8 Fun and Unique City Tours in Nice, France

ByStephanie Rytting Posted on

Looking for the most exciting and interesting city tours in Nice? Read on – I’ve got some great recommendations!

The view looking out at the blue ocean from a stone arched doorway

Nice is one of my favorite French cities – the sea views, beaches, charming Old Town, and rich history make for a truly unforgettable experience.

And while just wandering the Promenade des Anglais can make for a lovely holiday, one thing I’ve come to appreciate more and more as I travel is that a good, small-group tour with an excellent local guide can really enhance your vacation and appreciation of the city.

The good news is that Nice has a great number of enriching, interesting, and unique activities that will certainly become the highlight of your visit to the French Riviera (I know it certainly was the case for me!)

In this post, I’m sharing some of my favorite city tours in Nice that will give you a more special experience with the capital of the Côte d’Azur.

8 Exciting and Interesting City Tours in Nice

1. Provencal Specialties Food Tour with Wine Tasting

A charcuterie board with different slices of meet and cheese laid out on a parchment paper and grapes and tomatoes on the side.
Sandwiches with meat in between two pieces of toasted break and white powder on top with pomegranates on each side of the sandwiches.

Food tours are one of my favorite ways to experience a new city and really dive into its unique culture and history. And Nice is a particularly great city to do a food tour because Nicoise and Provencal cuisine are distinct and unique within general French cuisine.

As I’ve visited Nice over the years, I’ve been really surprised by just how many unique local foods there are to try in this one city in France, not even counting the more regional foods and dishes that are typical for Provence and the French Riviera.

This Provencal food tour is just so fun and was a highlight of my most recent trip to Nice. We wandered through the market, sampling fresh produce, olives, and various treats, and stopped by a historic and beautiful candy store to try traditional candied fruits and nuts.

A thin crispy chickpea pancake like food with powdered sugar on top on a glass plate.

We enjoyed a charcuterie board featuring local cheeses and meats, complemented by tomatoes and grapes straight from the market, and traditional Nicoise specialties such as tarte de blettes, socca, pissaladière, and petit farcis nicoise.

Finally, we finished the tour with tastings of Provencal olive oil, balsamic vinegar, regional wines, and more.

Come hungry because you will definitely be eating well!

Check prices and availability for this Provencal food tour here

2. Create Your Own Perfume at Maison Molinard

A pyramid of perfume scents in a perfume lab with different tools on each side of the wall

Did you know that the perfume capital of the world is located in Grasse, France? This little town is home to multiple historic perfumeries (that is, perfume factories), including top names like Molinard, Galimard, and Fragonard.

Historically, flowers grown on the French Riviera (and from other exotic locations around the world) were brought to Grasse to be turned into fragrances used in perfume.

In fact, Nice’s famed Marché aux Fleurs market was originally started to sell flowers to the perfume makers. Today, of course, it sells a host of products, including produce, candy, spices, but the flowers remain.

If you visit Grasse, you can visit the historic factories and then participate in a perfume-making workshop where you actually design and create your own bottle of perfume. However, if you don’t have time to make it up to Grasse, you can still do the exact same perfume creation experience right in the heart of Nice.

This workshop is absolutely delightful (even for someone like me who isn’t really big into perfume) – you learn the basic principles of perfume creation, then get to smell dozens of scents, deciding which selection you might want to include in your perfume. You can read all the details about my experience at this perfume-making class here.

Check prices and availability for this perfume creation class here

3. Romantic Photoshoot in Nice

A man and woman stand in front of a huge fountain in the middle of a courtyard in Nice

One of my favorite things to do with Matthew when we travel internationally is do a professional photoshoot in a beautiful spot that we are visiting. We’ve done photoshoots all over the world, and these pictures are instantly treasured souvenirs.

A man and woman hook arms walking up a quaint alley with arched doorway and lots of plants on either side
A woman pulls a man's hand throughout the middle of a stone courtyard.

Nice has SO MANY locations that would be gorgeous for a photoshoot, such as the Promenade des Anglais, Old Town, the Carré d’Or neighborhood, the Port, just to name a few.

All the pictures in this section are from a photoshoot we did in Aix-en-Provence, France (about 2 hours away), but I would do a photoshoot in Nice (either as a couple or as a family) in a heartbeat.

Get more information about booking your fun and romantic French Riviera photoshoot here

4. French Wine Tasting

Three glasses of white wine in the middle of the table.


If you appreciate French wine or fancy an afternoon sampling some of the finest globally, think about joining a small-group French wine tasting in a cozy wine shop.

Of course, you can drink wine in just about any restaurant in France, but a dedicated wine tasting will take you through 7-8 different selections of wine (including red, white, and rosé),

This session takes place in a charming wine shop in Old Town, where a knowledgeable sommelier guides you through the nuances of smelling, tasting, and enjoying 7-8 distinct Provencal wines. You’ll get to sample red, white, and rosé varieties, including well-known varieties and lesser-known wines.

You’ll learn about the different wine regions in France, notable features of each wine, and the production process to grow the grapes and create the wine.

Check prices and availability for this Tour de France Wine Tasting here

5. E-Bike Tour of Nice

The view from the top of the mountain looking down and nice with the orange and red buildings with the harbor in the middle with small sailboats and large yachts.

An e-bike tour around Nice is a great way to experience the city and a couple of hidden gems in the surrounding area, all while enjoying an idyllic bike ride. You’ll enjoy great views of the Promenade des Anglais and Castle Hill, before venturing into Port Lympia and then further on to Mont Boron, where you’ll enjoy gorgeous views over Villefranche and Cap Ferrat.

It’s a great mix of experiencing some of the top attractions in Nice while also visiting a true hidden gem (Mont Boron), and enjoying an experience and views that hardly any visitors to Nice get to enjoy.

Of course, you’re not just pedaling and enjoying views, you’re also learning about the history and culture of Nice and the French Riviera as you pedal through it, making it an adventurous and educational activity in Nice.

The e-bikes are particularly helpful for this type of tour, as you will be pedaling up some decently big hills.

Check prices and availability for this e-bike tour of Nice here

6. Walking Tour of Historical Nice

A large hill with colorful buildings on both sides with a large green tree at the top of the hill with many people walking up and down the street.

While I do enjoy exploring a city on my own, joining a walking tour with a local guide who really knows the city can significantly deepen your understanding of its history, culture, and the little-known facts that only locals can tell you about.

This guided walking tour of Old Nice is a fantastic option – the guides are known for their enthusiasm and ability to make the city’s past come to life through vivid stories and insights. (They don’t have over 800 5-star reviews for nothing!)

Check rates and availability for this walking tour here

7. Mediterranean Cooking Class

A green cucumber, asparagus, lemons, and an eggplants sit on a wooden cutting board.

While we love going to local restaurants, cooking classes (like food tours) while traveling have been a real highlight for us. They give you a unique look into local culture, let you learn some cooking skills, and you get to have a

This cooking class in the Nice countryside is a great way to spend an afternoon. It takes place at the home of a French woman who lives just outside of central Nice, on a beautiful property overlooking the countryside. You’re surrounded by olive trees and picking fresh produce and herbs from the garden to make a French Mediterranean meal.

Your host, Marie, will show you how to prepare the dishes, and then you all get to enjoy the meal together on her terrace – it’s a combination of great company, delicious food, and gorgeous views.

Check availability and book this French provincial cooking class here

8. Paddleboarding in Nice

A woman in a bikini paddle boards in the middle of the blue water.

If you’re visiting during the warmer months, a paddleboarding experience around Nice is a really fun, exciting, and unique opportunity to experience the coastline of Nice from the water.

You’ll actually start at the beach in Villefranche (a tiny village just a few minutes from Nice), where you, your instructor, and a very small group will get outfitted with paddleboards, given a quick paddleboarding lesson (if necessary) and then taken out on the water.

This is a really great spot for paddleboarding, as the Bay of Villefranche is in a cove protected between two capes and the coastline of Cap Ferrat is delightfully scraggly and full of little inlets and beautiful, secluded spots. The experience gives you 2 full hours on the water and concludes with a small picnic in an isolated cove.

Check availability and book this paddleboarding excursion from Nice here

Interesting Experiences to Have in Nice – The Wrap Up

All of these activities in Nice are great ways to dive deeper into the culture and get an experience that is more personal and off-the-beaten path. There’s a lot of options for city tours in Nice that will appeal to a wide range of interests, and all are fun and exciting activities!

Stephanie is obsessed with everything having to do with France, and she's visited the country 10 times (including a 3 month stint when she lived in Paris). She draws on her extensive knowledge of the country to bring you detailed and helpful guides, from the perspective of a fellow traveler.