Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and buy tickets from the driver. Make sure to validate your ticket in the machine just behind
the driver—watch locals do it and imitate.
The €4 all-day pass is valid on city buses and trams, as well as buses to some nearby
destinations. The all-day ticket makes sense if you plan to take the bus to museums, use the
tramway several times, or are going to the airport (you must validate your ticket on every
trip). Express buses to and from the airport (#98 and #99) require the €4 all-day ticket, so
savvy riders pack in other bus and/or tram rides on the day of their flight.
Nice's
tramway
makes an “L” along Avenue Jean Médecin and Boulevard Jean Jaurès,
and connects the main train station (Gare Thiers stop), Place Masséna (Masséna stop, near
many regional bus stops and a few blocks' walk from the sea), Vieux Nice (Opéra-Vieille
Ville, Cathédrale-Vieille Ville), and the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum and port
(Place Garibaldi).
BoardingthetraminthedirectionofPontMicheltakesyoufromthetrainstationtoward
the beach and Vieux Nice (direction: Las Planas goes the other way). Buy tickets at the ma-
chines on the platforms (coins only, no credit cards). Choose the English flag to change the
display language, turn the round knob and push the green button to select your ticket, press
it twice at the end to get your ticket, or press the red button to cancel. Once you're on the
tram, validate your ticket by inserting it into the top of the white box, then reclaiming it (
ht-
Taxis
are useful for getting to Nice's less-central sights, and worth it if you're nowhere
near a bus or tram stop (figure €15 from Promenade des Anglais). Cabbies normally only
pick up at taxi stands
(tête de station),
or you can call 04 93 13 78 78.
The hokey
tourist train
gets you up Castle Hill (see “Tours in Nice and the Riviera,”
later).
