Old Town and Castle Hill Guided Walking Tour Nice

Place Masséna and the Fontaine du Soleil

The tour starts at the Fontaine du Soleil, the fountain on Place Masséna crowned by a tall marble statue of Apollo surrounded by bronze figures representing the planets. The square, with its red-ochre arcaded buildings and black-and-white paving, links the modern city to the old town and is the natural meeting place of Nice. Look for your guide in a pink top.

From here the walk passes some of Nice's grandest civic buildings: the Town Hall, the Opera House rebuilt in the late 19th century after a fire, and the Prefecture Palace, the former seat of the rulers of Savoy and Sardinia, who governed Nice until it joined France in 1860. Your guide explains how this turbulent history shaped the city's Italian look and its own dialect.

Vieux Nice, Place Rossetti and Nice Cathedral

Vieux Nice is a honeycomb of narrow streets lined with tall houses in shades of ochre, pink and yellow, with painted shutters and small baroque chapels at every turn. The guide leads you through the Palace of Justice Square to Place Rossetti, the liveliest square of the old town, famous for its ice-cream shops.

Here stands Nice Cathedral, dedicated to Sainte-Réparate, the city's patron saint. Built in the 17th century, it has a richly decorated baroque interior and a dome covered in glazed tiles that shines in the sun. A Vieux Nice tour is the best way to understand the old town, and your guide points out hidden corners that most visitors walk straight past.

Cours Saleya flower and food market

The Cours Saleya, a long pedestrian street between the old town and the sea, hosts the most famous market in Nice. From Tuesday to Sunday mornings its striped awnings shelter stalls of fresh flowers, fruit, olives and Provençal produce, while on Mondays it becomes an antiques market. The tour includes a short break here.

Your guide introduces the local specialities you will see: socca, a crisp chickpea pancake baked in wood-fired ovens; pissaladière, an onion tart; and petits farcis, stuffed vegetables. You also have time to buy flowers or handmade gifts and use the restroom. If you search for the Cours Saleya market opening hours, it is busiest from early morning until around 1 PM.

Promenade des Anglais, the port and Bellanda Tower

The walk then reaches the Promenade des Anglais, the seven-kilometre seafront promenade that has defined Nice since the 19th century, when winter visitors from northern Europe paid for its construction. With its blue chairs, palm trees and pebble beach, it is one of the most recognisable places on the French Riviera.

From the eastern end you see toward the old port, where fishing boats and ferries to Corsica moor beneath the slopes of the hill. Bellanda Tower, a round tower built in the 19th century on the site of an old bastion, marks the start of the climb. From its terrace the view sweeps along the whole curve of the Baie des Anges.

Castle Hill, the best viewpoint in Nice

Castle Hill, or Colline du Château, rises about 90 metres above the sea between the old town and the port. A fortress stood here for centuries until it was destroyed in 1706; today the summit is a shaded park with an artificial waterfall, the ruins of the first cathedral, playgrounds and several viewpoints.

The tour ends at the top, where you look over the rooftops of Vieux Nice, the Promenade des Anglais and the turquoise Baie des Anges on one side, and the old port on the other. Is Castle Hill worth visiting? It offers the best view in Nice, and after the tour you can stay as long as you like, then walk down or take the free lift back to the seafront.