I have my rounds of it believe it or not as been more known for the road warrior , I have management duties here that makes me take public transportation . One of these trips was to Nice and behold needed an airplane this time. It was a the time Air France had a general strike so read on,, Let me update this older post with new text and links for you and me, Therefore, here is my take on my experience at the airport of Nice ! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The story of the Air France strike was there were no flights out of Nice and took me a whole day waiting at the airport to finally catch a flight to Roissy CDG airport, There it was another delay to finally get a flight to the alternate airport at Lorient but my car was at the Nantes airport so AF provided me a taxi to take me there, and finally drove back home arriving at 2 am !! one and only time it was hell !
There are several car rental companies at the airport, however, the ones that I have used are Hertz and Avis with Avis on my last trip there, the rental has always been pleasant, Up to 22h or 10 pm, the car rental counters are at Terminal 1: gates A1/A2, to the right of the information office and Terminal 2: between gates A2 and A3. Vehicle collection and return takes place in the dedicated zone at the Car Rental Center, behind car park P5 at Terminal 2. After 22h or 10 pm which has happened to me you go and take the free shuttle to Terminal 2 from Gate A0 on the arrivals floor. Services run every 6½ minutes between 6h and 23h and every 10 minutes from 4h30 to 6h and from 23h until the last flight arrives. Alight at the Terminus: Terminal 2, Gate A3. Pedestrian access: from any exit, use the sheltered walkway following signs for “Location de voitures /Car Rental Center”. Cross car park P5.
By the highway/motorway A8, exit: n ° 51 Nice Saint-Augustin. By the coastal roads M6007 and M6098 which connect the peripheral coastal cities in Nice and the road M6202 connecting the middle-country. My favorite is the M6098 and from airport take the avenue de la Californie into the Promenade des Anglais continue on Quai des Etats Unis continue on quai Raubac Capeu continue on Rue de Foresta quick turns into hilly into Montée Montfort continue into Montée Eberle, sharp right turn into Allée de la Fontaine aux Oiseaux, and at the crossing with the jewish cemetery on your right get on Allée Professeur Benôit there is parking around there usually never missed it. Of course with a GPS and the address given above it should be a piece of cake right, There are many choices for car and park to the airport however, I will only list for those arriving and leaving from the airport. The car parkings are name P2, P4 at Terminal 1, and P5, P6, P7, P9 and G2 at Terminal 2. All have on site machine for paying as well you can pay in advance online
For shops/restos there are plenty but will mention the ones I have used in the past only. Malongo coffees at Terminal 1 – Floor 0 – Nearest gate: Esplanade. La Tarte Tropézienne, Terminal 1 -Floor 0- Nearest gate A0. Bellota Bellota Terminal 2 – Floor 2 – Nearest gate: A15. Eric Kayser Terminal 2 – Floor 2 – Nearest gate: B22. Saveurs de Provence, Terminal 2 – Floor 2 – Nearest gate: A15. Pierre Marcolini, Terminal 2, Floor 0, nearest gate A19. I did not have use of the VIP lounges which are available because my flights were domestic and in and out sort of things.
The Nice airport is served by bus lines 23, 52, 59, 70, 94 (stop: Aéroport Promenade),also, the Direct Airport line (stops: Aéroport / Promenade, Terminals T1 and T2. A free and fully electric shuttle connects Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 to the car parks that are further away (P4, P6, P8 or P9). As well as tram lines 2 and 3.
The airport is served by many regular lines, including: three airport express shuttles to: Monaco / Menton ,bus 110 and Cannes 210 (took it once to get from Nice airport to Cannes city center).Airport bus station : Avenue Maître Maurice Slama, Grand Arénas district less than 500 meters walk from Terminal 1 (exit A0). Terminal 2 bus station : Arrivals level, exit doors A1 to A3. Terminal 1 bus station Arrivals level, exit A0 after the tramway esplanade. Airport/Promenade’ Sopt Promenade des Anglais (M6098) opposite the airport, 100 meters walk from Terminal 1 (exit A0).
Taxi stands are at Terminal 1 Gate A1, Terminal 2 Gate A3. However, never used it. I only rented car from the airport. The airport site mentioned that indicative rates from airport to city center is 32€. Check and verify as all public transports above,
I never used them but here for information only : There is the Nice Saint Augustin train station that from Nice airport Terminal 1 & 2 you can take the tramway no 2 at Jean Médecin exit at Grand Arénas with a free connection between Airport and Grand Arénas.- Walk is about 600 meters or bit over half a km. Then, there is the Nice-Ville train station in city center you go from to Terminal 1 & 2 on tramway no 2 Jean Médecin exit at Jean Médecin and walk about 800 meters or connection Jean Médecin for about 200 meters on tramway no 1 Henri Sappia exit Gare Thiers and walk about 300 meters
The official Gare Nice Saint Augustin TER train station : https://www.ter.sncf.com/sud-provence-alpes-cote-d-azur/se-deplacer/gares/nice-st-augustin-87756254
The official Gare Nice-Ville : https://www.ter.sncf.com/sud-provence-alpes-cote-d-azur/se-deplacer/gares/nice-ville-87756056
A bit on the history I like tell us that the Nice-Côte d’Azur Airport (IATA code: NCE) is located in Nice, in the Alpes-Maritimes dept 06 of the region of PACA and also known as the Côte d’Azur. It is the third largest airport in France, after the airports of Paris- Charles-de-Gaulle and Paris-Orly In terms of business aviation movements, it ranks second among European airports, after Paris-Le Bourget airport. To recap some memorable dates I like : Nice airport originated in the organization in 1910 of a first airshow, which follows Louis Blériot’s first crossing of the Channel by just one year. Initially, these are the fields of a place called Californie and some hangars. 1929: official recognition of the site Nice, on the airfield of Californie, as an aerodrome by the Minister of the Air. 1945: Air France establishes itself on the Nice airport, and opens a line Paris-Marseille-Nice with a Junker 52 airplane, then a second line Nice-Corsica. 1955: change of name to Nice Côte d’Azur airport . 1959: Nice hosts on June 1, 1959 the inaugural flight of the Caravelle airplane, the first French jet plane, on the Nice-Rome line operated by Air France. 1986: the airport becomes permanently the first provincial airport. 1987: inauguration of a second terminal, the T2. 2019: Historic opening August 2 of a regular line between China and a provincial airport with 3 weekly flights between Beijing and Nice, operated by the Chinese company Air China. During the summer season, the milestone of 60 airlines operating on a regular and simultaneous basis was crossed for the first time. The platform has developed and launched an unprecedented self-connecting solution in France by offering a combination of more than 23,000 connections per week with airlines using the airport allowing travelers who wish to transit through Nice. 2020: Terminal 1 closes its doors on March 16, 2020, traffic focuses only on terminal 2. Due to COVID19. 2021: Terminal 1 opened momentarily during the summer of 2021 to absorb the gradual recovery of traffic. 2022: Terminal 1 reopens on March 27, 2022 after two years of closure due to the health crisis.
The airport of Nice on its services : https://www.nice.aeroport.fr/en/services
The airport of Nice on car rental reservations : https://nice-aeroport-car-en.h-resa.com/
The airport of Nice on parking reservations : https://www.nice.aeroport.fr/en/booking/parking/search-results/
There you go folks, now you have another airport of my belle France briefly disclose for your traveling pleasure in France and elsewhere. Again, hope you enjoy this post on my experience at the Airport of Nice as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 