Nice: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Nice is a city of 342,669 people in France (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur), 18 m (59 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Nice-Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE), 6 km (4 mi) from the centre. It has 5 railway stations on record, including Nice-Ville railway station. It is a port city: Nice Port.
Key facts
Daylight in Nice runs from about 8 h 59 min a day in late December to 15 h 30 min in late June (computed for 43.7° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Nice is served by 2 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Nice-Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE), 6 km (4 mi) from the centre, with a longest runway of 9,721 ft, which limits it to short and medium-haul aircraft. The alternatives are Cuneo International Airport (CUF, 98 km).
Flights to Nice: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Nice-Ville railway station, Nice-Saint-Augustin, Nice CP Station, Nice-Riquier, Gare de Nice-Pont-Michel. Trains to Nice
Buses to Nice · Driving and car hire · Ferries
What people come for
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Parc Phœnix | 458,575 | 2014 |
| Palais Nikaia | 307,644 | 2012 |
| musée Marc-Chagall | 178,425 | 2019 |
| Musée Matisse | 141,179 | 2019 |
| musée d'art moderne et d'art contemporain de Nice | 135,065 | 2019 |
| Musée National du Sport | 69,355 | 2019 |
| Asian Arts Museum | 57,633 | 2019 |
| Musée Masséna | 53,535 | 2017 |
| Musée archéologique de Nice-Cimiez | 38,406 | 2018 |
| Musée des Beaux-Arts Jules Chéret | 27,154 | 2019 |
The busiest is Parc Phœnix at 458,575 visitors in 2014. Figures are the latest each site has published, so they are not all for the same year.
UNESCO World Heritage in the city: Nice, Winter Resort Town of the Riviera.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Nice
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Milan, 248 km (Italy) — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Marseille, 159 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Turin, 156 km (Italy) — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Genoa, 155 km (Italy) — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Lyon, 297 km — trains · tours
- Bologna, 337 km (Italy)
- Florence, 320 km (Italy)
- Verona, 353 km (Italy)
- Montpellier, 273 km — trains · tours
- Geneva, 292 km (Switzerland) — tours
Twin towns and sister cities: Sorrento, Cartagena, Libreville, Saint-Denis, Netanya, Nuremberg, Papeete, Venice, Manila, Gdańsk, Hangzhou, Cape Town, Cuneo, Rio de Janeiro.
Common questions
Which airport serves Nice?
Nice-Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE), 6 km (4 mi) from the centre, plus 1 other airport with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Nice?
About 342,669 people live in Nice, across 72 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Nice in?
Europe/Paris, currently UTC+2.
What currency is used in Nice?
The Euro (EUR). Traffic drives on the right.
Which cities are near Nice?
Milan (248 km), Marseille (159 km), Turin (156 km), Genoa (155 km), Lyon (297 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.