Nice, France: from the airport to the city centre, without the first mistake

Free planning notes from the authors of the Riviera Local guide · Last updated September 2026

Place Masséna in Nice, France, its checkerboard paving and ochre arcades, with the tram tracks of line 2 running along the right-hand side

Our own photograph of Place Masséna. The tram tracks on the right are line 2, the one that brings you in from the airport.

Your trip begins on a tram platform, with a bag and a boarding card still in your pocket. It is 30 minutes and one decision.

Most couples get it right. The ones who do not lose 40 minutes on their first afternoon, going the wrong way through an office district. Here is the whole thing, in the order you will meet it. If you are still shaping the days themselves, our 4 days in Nice itinerary starts with this arrival and what is left of the afternoon after it.

Two trams leave the terminals. One of them goes to town.

Both terminals have their own tram stop, called Aéroport Terminal 1 and Aéroport Terminal 2. Two services call there.

Line 2 is the one you want. It runs from the terminals along the city to Port Lympia, the old port, and it calls at Jean Médecin — the stop for Place Masséna, the shopping streets and the edge of Old Nice. The airport puts the ride at under 30 minutes.

Line B also leaves the terminals, and it does not go to town. It runs inland to CADAM, the administrative centre. Nobody arrives in Nice to see CADAM.

Read the destination on the front of the tram before you step on, not the platform. That is the whole trick.

The line that is not at the airport at all

Half the itineraries online mention tram Line 3 in the same breath as the airport. Line 3 does not stop at either terminal.

It runs between Port Lympia and Saint-Isidore, out past the Allianz Riviera stadium, and you can only join it by changing at Grand Arénas. If you are staying in the centre you will never need it.

Between the two terminals and Grand Arénas, the tram is free. That is the only free part of the journey.

The ticket, and the one honest warning we have

The machines on the tram platforms at both terminals take coins and bank cards, and they sell the airport ticket: an open return called AERO, €10, valid out and back with no date on it.

Here is the awkward part, and we would rather tell you than have you find out at a validator. The transport network’s own airport page says airport access requires that specific ticket. The airport’s page lists the ordinary tickets at the same machines. The two do not agree, and we are not going to resolve it for you from a keyboard.

So: buy the €10 AERO. It is correct under either reading, it covers your ride back on the last morning, and €10 for two journeys is not the thing that will decide your holiday.

For the rest of the week, the network sells day passes — €7 for 1 day, €13 for 2, €20 for 7. Those are for the city, not for settling the airport question.

Validate. Every single time.

The ticket does nothing until you tap it on the small validator inside the tram, and you do that at every boarding, including a connection. One validation per person — two of you means two taps.

Inspectors do work this line, and the fine is not a tourist tax you can smile your way out of. It is the least romantic 20 minutes available in this city.

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The phone problem, if you have an iPhone

On Android, the Lignes d’Azur Tickets app lets you buy a ticket and validate with the phone itself.

On an iPhone it does not. You need the network’s rechargeable card — €2, plus a €2 deposit you get back — sold at the assistance desks in both terminals, and topped up through the app.

If you are two people with two iPhones, that is a small queue on arrival. The platform machine is faster.

How often it runs

Line 2 comes every 7 to 8 minutes on an ordinary weekday, every 9 to 10 minutes on Saturdays and in the school holidays, and every 11 to 12 minutes on Sundays and public holidays.

It does not run through the night. If you land late, check the operator’s timetable for your own arrival time rather than trusting a blog — including this one.

When we take the taxi instead

The official flat fare from the airport to Nice-Centre is €32, fixed, not metered. For two people with two suitcases at the end of a long flight, that is a fair trade and we take it without guilt.

We take the taxi when the flight lands late, when it is raining, and on the first night of a short trip when 30 minutes matters more than the difference in fare.

The ranks are at door A1 at Terminal 1 and door A3 at Terminal 2, and those are the only two places to get in. An official Nice taxi has a rooftop sign with a 3-digit number, a meter, and a printed fare notice inside. Anyone who walks up to you inside the terminal offering a ride is not one of them.

Other flat fares, if your hotel is not in Nice: Antibes and Juan-les-Pins €72, Cannes €85, Monaco €95.

And then, dinner

If you land in the afternoon and want the first meal to be the good one, the answer near Jean Médecin is Lou Balico ⭐⭐ — last visit Oct 2025. A family institution since 1979, one of fewer than 30 places holding the official “Cuisine Nissarde” label. The fresh pasta with pistou is what we order. Around €35–45, reservation essential, closed Sunday and Monday evening. It is 10 minutes on foot from Place Masséna.

If your flight lands on a Sunday, that closure matters, and our notes on where to eat in Nice on a Sunday take it from there.

That is one address. There are 15 more in the guide, each with the month we last ate there, and one of them is chosen for exactly this — the tired first night when you do not want to think.

Quick answers

How do you get from Nice airport to the city centre? Tram line 2 from either terminal. The airport puts the ride at under 30 minutes, and it calls at Jean Médecin, the stop for Place Masséna. The alternative is the official taxi at a €32 flat fare.

Which tram goes from Nice airport to the centre? Line 2. Line B leaves the same terminals and runs inland to CADAM, the administrative centre, so read the destination on the front of the tram before you step on. Line 3 does not stop at either terminal at all.

How much is the tram from Nice airport? The airport ticket is an open return called AERO, €10, valid out and back with no date on it. The platform machines at both terminals take coins and bank cards.

How much is a taxi from Nice airport? The official flat fare to Nice-Centre is €32, fixed rather than metered. Other flat fares: Antibes and Juan-les-Pins €72, Cannes €85, Monaco €95.

Do you have to validate the ticket on the tram? Yes. Tap it on the small validator inside the tram at every boarding, including a connection, and once per person. Inspectors work this line and fines apply.

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— Marc & Sarah, Nice