🛫 Terminal 2 (T2 — Larger, Newer)

Carriers (most): Air France (CDG / ORY shuttle hub plus Cannes/JFK lifts), easyJet (NCE’s biggest LCC, UK + French routes — bundled-bag fare option), British Airways (LHR/LGW), Lufthansa (FRA/MUC), KLM (AMS), Swiss (ZRH), ITA (FCO), Iberia (MAD), Eurowings, Volotea. Long-haul: Delta (JFK daily, codeshare with AF) + new Delta Boston-Nice service from 16 May 2026, Emirates (DXB seasonal). Salon Infiny (Air France/KLM/SkyTeam) + Salon du Cap Ferrat (Priority Pass) + Salon Diamond / InfiniSky all in T2.

🌐 Terminal 1 (T1 — Older, Smaller)

Carriers (some): selected Lufthansa, Swiss, charter operations; varies by season. Verify your specific terminal on the booking confirmation — assignment is mixed and can shift between seasons.

For T1 → T2 connections: free shuttle bus runs every 7–10 minutes, ~5–7 minute ride. Allow 30 minutes minimum for an inter-terminal connection including security re-entry.

EES Live Since 10 April 2026

The EU Entry/Exit System went fully operational across all Schengen countries on 10 April 2026. At NCE’s T2 international arrivals, first-time non-EU arrivals get fingerprints + facial scan registered instead of a passport stamp. Subsequent crossings within the 3-year biometric retention reuse the stored data and clear faster. Allow 1+ hour buffer on first arrival during the morning Northern European wave — and significantly more during Cannes Festival / Monaco GP surge. EU/EEA/Swiss citizens are exempt — continue using e-gates as before.

ETIAS Q4 2026 — €20, Valid 3 Years

ETIAS launches Q4 2026, with a 6-month transitional period before full mandatory enforcement (~April 2027). €20 fee, valid 3 years or until passport expiry, 96-hour processing. Required for visa-exempt non-EU travellers (UK, US, Canada, Australia, NZ, etc.) before boarding any Schengen-bound flight including NCE. Apply via the official travel-europe.europa.eu/etias — avoid third-party scam sites.

French Customs Reality

Standard EU customs: 1L spirits, 4L wine, 16L beer, 200 cigarettes from non-EU. Cash declaration over €10,000. Drone declaration required. For UK travellers post-Brexit: standard EU allowance applies; VAT refund (détaxe) available at NCE T2 international departures for non-EU residents on retail purchases over €100.01 VAT-inclusive — kiosks at the international departures level near security.

⭐ Tram L2 — €1.70 (with the Insider Hack), ~26 Min to Centre

The Tram L2 (opened 2018) runs from both NCE terminals to Jean Médecin / Garibaldi / Port Lympia in central Nice. ~26 minutes to Place Garibaldi, every 4–6 minutes daytime, 10 minutes evenings. 2026 fare: €1.70 single (74 minutes unlimited transfers in same direction). The catch: airport ticket machines only sell a €10 round-trip airport ticket. The insider hack: walk one stop to Grand Arenas station (the tram is FREE between airport-area stops), buy a €1.70 single + €2 La Carte rechargeable card from the standard machines there. This is the single biggest cost-saving hack at NCE.

🚌 Bus 12 to Nice Riquier — €1.70, Direct to Train Station

Bus 12 connects NCE to Nice Riquier rail station, with onward SNCF train connections to Cannes / Monaco / Ventimiglia (Italy). €1.70 single ticket. ~25 min journey. Buses 99 and 110 serve Cannes / Monaco corridors (longer + cheaper than taxi but slower than train). For onward train travel: NCE → Bus 12 → Nice Riquier → TER to Cannes (30 min) / Monaco (25 min) / Ventimiglia (40 min) is the cheapest multi-stop Riviera itinerary.

🚕 Taxi Flat Rates — Préfecture-Regulated, €32–95

NCE has préfecture-regulated taxi flat fares: Nice centre €32–40, Cannes €85, Monaco €95, Antibes / Juan-les-Pins ~€65. €2–€4 reservation surcharge added. Drivers may add legitimate luggage / 4th-passenger surcharge. Cards accepted in most NCE taxis; cash EUR works. French taxis don’t expect tipping — round up €1–€2 for good service only. Rideshare: Uber dominant + Bolt + Free Now operate; supply tightens during Cannes Festival / Monaco GP surge weeks. For Cannes / Monaco: train via Nice-Ville is dramatically cheaper than taxi (~€7–12 vs €85–95).

✨ Salon Infiny (T2, Air France / KLM / SkyTeam flagship)

Nice has a distinctive cuisine — neither French nor Italian but Niçoise. If you eat once at NCE, eat socca (a chickpea-flour pancake baked in a wood-fired oven, served warm and pepper-dusted, ~€4–8) or pissaladière (Niçoise pizza-bread with caramelised onions, anchovies, and olives, ~€8–14). Salade Niçoise (the original — tuna, anchovies, hard-boiled egg, tomato, olives, beans, NO potato or lettuce per Nice purists), ~€15–22. For something distinctly Provençal: ratatouille (the slow-cooked vegetable stew) and daube niçoise (beef stew with red wine and orange peel). Skip airport McDonald’s — Niçoise food at NCE is genuinely good.

Provence rosé is the Côte d’Azur’s defining wine — pale-pink, dry, mineral, perfect summer-evening drinking. Buy at NCE duty-free: ~€10–25 per bottle for the Côtes de Provence + Bandol AOP entry tier; €30–60 for Domaine Ott, Whispering Angel, Château d’Esclans, Minuty premium. For something locally-distinctive: Bellet AOP (the tiny appellation overlooking Nice itself, only ~50 hectares — distinctive whites and rosés, ~€20–35). Pair Provence rosé with bouillabaisse in Nice port or a chilled glass on the Promenade des Anglais at sunset.

Take-home picks at NCE duty-free: Provence lavender products (essential oil, soap, eau-de-toilette — Maison Galimard / Fragonard / L’Occitane brands all Provence-rooted), Provence olive oil (AOP-protected from Aix-en-Provence / Vallée des Baux / Nice itself), Provence black truffle (in season Nov–Feb; vacuum-packed slices or truffle-infused olive oil), calissons (the iconic Aix-en-Provence almond-melon paste sweet, ~€10–18 per gift box). Skip airport-priced perfume — the Maison Galimard / Fragonard factory tours in Grasse (~30 min north of NCE) offer dramatically better prices and the same brands.

The 79th Cannes Film Festival runs 12–23 May 2026. NCE absorbs the entire industry traffic: agents, press, distributors, talent, plus the public side of the Cannes glamour. NCE → Cannes by taxi flat-rate €85, by TER train via Nice-Ville ~€7. Hotels in Cannes are 4–8× normal rates during the festival; Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, and Mougins are the locals’ alternative bases (cheaper, train-connected). Pre-book your NCE airport transfer 2+ weeks ahead for festival-week travel — same-day rideshare pricing during surge weeks is genuinely painful.

F1 moved the Monaco Grand Prix from its traditional late-May slot to 5–7 June for 2026 — a calendar break worth flagging. NCE → Monaco by taxi flat-rate €95, by TER train via Nice-Ville ~€7 in 25 minutes. Monaco hotels are 5–10× normal rates during GP weekend; Nice and Cap-d’Ail are the practical alternative bases. The 5–7 June 2026 dates also overlap with the start of the European summer travel season — NCE flying surge stacks Cannes (12–23 May) immediately followed by Monaco GP (5–7 June). For the May–June window: pre-book everything 4–6 weeks ahead.

The single biggest cost-saving hack at NCE: airport ticket machines only sell a €10 round-trip airport ticket for the Tram L2. The fix: walk one stop to Grand Arenas station (the tram is FREE between airport-area stops), then buy a €1.70 single + €2 La Carte rechargeable card from the standard ticket machines there. You save €8.30 each way (€16.60 round-trip per person). Locals do this routinely; tourists who don’t know about it pay the airport-machine price. Add multiple journeys to the rechargeable card for further trips on the Nice tram and bus network.

Promenade des Anglais is the iconic 7-km coastal walking path — Nice’s defining experience. The eastern end has the Bastille Day 2016 attack memorial (a granite block at the Quai des États-Unis); the rest of the walk is pure Riviera. Vieille Ville (Old Nice) with its narrow ochre alleys, Cours Saleya market (closed Mondays — flower market 06:00–17:30 Tue–Sun, antique market Mondays), Castle Hill viewpoint (free elevator from Rauba-Capeu) for the panoramic shot, Nice port for ferry connections to Saint-Tropez (May–September) and Corsica. Day trips: Èze village (Bus 82 from Vauban), Saint-Paul-de-Vence (Foundation Maeght), Antibes / Juan-les-Pins (TER 30 min), Italy / Ventimiglia (TER 40 min — Friday market).

Beyond Cannes / Monaco, NCE absorbs other major surge windows: Nice Carnival (mid-late February — the second-largest after Rio + Venice), Tour de France (early-mid July — alternates whether the Grand Départ is in Nice; major stages routinely pass through), Monaco Yacht Show (late September — the world’s biggest superyacht show), Bastille Day (14 July — fireworks on the Promenade), Christmas / New Year (Nice attracts the off-season luxury crowd). Plan around these if you’re budget-sensitive — hotel rates spike, taxis surge, restaurants book ahead.

EU travellers: roaming covers France at home prices (Roam-Like-At-Home). UK travellers post-Brexit: most major UK carriers re-introduced surcharges (~£2/day) for EU roaming, so a French SIM (Orange, SFR, Bouygues) at ~€20–40 for 30 days / 20 GB can save real money. Non-EU travellers: eSIM via Airalo / Holafly / Ubigi from ~$5–10 for 7-day France coverage. 5G covers central Nice, Monaco, Cannes widely; spotty in the Estérel mountains and the deeper Arrière-Pays inland villages.