Orientation
VIEUX NICE
Vieux Nice is bounded by bl. Jean Jaurès to the north, the château to the east, and the Jardin Albert I to the west. Its winding steets are sometimes confusing for the tourists that invade the area around lunchtime and after sunset. The cours Saleya hosts local markets during the day that give way to cafes at night. Some of the largest crowds gather around the Église St. Jeaques and the Palais du Justice for street preformers. This is also where you’ll find most of Nice’s nightlife, backpackers, and cruise ship tourists. Small shops selling liqueurs, oils, and soaps are interspersed amongst the small boutique restaurants and hookah lounges.
MASSENA
Bounded by the train station to the north, the Jardin Albert I to the southwest, and the bus station and old city to the east, Massena is one of the busiest areas for any commerce that extends beyond tourism in Nice. The tram runs right through the middle of the neighborhood along Jean Medecin, and stops in front of the main square, the shopping center, and the train station. The closer you get to the train station, the higher the frequency of sex shops and neon lights. On the plus side, the hotels around here are cheaper. Closer to the old city, you can find row upon row of cheap clothing outlets (or at least cheap compared to other towns on the Riviera). Massena also hosts most of the city’s metropolitan museums; almost all of them are free, though a couple of the private musuems, such as the Musée National Message Biblique Marc Chagall, are not. The local restaurants and bars mostly cater to residents, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find fellow tourists.
SEA FRONT
The Sea Front is the easiest part of Nice to navigate. Step one: face ocean. Step two: walk either left or right. Boom, you have just oriented yourself along the only axis of this neighborhood. Dotted with the Massena Museum and the Opera, with the Hotel Negresco standing in the middle, the Sea Front is the least budget-friendly place to be in Nice. The hotels are pricey, the restaurants are formal, and the beaches are private. If you walk along any of the streets that run perpendicular to the ocean, you can find cheap food stands and two-star hotels. By doing so, you will have to give up the ocean view, unless you want to kink your neck in a manner befitting a circus performer to get a whiff of the salt air. A block up from the ocean runs streets parallel to the ocean, where you find more laid-back bars and cafes, as well as some affordable shopping. For those who want to escape the tourist-infested Vieux Nice at night, this is the perfect area to wander the boulevards in search of a more undiscovered Nice, one without the unattractive fanny packs and unwashed backpacks.