For Sale: a Piece of Matisse

The Matisse house on Cours Saleya in NiceUpdate: Going once… Going twice… SOLD!  …For 3,285,000€!

Are you a Matisse super-fan?  Well, here is your chance to buy a piece of Matisse.  Not a painting, not an artifact, but something even rarer: the actual apartment in Old Nice where Matisse lived and painted from 1921 to 1938, his most joyous and prolific period.

Matisse and his family lived on the third floor with a view out on to the bustling Cours Saleya market, but in 1927 moved up to the 4th floor penthouse with the full wrap-around terrace and views of the market and the sea, which is the apartment that’s for sale.

Located at the top of Cours Saleya at 1 Place Charles Book cover showing a Matisse painting of a window looking out on the seaFelix, the penthouse apartment has 4 rooms over 1,690 square feet (157m2). It will be auctioned off online here with bids accepted for 24-hours between November 8/9, with a starting bid of 1,785,000€.   Check out these photos

One of my most prized coffee table books is a thick long-out-of-print retrospective (in English!) of Matisse’s masterpieces from his time in Old Nice, most painted right in this apartment.  If you can’t afford the flat, you might at least be able to afford the book …if you’re lucky enough to find it from a used book dealer online!

See related page: The Matisse Museum in Nice

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The New Airport Tourist Tram Scam

Nice TramwayIn a total shake up, Nice just completely reorganized (and raised!) all bus and tram fares to 1.70€ a trip (…goodbye 10-trip cards!), and got rid of the old paper ticket system, replacing it with more eco-friendly 2€ rechargeable (and refundable) cards.

You get and recharge your card (La Carte) from the machines at every tram stop in town… except one.

In a blatant ploy to skim a few extra bucks off arriving tourists, the airport ticket machines do not sell the cheap rechargeable cards, but only sell a ‘special’ round-trip paper airport ticket for 10€!

This might seem like a reasonable price if you are not ‘in the know (…after all, in the pre-tram days, the airport bus was 6€ each way), but is actually kind of a rude tourist rip-off as a trip to or from the airport actually only costs 1.70€.

So here’s the insider scoop (and there is no sign at the airport to tell you any of this!)  You can ride the tram for free to the first tram station outside the airport, Grand Arenas, where there are normal machines (in English) that sell the cards, and at the much cheaper fares.

But after a long flight, it might just be easier to spend a little more and chill.  Up to you.  At least now you know.

Oh, and by the way, at the end of your trip you can turn your card in for a refund of the 2€… oh, except if you are using your last voyage to get to the airport, because of course there is no place at the airport to get that 2€ back so you’re out of luck.

Thanks for visiting Nice!

For more on the new bus/tram cards, all the fare options (day/week passes, etc.), and a few insider tips on how to use them, go to Buses in Nice 2023, and more on Getting to and from the Nice Airport

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Best Beach Bargains in Nice 2023

Private Beach in NiceSo how expensive is a day at the beach in Nice?  Here is our  2023 Best Beaches in Nice detailed ranking, a comprehensive study of all the Nice beaches lining the Prom, comparing the price of a lounge chair + parasol + lunch.  

Bocca Mar not only ties Cocoon Beach for the best-priced sun-beds at 20€ including the parasol (30€ for the front row), but Bocca Mar clinched the overall award with the best beach lunch deal with with 3 courses for 29€ (or 2 courses for 23€), but note that it is offered weekdays-only. The cuisine is as good as their sister restaurant, the original La Bocca, one of my favorites on a semi-hidden rooftop in old Nice. 

Last year’s winner Hotel Amour Plage dropped to honorable mention this summer due to their price increases, but they still get honorable mention for best beach style.  On a Prom full of posers, this beach is the most original, playful, floral, relaxed and fun (…in my humble opinion… totally subjective!)

Overall most expensive?  This year that dubious honor goes to Le Negresco Plage, with loungers starting at 45€, but they also have the most pampering, best quality materials, most attentive service, and the restaurant is overseen by a Michelin-starred chef …so maybe worth it…? 

JellyfishCheck out the Best Beaches in Nice page for what you need to know for the best beach day, as well as the lowdown on every single beach, plus a new page on best beaches outside of Nice, Best Beaches on the Riviera, and another new page on how to avoid the most unwelcome beach visitor… the dreaded jellyfish!

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New All-In-One Transpo Pass

All transport pass for trains buses tramsThe French Riviera boasts an amazing array of public transport options, but for a visitor it can be really confusing to navigate all the different tickets, fares, timeframes, rules, and websites (and often only in French!)

So for 2023 a new all-access pass has just been announced: The Pass SudAzur.  This all-in-one card is not only a bargain, but will be a real stress-reducer and time saver if you are planning a lot of day trips from Nice,

  • 35€ for 3 days
  • 50€ for a one week pass
  • or the super bargain of 80€ for 2 weeks
  • plus discounted rates for children under 18.

The passes will be available from July 1 through November 6, and are good for:

  • Unlimited trains (from Italy to Theole-sur-mer, plus inland trains)
  • All trams and buses in Nice plus all regional buses
  • All local buses in all the small towns, including Monaco!

You can’t get this card online or from the train ticket machines, but only from the tram ticket machines (in English) at any tram stop (and there is also one of these tram ticket machines just outside the tourist office at the train station.)  You first choose the rechargeable La Carte for 2€ then choose Pass SudAzur for whichever timeframe you want.

Now you are free as a bird, no lines, no tickets, no hassles!

More on other Train Deals (day pass/family pass), Coastal Train stops, Day Trips from NiceBus/Tram tickets, and Taking the Tram in Nice

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Nice Emerges from its Covid Coma!

Chirac statue with maskAfter one crazy year Nice is finally shaking off its confinement blues!  Today is the long awaited moment when Nice’s restaurant terraces, sidewalk cafes and outdoor bars can open back up again (albeit at 50% capacity) …and the ville is buzzing.  Add to that the reopening of all shops, boutiques, museums, movie theaters… and life in Nice might actually start to resemble something close to normal again! 

The mask mandate is still in full force, and we still have our curfew… but as of today the curfew is pushed back to 9pm, a big improvement!   There is live music on the terraces, and the street musicians have burst out of their forced hibernation!

This is only the start… in three weeks, on June 9th, the curfew will be pushed to 11pm, restaurant interiors will reopen, and we’ll finally see the end of all travel restrictions for vaccinated visitors.  And then, on June 30th, no more curfew! 

BestofNiceBlog has been in a Covid coma as well, so in the coming weeks every single page will get updated and madeover with the full scoop on what survived, what changed, and what’s new.  As all printed guidebooks are now hopelessly out of date, so BestofNiceBlog will be your most up-to-date source for post-pandemic life in Nice.

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