Best Beaches in Nice
Nice’s Promenade des Anglais boasts miles of beaches for every taste and budget, whether you want to chill on the cheap at a public beach or splurge for a day at a private beach, you’ve come to the right place!
After a few general pointers, scroll down for the top picks for best beaches in Nice for every style and budget… and an interactive map at the bottom.
Know before you Go
Nice beaches are covered in smooth stones instead of sand, which is due to being situated at the mouth of several rivers, whose river stones have being washing into the sea for eons. The stones tend to be larger on the Old Nice end, and smaller – read: more comfortable and easier to walk on – towards the beaches from the middle to the airport side.
Insider tip: Get yourself a pair of cheap plastic beach shoes (aka reef walkers or aqua socks) straight away. They may look dorky, but I promise that coming out of the water flapping your arms and jerk-strutting like a wild crane in heat is an even worse look!
Public Beach Tips
If you are going to a public beach, a yoga mat under your towel will vastly improve your comfort.
For a little help getting out of the water, from mid-June, some public beaches feature hearty bright orange cords anchored deep in the surf and high on the beach to give you a little dignity when getting out of the water:
- Ponchettes (across from the Old Town)
- Beau Rivage
- Centenaire Handiplage
- Blue Beach
- Sainte-Helene (just before Regence Plage, near the hotel Raddisson)
- Carras Plage
All public beaches are now no smoking! If you’re caught firing one up you could get a 135€ fine …and your beach budget will go up in smoke!
Another insider tip: Beach grabs are on the rise… don’t leave your stuff unattended if you go in for a dip, and if you are sunbathing, better to use your purse for a pillow rather than have it just lying there, waiting to be plucked. Better yet, don’t take anything to the beach that would be a heartbreak if stolen. …But if it happens, click here for what to do.
Private Beaches Tips
Private or Public?
Because sunbathing on stones can be a challenge, private beaches are especially appealing in Nice: the comfy padded sun lounges lie high above the stones, not to mention the parasols, padded walkways, security, wifi, restaurant and bar service, toilets and changing rooms. But even with 15 private beaches, in July and August they all book up fast, so be sure to reserve in advance during high season… if you just show up at 11:30am you will be out of luck and end up sunning on the stones.
But comfort has a price… and a day at a private beach can really set you back, so here are a few tips to keep the tab reasonable.
- Double check that the parasol is included in the price, as it should be. The parasol is already there between every two lounge chairs, so it is a greedy little add-on that many beaches tack on an extra fiver (or more!) just for opening it up.
- Save 7€ right of the get-go by bringing your own towel (I bring 3: one to lie on and one to dry off with, and a third for a pillow).
- Stash a frozen bottle of water in your beach bag. You are technically not allowed to bring in outside food or bevvies, but over the course of the day you will run up quite a tab anyway, so give yourself this one little break, just be discrete.
- Don’t forget that you can cut the price even further if you go just for the morning (Amour Plage), or just for the afternoon (Castel, Beau Rivage) to the beaches offering a half-day deal…
- Some of the pricier beaches go for the gusto with a ‘no in-and-out’ policy that prohibits you from popping out for a sandwich, forcing to have an expensive lunch at their beach restaurant.
In general, for a private beach for 2, count on dropping a hunsky at a minimum: a sunbed is generally 30€-50€ per person (can be a bit less if you just do a half-day), anything you order for lunch will be at least 25€, 8€ on average for a glass of rosé or a coke, 5€ minimum for a small draft beer or bottle of water …and you can absolutely kill your beach budget if you start ordering the 15€ cocktails…! Also, some of the higher end beaches have started restricting in-and-out privileges to make sure you stay and have lunch with them!
But then again, you’d be having lunch, and probably drinks somewhere in town anyway… and it’s not everyday that you can pamper yourself for a memorable day at a private French Riviera beach…
Best Beaches in Nice Full Ranking
So without further ado, here are my recommendations for the best beaches in Nice, both private and public, going from east (old town) to west (airport), so that wherever you are, you have the scoop on the closest beaches.
TLDR: I’ll say right now that the winners are…
Best Beach Deal is Cocoon Beach with 20€ beach lounge beds including parasol (and 15€ in May+Sept!) Best Half-Day Deal and Best Lunch Deal is Beau Rivage.- Best Value is Ruhl Plage because their 30€ lounge/parasol fee includes a dock to get in and out of the water, which is a super perk worth its weight in gold!
- Best Fun Style is Hotel Amour Plage
- Best for Kids is Li Rateta Kid’s Club (like a mini Club Med for 6-12’s)
- Most Luxurious is Negresco Plage where they’ve thought of everything…
- Most Eclectic and Gay Friendly and Most Memorable Sunset Dinner is Castel Plage
But since I’m rating them from east to west, you will have to scroll down a bit to find out the details…
WINNER: MOST ECLECTIC
Castel Plage has the most picturesque location, at the foot of the Chateau cliffs, across from the old town, set apart at the very top of the bay, with a stunning panorama of the whole Promenade. The décor is belle epoch/art deco, the food is creative and delicious, and this gay-friendly beach definitely has the most artsy and eclectic clientele. Lounge chairs 35€+5€ parasol (grrr), and 30€ for a half-day from 2:30pm on.
…And they just got even more fabulous, with the addition of an oyster bar/restaurant nestled right into the cliff face that can only be accessed from the beach! It’s pricey but the quality is there with all fresh line-caught seafood, a one-of-a-kind ambiance, and with full sunset view, making this the BEST PLACE FOR A ROMANTIC SUNSET DINNER. The closest hotels are the luxurious La Perouse and the more affordable Hotel Suisse, both built into the cliff face above.
Best Public Beach for the Young and the Restless
Les Ponchettes public beach is right across from the Old Town making it the perfect place for a spontaneous sunset picnic with a pizza and a bottle of cold rosé, plus it has sports: 2 sandy beach volleyball courts with tanned athletes leaping, diving or spiking the ball. This beach is a happening from morning to night, with wafting music (and other things…) from small groups of friends just hanging out, sunbathers on a budget, and families cavorting in the surf (now aided by the bright orange cord installed from mid-June to help get out of the water). Closest hotel is the Mercure Marche aux Fleurs but if you are on a budget try the small family-run two-star Hotel Cresp just across from the Nice Opera.
Biggest Disappointment
Opera Plage. Located right across from the Nice Opera House, Opera Plage is the oldest private beach in Nice dating back 120 years to Nice’s Golden Age. It HAD a laid-back vibe, local clientele, affordable prices from morning coffee to their bustling bar, comfortable unpretentious decor, and the best half-day beach deal in Nice. …Well they just sold and the new owner has refurbished the whole place: the admittedly scruffy authenticity has been replaced by slick uncomfortable looking modular furniture, jacked up prices, and good-bye to the half-day deal. To be fair, their new lounge chair pricing (35€ for front row, 30€ for other rows, 80€ for double sunbed) is now in line with all the other beaches (and at least they include the parasol), but it’s just sad to see another special place with a unique character get remade to be just like all the others.
WINNER: BEST HALF-DAY DEAL, BEST LUNCH DEAL
Beau Rivage Plage. This is the largest private beach in Nice, taking up the equivalent of an entire block, and with two entrances. Their lounge chairs are sturdy wood and not flimsy plastic, and they space out their lounge chairs so you are not in the lap of the person next to you. The loungers are 30€ plus 6€ to open your parasol (grrr again), plus they offer 2 half-day deals: 24€ for a half-day from 2pm, and 17€ after 4:30pm.
Their restaurant is high quality and quite refined, backed up by the Beau Rivage Hotel, so their 2-course weekday lunch deal for 35€ is really a good value (Mon-Thurs, scroll to the last page to see the special menu), as is the everchanging daily plat du jour (Mon-Fri) for just 17€, making it one of the most affordable and best value beach lunches.
One side of their beach features a pulsing techno DJ bar (open until 11pm), tapas platters, and hosts lots of nighttime events from 7pm on including Monday night Jazz… The closest hotel is the Hotel Beau Rivage, and if you stay here you can be extra cool and sign it all to your room!
Best Beaches for Handicap Access
Centenaire Plage. One of two Nice Handiplages, in July/August Centenaire has ramps, water wheelchairs, life-guards, cords to help get out of the water, and lots of specialized equipment, making this FREE municipal beach is a godsend for those that need a little extra support.
There is another Handiplage on the other end of the Prom, Plage de Carras, which is more specialized for visual impairments (talking buoys for swimming!) Located at the end of the Promenade du Paillon, right next to La Galet private beach with an excellent Italian restaurant and bar, the closest hotel would be Le Meridian, right across the street, with its famous rooftop bar.
Best Italian Beach Day without leaving Nice
Le Galet Plage. One of a crop of new owners of old beaches, this one is named after the famous smooth stones… les galets. It is now part of the Gusto family of renown local Italian eateries: La Voglia and La Favola in Old Nice, and Boccaccio on rue Massena, so their culinary track record is strong. Top Italian cuisine, Milan-chic ambiance. 26€ for a lounge chair (28€ for front row) plus a 7€ fee to open that pesky parasol. Closest hotel, Le Meridian, but if this is your chosen beach, I’d steer you one block farther, to the far more chic Palais de la Mediterranee.
WINNER: BEST VALUE thanks to their DOCK!
The dock that makes all the difference
Ruhl Plage. This beach has a secret weapon: starting from mid-June, it has a dock on wheels that they roll into the surf each morning, so you can stroll out to the tip of the dock and jump in, and get back to the beach by just climbing back up, and never have to interact with the beach stones at all! Lounge chairs are 30-36€ including parasol. Run by the same family since 1920, Ruhl Plage has a loyal local following, even with a pretty uninspiring lunch menu and pricey drinks.
Ruhl is one of only two beaches in Nice (La Vela is the other) that offer beach massages, which is a nice perk. Closest hotel, Palais de la Mediterranee.
Best Beach for Tapas
Bocca Mar is from the same owners as local favorite Bocca Nissa in the Old Town, and they have good tapas if you want just a light lunch. Sun lounges are 40€ for the front row, 30€ for second and beyond, and includes parasol. Across from the Palais de Mediterranee Hyatt hotel, tram stop Massena.
Vying to be the Trendiest Nice Beaches:
Trendy decor, lots of techno-lounge music, and a bit of low-key attitude. Le Temps d’un Ete has lounge chairs including parasol for 32€ on the first row and 28€ thereafter, but in May and September it can be as low as 20€-24€.
Blue Beach has too-tight lounge chair spacing and that annoyingly trendy techno vibe. Lounge beds are 29€ front row or 24€ other rows (but add 7.50€ to open the parasol!), and couples double sunbeds for 70€. Right across from the The Westminster Hotel.
Best Beach for Water Sports
Sporting Plage. Just across from the trippy Hotel Le Negresco, on the public beach Sporting Plage, you’ll find La Base Sport Riviera Nautique Sport Center. They offer the full panoply of water sports, with parasailing (solo, duo or triple, 60/80/100€), raft boarding, waterski, wake board, flyboard, and paddle kayak. Not cheap but definitely a thrill! Plus they have one of the aforementioned giant cords to help you get out of the water from mid-June to end of August.
WINNER: MOST LUXURIOUS
The Negresco Plage, affiliated with the iconic pink-domed hotel, delivers 5-star hotel-level pampering and deluxe amenities like top-quality oversized beach fluffy beach towels (here you don’t have to bring your own!), the thickest sun-bed cushions, well-spaced lounge chairs so you don’t hear anyone else’s conversations except your own, attentive silver-platter service, and lunch comes from their Michelin-starred kitchen. Hotel prices, too, bien sur: 60€ for a sun-bed, 75€ if it’s on the first row, 200€ for a double (but all including the parasol and a big fluffy towel), making this the priciest beach in Nice… but kinda worth it?
WINNER: BEST BEACH STYLE and FUN
Hotel Amour a la Plage (formerly Hi Beach) is the most beautiful, quirky, romantic, stylish, and fun beach in Nice. Instead of being full of themselves, this beach is full of flowers… hundreds of flowers, that perfume the air and the ambience. The décor is playful, with twinkle-lights and a shabby-chic color palette with lots of flea-market finds. The vibe is fun, relaxed, and not at all pretentious (unlike almost all of the others).
This beach is also naturally blessed, as it sits on the part of the bay with the smallest pebbles and gentlest slope, so getting in and out of the sea is a snap. On weekdays lounges are 30€ including parasol (35€ on weekends), plus they offer an unadvertised morning deal of 25€ for a lounge bed from 9am-11:30am. Their restaurant menu is basic but good with a daily special plat du jour for 18€. Once the sun sets they have a whole slate of edgy indie-style concerts and events. Located 5 minutes walk from the bottom of Boulevard Gambetta, it’s a 10 minute walk from the Alsace-Lorraine tram stop, or even shorter with the bus #99 that does a continuous figure-8 loop through downtown and drops off at Gambetta every 15 minutes. Obviously, you’d want to stay at the equally stylish Hotel Amour with its rooftop pool terrace, to get the full experience.
Tied for Best Beach Massage
La Vela thinks it’s so chic, it bills itself as ‘chic-world‘ and ‘family-chic‘ (eyeroll), but it is one of just two Nice beaches (Ruhl Plage is the other) where you can get a beach massage, which just happens to be one of my favorite things. Their restaurant is run by the same group as Le Grand Balcon and their bread comes from their own Jeannot bakery, so the dining here is a guaranteed yum… so ok, maybe they are chic. Their sun lounges go for 35€ for first rows, 30€ for back rows (plus 7€ to open the parasol…grrr), and you can reserve your spot online via MySunbed.com…
WINNER: BEST BEACH FOR KIDS
Li Rateta Kid’s Club This Kid’s Beach Club is a city-sponsored, super-affordable, well-supervised ‘club-Med’ for kids 6-12, with a focus on teaching watersport skills like swimming, surfing, and canoeing, and so much more. Drop the kids off between 9-10am for a morning (13€) or all day (21€), or between 1:30-2:30pm for an afternoon (16€), and let the kids have a blast while you go somewhere else to chill. There is a pool, the gentlest beach in Nice, lifeguards on either side, board games, sun beds, a wave machine for surfing, bouncy palaces, big trampolines, sand badminton courts, beach tennis… July and August only; credit cards only, tram stop Magnan. For more ideas see my page What to do with Kids in Nice,
Best Public Beach for Families
On both sides of Li Rateta, you will find really gentle beaches that are great for kids of all ages. Here it is the easiest to get in and out of the water due to a gradual slope and the tiniest pebbles, and there are life guards on both sides. Away from the hustle and bustle of the beaches closer to the center of town, this is a great beach to spread out for a picnic as there is lots of space and it’s not crowded.
WINNER: BEST BEACH DEAL in Nice
Cocoon Beach Nice. This is the spot for an affordable and uncrowded private beach with a decent restaurant and the best priced kids meals of any of the beaches. Beach lounge chairs with parasol are just 20€ in peak season (but 30€ for front row, 25€ for second row) and just 15€ in off-season, and they have large sun beds as well that you could fit the whole family on and really get into that cocooning vibe. Besides the beach they also have a pool, and the menu looks quite delish. Tram stop Lenval.
Best Beach for Dogs (and Bridget Bardot Fans)
To commemorate the recent passing of Saint-Tropez’s most famous and beloved resident Brigitte Bardot, Nice is renaming a beach in her honor. Lenval Plage public beach will now be known as Brigitte-Bardot Beach (ooh la la!) and this particular plage was chosen as a tribute to her animal rights activism because it’s one of the only beaches in Nice that welcomes dogs! Tram stop Lenval.
Best Beach for Posers
Canailles Lounge Beach. One of the last private beaches is Canailles Lounge Beach, which is going all out for a super-chic Saint-Tropez vibe: they’ve totally nailed the techno-trance music, snooty attitude, and pricy sun beds. Their lounge chairs are expensive and priced row-by-row, and go from 25€ (plus 5€ parasol) for the back rows, up to 100€ and even 150€ for a VIP sun bed, so once you are installed, your place in the lounge-chair pecking order is abundantly clear to all. One plus is that they have music in the afternoons (some DJ, some live) starting at 3pm. Tram stop Fabron.
Best Private Beaches for Personal Space
Regence Plage. This is the last beach in Nice, and it is across from and belongs to the Radisson Blu Hotel. It’s a little on the pricy side, but normal for hotel prices. Their lounge chairs are well spaced out and start at 30€ (with parasol) and they also have VIP sun beds for 75€, all of which you can reserve on MySundbed.com. The menu is standard hotel faire but backed by the culinary crew of the hotel, so a solid bet, and you can sign to your room. Tram stop Fabron. Other beaches with luxurious spacing between lounge chairs are Negresco Plage, Blue Beach and Beau Rivage, above.
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Photo credits: Best of Nice