Travel bucket list idea:
Nice, Cote d'Azur, France
The region’s cuisine is a mix of Provencal and Italian food, using plenty of olive oil, sun-ripened fresh fruit and vegetables, seafood and lamb from the mountains.
Pasta often features – flavoured with pistou (similar to pesto) – and salad is ever-popular; truffles, caviar, lobster, and foie gras commonly feature in fine dining restaurants.
Although fashionable restaurants may disdain it as ‘common’, a salade Nicoise is a must-try – made with sun-ripened tomatoes, cucumber, onion, tuna, anchovies, hard-boiled eggs, capers and good olive oil. Look out for street stalls selling socca (a chickpea flour pancake), pissaladiere (onion and anchovy tart), pan bagnat (salade Nicoise sandwich) and tourte de blettes, a sweet pie made with Swiss chard.
Also see our round-up of traditional French foods to try in France.
Nice is the Cote d’Azur’s foodie central. It’s the only French city with a real street food culture; the almost-daily Cours Saleya food market has fresh produce food stalls selling all kinds of tasty local specialities. It’s also the only city in France with an AOC wine region right in the city limits: the excellent Vin de Bellet.
Like any big city, Nice offers a range of gourmet and inexpensive restaurants and bistrots; the new trend is bistronomy – creative gourmet food in informal bistro-style setting (these are usually tiny so be sure to book). Top chefs follow the money, so expect excellent restaurants in and around Nice, many of which are connected to five-star hotels.
Nice, Cote d'Azur, France
Experience
Stunning after its recent restoration, the Negresco’s Chantecler restaurant is helmed by one of France’s top female chefs, Michelin-starred Virginie Basselot, whose cuisine deftly combines classic and contemporary. With its superb wines and service, dining here is an unforgettable experience.
Adult price: £70
Good for age: 18+
Nice, Cote d'Azur, France
Experience
Nice’s food and flower market, held along the pedestrianised Cours Saleya esplanade, is packed with all the vibrant, sensuous colours, flavours and scents of the south: lavender, marzipan, sugared almonds, spices, herbal teas, takeaway socca and pissaladiere snacks. Held Tuesday to Sunday, around 6.30am to 1.30pm.
Good for age: 18+
Nice, Cote d'Azur, France
Experience
Nice’s most exquisite pastries are the stars, but Deli Bo (short for Delicatessen Bonaparte) also offer one of the city’s best breakfasts (including scrambled eggs with truffles), light lunches, fancy teas and coffees.
Good for age: 18+
Nice, Cote d'Azur, France
Experience
Since 1966, the Fenocchio family has produced Nice’s favourite ice cream and sorbets and sold them from their shop in the historic centre. The only downside is trying to decide which of the 94 flavours to try.
Good for age: 4+
Nice, Cote d'Azur, France
Experience
Jan-Hendrik van der Westhuizen was the first South African chef to receive a Michelin star. Inspired by his grandmother’s cooking, he creates dazzling original dishes, but book early to have a chance to try them: there are only 24 seats.
Adult price: £70
Good for age: 18+
Nice, Cote d'Azur, France
Experience
Chosen as the best wine cellar in France in 2020, the ‘Angels’ Share’ specialises in natural wines and organic beers, with great snacks at the wine bar; the bistro offers ten different wines daily by the glass to go with lunch.
Good for age: 18+
Nice, Cote d'Azur, France
Experience
Nice was part of Italy until 1860, so perhaps it’s not surprising that friendly, unpretentious spot makes perhaps the best pizza in France. No website, no reservations, no phone; just join the queue at 46 Boulevard Stalingrad.
Adult price: £8
Good for age: 13+
Nice, Cote d'Azur, France
Experience
This small cooking school runs cooking courses in a pretty kitchen just around the corner from the Cours Saleya market, and offers the option of visiting the market to buy local produce before learning to cook it, Nicois-style.
Adult price: £175
Good for age: 18+
Duration: 2-3 hours
When: All year round
Freq: daily
Nice, Cote d'Azur, France
Experience
Just under Nice’s Mont Boron, this spectacular restaurant looks like something out of a fantasy, topping a 6m rocky pillar in the sea with remarkable views. It’s pricey, a bit touristy, but unique (and cheaper at lunch).
Adult price: £35
Good for age: 13+
Nice, Cote d'Azur, France
Experience
Located in the city’s posh ‘Golden Square’ shopping district, cheesemonger Nery’s is a legend in Nice. Go for the finest fresh and perfectly ripened cheeses from across France, along with specialities made on the Cote d’Azur.
Good for age: 18+
Excellent restaurants are scattered fairly evenly across Nice, but the biggest concentrations are in Le Vieux Nice and Jean Medecin areas. Find Nice’s Michelin-starred restaurants in the online Michelin guide.
In France most restaurants, especially in the evening, only do one ‘sitting.’ In Nice, however, many restaurants open earlier than the norm in France: the tourists dine at 6.30pm–7pm, while the locals don’t usually show up until 8.30pm or 9pm.
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