Nice!

I knew for Labor Day weekend, we needed to take advantage of the time with travel, since we barely went anywhere all summer. Since we had time to plan, I checked for the cheapest flights out of Italy, and Nice, France, was among the direct-flight, under €100/person options, and I jumped on it. (Well, sort of... once I had all the options sorted!)

First stop- only the fanciest of French cuisine

We decided on an Airbnb near the Jean Medicin tram stop/neighborhood, which is very close to Vieux Nice (Old Nice) downtown area, as well as the Promenade des Anglais, which was essentially a very classy, South of France boardwalk (excuse the Delaware in me!) The tram system in Nice is very convenient, clean, and easy to use, which worked out very well for us, since I planned a lot based on the proximity to the tram stops. Also, when I choose a neighborhood, I try to look for parks and playgrounds nearby, so we have a place to perch while the kids can safely run around, or we can burn time before scheduled activities. There was a pretty active playground near us this time that we used a few times!

wine at the Airbnb!

One planning hack I tried was to use Google My Maps to plot some desired locations to visit during our trip, including museums, restaurants, viewpoints, transportation options, and even our airbnb. This did make it easier to decide what things we could group by location to do and try, and it kept hubs and I on the same page as far as what we planned to do. If you like to pre-plan, I suggest trying it!

Our first day, we immediately checked out Vieux Nice (Old Nice), which is gorgeous and walkable. There was impending rain in the mountains behind us most of the weekend, but it held out. The day was filled with gelato, shopping, wandering, and finally, a lovely long soak back at our Airbnb. We ate dinner at the Hippopotamus Steakhouse, which was decent for the kids, and close to the busy tourist area. Despite Baby E chucking a glass to the floor, they still gave the kids balloons on the way out.

We started our next day off with a café stop for chaud chocolat and cappuccinos, but we relocated for food because the service got too busy to bring food; then we headed to the Musée des Beaux-Art de Nice, which was a small, beautiful art museum. 

We also went to the Jardin Bontanique de Nice, where we saw animals, lots of amazing flora, found a very fun play area for the boys, and ate lunch at the park's food stand. 

The last full day, we basically hiked up to Castle Hill and the playground there, which was worth it (but hard, especially carrying baby E). The play area was fantastic, the breeze and view were glorious. The old stairs and roadways winding up to the top were shaded and pretty, with little signs and fountains and markers along the way. I'm sure there are other ways up there, but if you can handle the hike, I highly recommend it. 

A few things we didn't manage to do, or decided against as we were with little kiddos:

Le Plongeoir restaurant: This view is stunning, and the reviews for the food seem promising. We did not make reservations in time, and while we may have been able to walk in at a very early dining time, hubs was not keen to experience it with the children.

Train to Monaco: Something we hadn't planned for was traveling outside of the tram route or walkable area, but our airbnb host let us know the train to Monaco was only about a 30 minute trip. We decided against it as the train stop in Monaco did not seem close to the part of Monaco we'd want to check out, like the casino, the Grand Prix area, and the aquarium. 

Le Negresco hotel and beach club: While we ate at the beach club for dinner, we did not enter the hotel, which is apparently a beacon of art and design. In addition, it has Michelin-star rated dining, and the location right in the middle of the promenade along the water definitely can't be beat. The beach club dinner we had was great, though, and the view was probably better and less fussy than inside the more formal restaurants.

Our view during dinner at the beach club

The beach club bar/apps menu 

Le Negresco Hotel from the beach

I would definitely place Nice on our list to return, or nearby beach areas, possibly with my husband and I on our own as a romantic trip, but I think it can be done with kids pretty easily with some prep. 

-Big A⚓