Parking in Nice
Parking in Nice is not always easy to find, so here are your options for where to park your ride, including a super-secret weekly parking deal.
Free Street Parking in Nice
To find free street parking you have to get out of downtown. The closest to the Old Town is on the streets heading up to Mont Boron, then hop on the bus #33 back down, which passes every 20 minutes. Cimiez hill is another option, with the bus #5 bringing you back down.
30-Minutes Free Street Parking Downtown
New for 2021, there is now 30 minutes of free street parking in town during the week, 1 hour free street parking on Saturdays, and street parking is always free evenings and Sundays.
Even during the free time, between 9am-8pm Monday-Saturday, you’ll still need the little ticket from the meter, which spits out a little ticket that you need to put on your windshield. If you plan on staying longer than the free 30-minutes, you can pay with coins, cards, and now you can even plug that meter from afar by smartphone with the PayByPhone app or at www.paybyphone.fr.
After the free period runs out the meter charges start racking up fast, but the max is only 2.60€ for the max time of 2 hours 15 minutes, or just 1€ on Saturdays.
Overstay the maximum 2 hours and 15 minutes? The city has done away with traditional parking tickets, and instead you now get charged a flat “post parking fee” of 25€, and will get another one every 2 hours and 15 minutes…!
1-Hour Free at Public Parking Lots in Nice
Almost all parking lots in Nice offer 1 hour free, including all the parking lots in and around the Old Town, but the catch is that you get charged for that first hour if you stay even one minute too long!
Cost: Each lot is different with the hourly cost varying around 5€ an hour, with the price decreasing the longer you stay. Here is the interactive map of all parking lots in Nice with their hourly prices. …Or better yet, download the Parkopedia app for your smartphone. It shows the closest parking lots, how to get there, their hourly rate, and even how full they are, so you can target and park, boom. Super handy!
How to Pay: Keep your ticket with you, and when you return you need to find the ‘caisse‘ or payment machine, usually only available on one floor. You insert your ticket and then pay, either in coins, bills, or by credit card. Once you’ve paid, the machine returns your ticket, which you use to get out of the lot.
Weekly Rates and Deals
Most lots have weekly rates which you can easily compare by plugging your dates into this interactive map or just downloading the app. You park the car then go buy the pass from the office when you arrive, which allows you to go in and out as much as you want during the period covered by your pass, although you won’t have a reserved spot.
In the Port, Parking Port Lympia has a weekly rate of 100€, but better yet offers a weekend deal for just 30€ from Friday night to Monday morning, or a 100€ 7-day deal.
Insider Tip – Secret Weekly Parking Deal: The best weekly deal is so good that it is not advertised even on the parking lot web site… you have to be ‘in the know’… The Gare Nice Thiers lot (at the Nice train station) is normally 110€ for a week just like all the others, but if you reserve and pay online in advance, you can score a week’s parking for between 62-99€ …or 2 weeks for 110-130€. Space is limited, and prices fluctuate with demand, so reserve as far in advance as you can. This parking lot has easy tram access to the Old Town (tram stop Gare Thiers), so is really a super option.
Free Park and (Tram) Ride Lots in Nice
There are eight large ParcAzur lots located at various points along the three tramway routes, where you can leave your car for free from early morning until late at night as long as you pay for a round-trip on the tramway. A single-voyage ticket won’t work, but you can use a ParcAzur round-trip tramway ticket (3.40€), a day bus/tram pass (7€), or a week bus/tram pass (20€). Only catch: overnight parking is not allowed.
The ParcAzur lots are are at each end of tram line 1 (Henri Sappia, and Pont-Michel near the new terminus Hopital Pasteur), plus four in the middle near the following tram stops: Vauban, Nice Port, Gare Thiers Train Station, and Liberation. There is also one near the airport that works with the Grand Arenas tram stop.
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