Nice guide
Nice’s beaches, in practice
Nice’s shoreline is not one beach but thirty-seven, public and private, strung along the Promenade des Anglais. What tells them apart, what is lifeguarded, and what awaits anyone meeting the pebbles for the first time.
At a glance
- Public beaches
- 23
- Private (concession) beaches
- 14
- Lifeguarded swimming in 2026
- 1 July to 31 August, 9 am to 6.30 pm
- Adapted beaches
- 2: Carras (285 Promenade des Anglais) and Centenaire (1 Promenade des Anglais)
- From the apartments
- 105 m to the Promenade, 172 m to the shore
Public or private: the one distinction that matters
The city counts twenty-three public beaches and fourteen concession beaches, plus two watersports bases. The difference is not water quality, which is identical: a public beach is where you put down a towel, a concession beach rents you a lounger and a parasol and serves lunch.
The two alternate along the Promenade des Anglais, west to east. Nothing is fenced and nothing is charged for walking between them: only settling in costs money.
The pebbles, and how to cope
Nice has no sand. The shore is made of rounded pebbles, with two immediate consequences: the water stays clear because nothing clouds it, and getting in calls for beach shoes. The city fits guide ropes on ten beaches to make getting out easier.
- Beach shoes, bought locally for a few euros, change the whole day.
- A thin mat sits better on pebbles than a towel alone.
- All beaches have been smoke-free since 2024.
What is lifeguarded, and when
In 2026 swimming is supervised from 1 July to 31 August, 9 am to 6.30 pm. Two beaches run longer: Carras and Forum are also supervised on 5, 6, 12 and 13 September. Outside those dates the sea is open and nobody is watching.
These are the 2026 season dates, taken from the city’s website. They are renewed every year and never quite the same: the municipal page cited below is the only current one.
Accessibility and dogs
Two beaches are fitted out for people with disabilities: Carras, at 285 Promenade des Anglais, and Centenaire, at number 1. Two others admit dogs: la Lanterne and Lenval.
From the apartments, the Promenade is 105 metres away and the shore 172 — straight-line distances measured from the building’s coordinates. Carras beach is on the same side of town.
The three apartments do not accept pets. The dog beaches are mentioned for visitors staying elsewhere — a guide that only addresses its own guests is not a guide.
The Promenade, a World Heritage site
The seafront is not just scenery. Nice has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2021 as “Nice, Winter Resort Town of the Riviera”: it is the districts born of aristocratic wintering, and the Promenade des Anglais that runs along them, that earned the listing.
In practice, it means an evening walk is worth as much as the beach itself, and depends on neither season nor weather.
Sources
The figures in this article come from the pages below, as of the dates shown. A fare or a timetable may have changed since: where they disagree, the source is right.
- City of Nice — Beaches, sea and coastlineChecked on August 13, 2026
- City of Nice — Making the most of summer in NiceChecked on August 13, 2026
- UNESCO — Nice, Winter Resort Town of the RivieraChecked on August 13, 2026
- LOFTI — distances computed from the building’s coordinatesChecked on August 13, 2026
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Getting from Nice airport into the city
The tram leaves from the terminals themselves and crosses Nice to the port. Here is what to know before you land: which ticket to buy, how often trams run according to the airport, and which stop to get off at for the apartments.
Parking in Nice when you arrive by car
None of the three apartments comes with a parking space. That is not an oversight: Nice is crossed by tram, and a car costs more than it saves here. Here are the three ways to park one, from the cheapest to the most convenient.
Where to stay
Three apartments one street from the Promenade des Anglais, let directly by their owner.