about says it all.  The site is in English and is a great first step to meet other expats if you are new to Nice.  Click here for to see what’s being proposed on the MeetUp Groups in Nice for this week.

If your French is up to it, take it up a notch and try the wildly popular site OVS (On Va Sortir, literally Let’s Go Out) with at least 20 activities proposed in Nice each day, from sports (tennis partners, kayak buddies, group runs) to cultural (‘let’s go to… the opera! live theatre! a concert together!’), to just plain social, as in, ‘anybody up to meet for a drink at the pub tomorrow night?’  These are mostly French locals, so if you are tired of getting pigeon-holed with expats, here’s your chance to branch out and meet new French people.

Café Culture (in French)

Popularized in Paris, Café Philos are a lively moderated debate (in French, bien sur) based on a pre-set question or subject, and set in a bar or café… Café LIKES takes this one step further, with café topics running the gamut from psychology, sexuality, climate, AI, literature, politics… plus music and more.  It’s in French, but even if your French is not good, attending something like this will help your French learning as it is real people speaking local vernacular, and talking about real issues.  Cover charge is 15€ and includes a drink and plate of nibbles. Open 6:30-9:30pm every night, 4 Rue Beaumont tram stop Republique (formerly Acropolis)

A smaller more intimate café cultural is Chez Pauline with a monthly schedule of varied events including Poetry Slams, Cafe Philos (etc.) and mini concerts.  Open 5:30pm to midnight, 4 rue Bavastro, near Barla in the Nice Port, tram stop Garibaldi or Port.

Poetry Slam   This is a Frenchified version of the American slam phenom, part poetry, rap, open mic and improv. Check it out the first Wednesday at Cave Romagnon a scruffy local bar, known for their Saturday night jazz.  Near the train station at 22 Rue d’Angleterre, tram stop Gare Thiers.

La Tresorerie De L’Art is a flourishing culture hub café with conferences, music and arts and crafts workshops (but in French).  13 rue Trachel, tramstop Gare Thiers.   Similar and in the same neighborhood (just one block up), you’ll find Atelier Alfred coffee house at 13 rue Vernier with more workshops to whet your creativity and participative events in the same vein.

See Related Pages: 

Back up to Nice by Night page

Photo credits: Nice Tramway and Palm Tree Moon by Best of Nice

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