My husband and I will be visiting Europe early this summer with our 14 year old daughter, and are considering staying in Nice for 3 or 4 nights. We%26#39;d like to visit a sandy beach on one of those days, something that has chairs and towels available, restrooms, and food and beverages for sale. From what I%26#39;ve read, the beaches in Nice are a bit pebbly and expensive to access. If we%26#39;re going to pay to rent a chair, etc., I%26#39;d rather be on a sandy beach.
Can anyone recommend a beach that is easily reachable from Nice via public transporation? I was thinking of Cannes, as we could spend some time there relaxing on the beach and then explore a bit of the city.
Thanks very much!
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Yes, Cannes is probably the best choice for a sandy beach with facilities. Villefranche-sur-Mer just next to Nice also has a sandy beach which is public and free but I do not recall any facilities for hire of chairs or parasols. There are free shower facilities.
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Cannes would make a nice change from Nice and the shops are excellent. Definitely go by train and not bus and get a fast non-stopping train, it%26#39;ll stop at Antibes and Cannes maybe a couple of others rather than every single stop between Nice and Cannes, you could get there in about 25 mins. A bus is cheap but takes ages. If you take the train , try and buy your tickets in advance the day before, it can take ages or try the machine, just remember to %26#39;composter%26#39; your tickets on the day you use them - ie feed them into the machine to be stamped each time you use the train.
We tend to do the opposite though, to what you are planning. It%26#39;s because of the pebbles in Nice that a paying private beach really comes into its own, it%26#39;s nice to have the beck and call of the waiters, matting to walk down to the sea, plus of course, the padded sunloungers, retsauarnts, snack bars and loos etc. There are about 15 private beaches in Nice and they are divided from each other by the free public beaches, all are different, my favourite is the Beau Rivage private beach (I love the Castel Plage too) Both are near the Old Town.
When we went to Cannes last summer, we noticed that the cost of private beaches in Cannes was definitely higher than in Nice (although both are expensive, but a nice treat) When we fancy sand (I have a daughter too, bit younger than yours) because it is so soft, we just tend to go on the free sandy beach at Antibes, no need to carry pads, just towels and a tiny parasol. There are no free sandy beaches at Cannes, the main strip is all private except for the far west of Cannes, around the corner of the bay, where there are free public beaches.
best wishes
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Excuse me ~ AllaboutNice, but there are indeed free public sandy beaches in Cannes. We use the one to the left of the Hotel Martinez (a three-minute walk and it has outdoor showers ~ the swimming is lovely). There are others too around the bend from the Old Port.
deblemint, there are several beaches with the amenities you mention; the majority are attached to the hotels, Martinez being one, and these have very good restaurants as well. But you %26quot;can%26quot; order food /drinks to be brought to your chaises. Our favorite, when we used to stay up in Grasse, was Carlton%26#39;s. It was a bit of a splurge but memorable. Nowadays, as we stay right on the Croisette, we use the public beach mentioned above, but make a point of having lunch at the Carlton at least once or twice. They have a fabulous Buffet, with every seafood delicacy , fresh oysters, great cheeses, salads, meats%26amp;pates etc. and the desserts ooh-la-la!
Have a look at Cannes official website to see all kinds of info:
http://cannes.fr/Anglais/uneuk.htm
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Excuse me ~ AllaboutNice, but there are indeed free public sandy beaches in Cannes. We use the one to the left of the Hotel Martinez (a three-minute walk and it has outdoor showers ~ the swimming is lovely). There are others too around the bend from the Old Port.
Oh! Thanks for the heads up, we didn%26#39;t see those, must have gawping at the Hotels. I thought the only ones were the ones I mentioned beyond the port. (expert for Nice not Cannes!)
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allaboutNice, my DH is an %26quot;expert%26quot; on this beach LOL (82 Croisette)
~ spends half the day there, everyday! If you ever feel like going, there%26#39;s a Creperie immediately across the street that also serves inexpensive hot food, and Couscous every other Wednesday. And of course, you%26#39;ve seen all those kiosks along the Blvd.
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Thanks for the info, everyone. There are some great sounding options in both cities. I do like the idea of chairside service, though!
Thanks, also, for the tips about train tickets allaboutnice.
The more I read on these forums about the area, the more I%26#39;m convinced that this would be a fantastic place to visit ;-)
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