One would expect the Cote d’Azur in the stunning South of France to be an expensive place to visit and to be quite honest, it is expensive. Nice is no exception, or is it.

Working on our usual very tight budget, we searched high and low to find somewhere to lay our heads, which was within walking distance of the bus or train route, not too far from the sea front and in a relatively safe area, all this during off-peak period and just prior to the summer deluge of visitors.

An unlikely and improbable task for us you may think, when visiting Nice.

Infact, we found a great hostel, only 10 minutes walk from the promenade and 15 minutes walk from the old town, the bus stop a full 2 minutes walk away and the train station only 10 minutes walk. Jackpot.

Needless to say, in the area we stayed the food at the boulangerie was cheap, but as you get closer to the sea front the prices sky rocketed, perhaps in hungry anticipation of the affluent tourist. We scored, at less than $40 for a night for the pair of us, en suite, including fast wifi and as much chilled bottled water as we needed.

The task of finding the freebie things to do and see in Nice and we were not disappointed, as we ventured high above the city, with the panoramic views, which are worth every step up the seemingly, never-ending stone stairway. With a gorgeous waterfall and quaint park overlooking the both bays and right next to yet another exceptional cemetery, in particular a Jewish one, which has these amazing views, which I assume no one who lies there can appreciate.

The various eateries cater for the tourist who flock there, but walking the old city streets is completely free and with the relaxing promenade sitting astride a pebbly beach, there are plenty of reasons and possibilities for a short cheap stay in Nice.

This did not stop us looking at one of the seafront hotels, just to check out the prices for a double room for the night, only a mere 450 euros. I assumed that particular hotel has super, super fast wifi, a flushing toilet, even bigger bottles of chilled water and definitely doesn’t have bunk beds 🙂