Hi guys, we will be staying at the Monsigny hotel which is near the railway station in Nice. I am a bit concerned as had limited independent reviews. We are happy with basic accommodation but Im a bit concerned about location - somewhere I read it can be dodgy of any evening in that area. We are planning to walk down main shopping roads, early evening, to go out for evening meals around the Promanade. How should we travel home around 11 pm with our 6 year old daughter? OK to walk? How do we get taxi ??? Which areas are recommended for restaurants - Old Nice sounds great but I dont know where it is or how far to walk. Any tips on the above or anything else for that matter IS GREATLY APPRECIATED AND THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!
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Old Town is about 20 minutes from the train station. Walk on Jean Médecin St. towards the Promeande des Anglais. As you get to Place Masséna, make a left and follow th signs. You can%26#39;t miss it. I suggest you get a map at the Tourist bureau besides the train station (it is in the same building but you have to get out of the station to get into the Tourist bureau). You have plenty of restautants on Masséna, de France, de la Buffa St. It is walkable at 11 but you have cabs close to the Place Masséna by the bus terminus.
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You can order a brochure and a map at
http://www.nicetourism.com
%26gt;%26gt; practical guide %26gt;%26gt; contact us %26gt;%26gt; brochures
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If the hotel is where I think it is, you are on the main road anyway so at least you have no need to walk on quiet back streets late at night - I am sure you will be fine. rue malaussena continues in a straight line south out of your hotel as rue Jean Medecin at the next main junction which is the main shopping road on the modern city centre. I reckon it would take about 25 mins to walk from your hotel right down to the sea in a straight line south from this hotel, which seems a lot but it is flat and it never seems to take as long as it does, if that makes sense. The Old Town is off to the left after Place Massena, an extra 5 minutes or so. You will probably become accustomed to the buses which run up and down the length of rue J Medecin, the number 1 and 2 I think are quite frequent, but I think that by 9pm most of the buses seem to tail off a bit. (all bus info plus route map www.lignedazur.com) Walking is not a problem as the weather is so mild, you may get fed up with the tram works along the main road but you will learn detours and move a block along to avoid it during the day. Look out for dog poos too.
As far as eating out with your daughter is concerned, I have been coming to Nice for 5 years and my daughter is 10 now. We used to eat our main meal at lunchtime and buy simple stuff and wine to eat at the hotel in the evenings from local patisseries and supermarkets. My daughter is a real dormouse and loves her sleep so we HAD to get back to the hotel early and it is only the last year or two that she can stay awake long enough to eat out in the evenings. I know you are worried by 11pm returns to your hotel but I have found that if you get to a restaurant by 7 - 7:30 pm, you will be finished by 9:30 at the latest and you will be back in your hotel by 10pm even allowing a half-hour walk. Most restaurants offer a %26#39;menu enfant%26#39; - a drink, meal and pudding at a set price, nuggets and icecream usually feature, or you can always ask for a plain bowl of pasta or a smaller size portion. There%26#39;s a nice cheap place in the Old Town called Restaurant du Jesu, spagetti bol there is about 8 euros but they gave my daughter a small portion and charged 5 euros.
I don%26#39;t really know the restaurants in that area, but if you suss out a few that are not too far away from your hotel, rather than coming all the way down to the Old Town and Prom every night, you may feel reassured that you are close to your hotel. There is a cluster of nice-looking restauarnts on rue Biscarra, not far from you just north of Nice Etoile shopping centre on J Medecon - I believe %26#39;Vin sur Vin%26#39; is good. Also, on rue Massena plus several roads north of rue Massena there are a few nice-looking places. Maybe other people could advise.
I am sure you will be fine walking, no need for a taxi, but if you do need one then they cannot be flagged down, you must order one or go to a rank, one by Galeries Lafayette. There is a universal taxi number for Nice taxis - put it is your mobile , you may need the French country code too: 00 33 . the taxi info is:
CENTRAL TAXI RIVIERA
Tel. : 33 (0)4 93 13 78 78
Switchboard 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Night rate from 7pm to 7 am
Main taxi ranks :
• Esplanade Masséna
• Promenade des Anglais
• Place Garibaldi
• Rue Hôtel-des-Postes
• Gare SNCF
• Acropolis
best wishes
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Just thought I%26#39;d add a couple more tips as you will have a young daughter in Nice like me.
I love the beach at Villefranche - this has been covered in a previous posting.
One of the best private beaches in Nice for young children is the Blue Beach almost oppposite the Negresco Hotel, they have a small pool, looks horrid but the children love it, a nice menu enfant and trampolenes near by.
A beach with sand, swimming pool, sea, cafe (not the cheapest but nice food), nice loos, lockers ec and a 200 air-conditioned shopping mall near by is Cocody Beach, a private beach attached to the Holiday Inn at St Laurant de Var, from your hotel, catch the 200 Cannes bus and get off at Cap3000 (that%26#39;s the shopping mall stop) walk down to the beach and turn right up the prom for about 5 minutes. It%26#39;s about 20 mins on the bus and only 1,30 bus fare. The beach is 17 euros for a sunbed and 6 euros for a child using the pool. We were there yesterday and had a great time, even got some shopping in before the bus home. The 52 bus will also take you to Cap3000 and back to Nice, your nearest stop is Albert 1 (see www.lignedazur.com for map) There%26#39;s a selection of much cheaper cafes too just by the beach, you can leave your stuff and come back. You can%26#39;t take your own picnic on the private beaches. It%26#39;s about a 20 minute bus ride from Nice, St Laurant de Var is jsut the other side of Nice airport - yo can see the big Cap3000 shopping centre from the plane as you arrive. The rest of the public beach at St Laurant is pebbles, Cocody have sand brought in.
A favourite park of mine and my daughter is the park %26#39;Castel des deux Rois%26#39; to the east of Nice Port. It%26#39;s a bit of a trek for you, but looking at the map, there is a fairly direct route from your hotel. The problem is there is a small hill to climb just before the park, only about 5 minutes. There are 2 buses you could take, the 14 or the 82 from the Gare Routiere, walking back is ok as it%26#39;s downhill and as there%26#39;s no direct bus really handy for you from the hotel, if you take it slow, it%26#39;s not oo bad. The park%26#39;s biggest plus is that dogs are banned which makes sitting on the grass under the trees very pleasant. There%26#39;s a large hollow with 3 enormous water sprays, which gives a safe place play and run about in the water so take a swimsuit and a towel for your daughter. There%26#39;s a jolly nice cafe there too with a nice loo, you can get take-out coffees etc if you don%26#39;t want to sit and eat at a table. Picnics are welcome and there are seating areas about as well as the grassy banks. It%26#39;s not a huge place but very charming and there are 2 adventure playgrounds, one for toddlers, the other for older ones which my daughter loved right up to this year, she considers herself too old now!
The castle hill or chateau by the Old Town of Nice is also good for children, a couple of playgrounds, dodgems, ice-cream kiosks and 2 cafes, plus the ride up there on the tourist train if you like. The ancient lift is an experience in itself if you don%26#39;t want to walk up.
Another place recommended for children, although I have not been yet, is the Phoenix Parc by the airport, 2 euros entry and free for children, I have read several enthusiastic reviews from parents of younger children, sounds like you could spend a day there quite happily. bus 9 or 10 from Nice.
best wishes
by the way, in Nice if you buy a bus ticket and need to get 2 or even 3 buses to your destination, you only pay once, 1,30 euros provided the journey is a continuation and made within the hour.
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Get a map. The streets aren%26#39;t set up in any grid or anything. It%26#39;s real easy to get lost. We stayed near the station, too, this summer and one night we had an awful time finding our way back (and I%26#39;ll admit it got a little scary in the dark). Some college kids leaving the next morning gave us their well-used map from McDonalds. It saved our lives and we ended up using the Mickey D coupons for lunch the following day.
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