Nice’s Tiny Free Port Ferry Boat

Le Passagin circa 1940-50 by Pascal Amoyel, courtesy Nice-Matin

From the last week of May through the end of September a little fishing boat will ferry you from one side of the Nice Port to the other… for free!  The little motorized 6-passenger boats operate 7 days a week from 10am-7pm… just look for the Lou Passagin signs on the far ends of each side of the port to find the embarkation points.

Lou Passagin is a fond childhood memory of all the vieux Niçois:  the little row-boat shuttle service that, up until the ’60’s, used to ferry people from one side of the Nice Port to the other.  But just like the old Nice tramway that was torn out only to be rebuilt 50 years later… Lou Passagin is back!    

Now the 15-minute walk around the Nice Port, which can be brutal under the full sun, can be done in just 2 breezy minutes… not to mention the fabulous view, the charmingly authentic barque, and your captain: a local fisherman moonlighting on the side.

Venice might have its gondolas, but Nice has its little Lou Passagin…!   A wonderful initiative by the Ville de Nice that proves the saying, ‘Everything old is new again!’

Lou Passagin Nice Port Ferry

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Photo credits: Le Passagin 1940-1950 by Phrasea et repro by Pascal Amoyel, Lou Passagin from CG06.fr

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