Finding a place in Nice was the hardest yet. Because we have 150 lbs of luggage, we need either ground/first floor or an elevator, which excluded most of Old Nice. We stayed during a heat wave so we also needed an AC.
After more than a week of searching Airbnbs and hotels, with the help of travel planner Melissa Griffith (give her a follow if you want great deals on travel!), we finally decided on an Airbnb that was pretty central to all the main areas in Nice. It was a pretty easy walk to Old Nice, the water, the train station, and the shopping area.
The Airbnb had everything we needed: AC, elevator, and a washing machine. But it was very small. The listing says it can hold three people, but unless it’s a couple and their child, it’s too small for more than two. For us for a few days, it was fine.
It also had a tiny balcony. There was folded up furniture on it, but I honestly don’t think it would have fit open. The view wasn’t great either, so we didn’t use it.
The Airbnb was run by a management company, which is pretty common in Nice. Apparently a bunch of companies bought up all the apartments in Nice and turned them into rentals, which drove up the cost and pushed locals out of the city. I learned that from Rick Steve’s YouTube after visiting, or I probably would have stayed in a hotel.
Anyway, the management company required you to set up an account on their website. It was a little tedious, and I despise anything tedious. You also had to pick the keys up at a kiosk in a different part of town from the Airbnb, and return them there, which I didn’t like.
Part of their “perks” of booking with them was you could schedule transportation to and from the Airbnb. Since we had to stop and get the keys, and I had no idea how to explain that in French to a taxi driver, we scheduled the car service. After almost three months in Italy, where they don’t have Uber and taxis are extremely unreliable, it seemed like the most convenient option.
It was also the most expensive. At €45 each way, it was more than double an Uber. If we knew that Uber was available, we would have definitely used that and saved some money.
At $854 for four nights, it was expensive, but so was everything in Nice. Despite the annoying website and rip-off transportation, I would stay there again if I returned to Nice, which I probably won’t.
Nice may be expensive but buying me a glass of wine isn’t! If you love my content, let’s do a virtual cheers!