Rugby Travel guide to Nice

The capital of the Côte d’Azur is a city rich in UNESCO-class heritage, with an iconic promenade, beloved by Queen Victoria, and with a sporting pedigree that includes the Tour de France, the European Championships, FIFA World Cups and Rugby World Cups. This is what every rugby fan visiting needs to know.

What’s Nice like?
Nice exudes timeless elegance, and caught between the Alps and the Mediterranean with Italy to the east, its position is enviable. Early 20th-century villas, exotic gardens, shaded promenades, chic palaces and pebbly shores of the Bay of Angels are framed by the imposing Southern Alps.

What are the claims to fame of Nice?
English fans will definitely feel at home, so famed is it for attracting them through the ages – Queen Victoria was a big fan – that its iconic 7km stretch of Mediterranean frontage is named after them, Promenade des Anglais. Nice has art and history running through its veins, with a collection of Belle-Époque gems and also boasts Henri Matisse as a former resident.

How do I get to Nice?
Flights to Nice Côte d'Azur Airport from London, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol or Edinburgh take around two hours, and a tram service runs from the terminal directly into the city centre in less than 30 minutes. Trains also run from London St Pancras to Nice, with a stopover in Paris.

How do I get to Stade de Nice?
Stade de Nice is less than an hour away from Old Nice via tram [special transport facility set up with the line 3 during the event], or 25-minutes from the airport by taxi. If you’re zooming around town on a Velo Bleu before the match, the nearest docking station is located on Boulevard Maurice Slama. Bus line 95 goes from the city to Avenue Mimoun (near the stadium).

What’s Stade de Nice like?
Having opened its doors in 2013, the 36,178-seater Stade de Nice [or Allianz Riviera to give its other name] boasts some great sustainability credentials, including a wave-shaped roof lined with solar panels. It’s well-equipped with a bar and an adjoining shopping centre, too. The stadium hosted four games at football’s 2016 European Championship, including England’s 1-2 defeat to Iceland. England’s women also played there three times for football’s World Cup in 2019, winning two of their three games.

Wayne’s

Where do you drink before a match at Stade de Nice?
Beer on tap is available inside the stadium (make sure to pre-order online to skip the queues), but you also can count on Memphis diner – just around the corner – for pints and cocktails alongside American-style fare. In the city centre, retro-style Wayne’s is a favourite for French and international beers as well as live music, Les Distilleries Idéales for biere pomme with a view and Scandi-inspired Restaurant Pure & V (one-Michelin-starred) for an impressive selection of natural wines.

Do they play rugby in Nice?
Yes, Stade Niçois, an ambitious side formed in 2013, from the ashes of Rugby Nice Côte d'Azur Université-Racing, who had once finished as runners-up in the French championship in 1983. Today, Stade Niçois play in the Nationale, France’s third tier, but have their eyes much higher, as shown by the signing of English former European Player of the Year, Steffon Armitage.

Promenade des Anglais

What do I have to see in Nice?
Stroll the palm-fringed Promenade des Anglais along the Bay of Angels and over to the foot of the Old Town, where boutiques, bars and cathedrals beckon exploration. With more museums than any French city outside of Paris, don’t miss one of the world’s largest collections of works by Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall’s biblical musings and relics of the 1999 Rugby World Cup at the National Sport Museum. Also, explore Cours Saleya market, one of the best on the Mediterranean coast.

Henri Matisse

What can I do between games in Nice?
Explore the city on two wheels – electric Velo Bleu bikes are available for self-hire from dozens of docking stations. For best views, climb up to the waterfall at Colline du Chateau, once the site of a mediaeval castle. When it comes to watersports, nearby Villefranche-sur-Mer, accessible by a scenic cliffside walk, is the go-to training spot of freediving champion Guillaume Nery, and there's plenty of opportunity for stand-up paddleboarding, snorkelling and waterskiing along the shore.

Colline du Chateau

What’s the food like in Nice?
Menus are simple yet flavourful, focused on the seasons. Cuisine Nissarde part of France’s Intangible Cultural Heritage – pan bagnat (tuna, egg, salad and olive roll) and tourte de blettes (Swiss chard tart) are must-tries, with Olive de Nice and Vin de Bellet wine holding Protected Designation of Origin status. Read Rugby Journal’s full guide to food in Nice and French Riviera here.

What are the best places to eat in Nice?
Figs, beetroot and Séte oysters are on display at 200-stall Marché de la Libération; its seafood section is the source of inspiration for restaurants like Peixes, famed for its swordfish carpaccio. For fresh oyster platters at the oldest restaurant in Nice, head to Café de Turin on Place Garibaldi and, for Nissarde specialties, Old Town’s Lu Fran Calin - menu highlights include beef ravioli and onion pies paired with AOC Vins de Bellet. Book a table in advance for Provence apricot, lavender ice cream and countryside honey at one-Michelin-starred Le Chantecler. Again, read the Rugby Journal’s full guide to food in Nice and French Riviera here.

Hotel Le Negresco

What are the best places to stay in Nice?
Nice has more hotels than any city outside Paris - choose between a palatial loft overlooking the swanky Cimiez district (from £154), artistic suites and a private beach at pink-domed Hotel Le Negresco (doubles from £221), French charm at verdant B&B Casa Musa (doubles from £147) or simple comfort at ibis Nice Californie Lenval (doubles from £69), a stone’s throw from the beach. Alternatively, opt for great views over the Alps from Servotel Saint-Vincent, right by the stadium (doubles from £115).

Antibes, Fort Carré

What is close to Nice?
The second-smallest country in the world, Monaco, is just a 30-minute train ride away - try your luck at the glamorous casinos of Monte Carlo before settling down for an evening of classical music at the Prince’s Palace. Twenty minutes in the opposite direction sits Antibes, former home to Picasso, with its star-shaped Fort Carré and myriad markets - this is the place to stock up on gourmet souvenirs. Picasso’s Antibes; Cannes a further twenty minutes; and then St Tropez another hour and a half. Of course, the Alps are just only one hour and a half drive to the north, Provence right on the doorstep, and to the east, the Italian border is just over an hour drive from Nice.

What do people think of Nice?
Well, we asked former Wasps lock Martin Purdy, who now lives and works in Nice as a carpenter. He said of his recent experience at Stade de Nice, during football’s European Championships: “The atmosphere was amazing, the bars were full and we had all these Northern Ireland fans here that everyone loved, they were helping everyone, it was a change to see football fans and locals getting along.”

Ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, he said, “The World Cup will have that same atmosphere, especially as France are going to win it. I think now, even people who aren’t normally rugby fans are following France because they’re doing well, they’re really popular.”

Good weather will also help. “You have 300 days of sunshine a year here, so that changes the mood of everyone,” says Martin. “And in September and October, it’s still going to be lovely and warm, far better than the grey skies we’d have back home.” 

How do I find out more about Nice?
For more information on Nice, visit explorenicecotedazur.com
For more information on RWC2023, visit rugbyworldcup.com