Nice Sports & Outdoors Tips by allaboutnice Top 5 Page for this destination

learning to sail in Nice

Learn to sail a Hobie Cat (a type of Catamaran for 1- 4 people) in Nice. We did a course this Summer 2004 and it was great fun and made a change from lying on a beach all day. You still get just as brown but without the boredom factor plus you get a bit fitter and see some wonderful views of the coastline along Nice.

Also, you do get a proper qualification at the end which is a nice incentive too. We had never sailed before but by the end of the week we had picked up the basics and improved our French a bit.

We were part of a group of about twelve people, mostly international students from the ABC Language School in Nice.

The courses run throughout the Summer, either five mornings or afternoons each week. The cost is 115 euros per adult. Our daughter completed the children's course, sailing a tiny 'optimist' boat. This was 100 eros for the five afternoons.

Equipment: For all contact and location details see my 'Learning to sail in Nice' page on my external site www.allaboutNice.com.

The Sailing School is on the far side of the Port on boulevard Franck Pilatte right next door to La Reserve Public Beach and the Club Nautique de Nice.

Most of the students wore swimwear and that is all you need. I wore running shorts and a t-shirt, a hat and sunglasses too but you may lose them in the sea. A waterproof camera is essential. I'm so glad we took one, we have some great phtos. You will definitely need waterproof suncream. I use P20, it stays on all day on one application and is waterproof.

You can change and leave your stuff safely in the reception area. Bring some water too. There is a snack van on the road right by the entrance to the club so you won't starve.

Address: 50 boulevard Franck Pilatte 06300 Nice

Directions: An easy walk from central Nice, head east for the Port. Boulevard Franck Pilatte is the coast road about a five minute's walk from the Port. See my web page for a map.

Other Contact: Fax: 04 93 56 77 99

Phone: 04 93 89 65 37 (ask for Alain)

Theme: Boating/Sailing

get your skates on

For about 3 weeks in December as part of the Nice's 'Village de Noel' or Christmas Village, part of the main central square, Place Massena, is converted into an outdoor ice-skating rink.

We were here in December before the French school holidays began, so the daughter had the ice-rink to herself. It was lovely watching her in the winter sunshine.

The ice-rink is surrounded by the Christmas Village (wooden huts!) selling gifts, foods and drinks. Across the road, there is a walkway of white Christams trees and a Big Wheel. For more details about the Christmas Village in Nice, please see my tip in Local Customs.

I think the ice-skating rink will taken up at the end of December but I am sure the Big Wheel will stay in place until the famous Nice Carnival is over (end of February)

So, you will need to get your skates on (sorry) if you want to have a go. If you don't make it, you don't have to wait until next December as there is a huge indoor ice-skating rink or 'Patinoire' at the Jean Bouin Palais de Sports Centre, by the Acropolis Exhibition Centre, just north of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Equipment: If you are in time to try the outdoor rink at Place Massena, skates can be hired (5 euros) just opposite the rink and there are four 1 - 1 1/2 hour sessions a day when the public can use the rink.

Warm clothes are a good idea plus gloves; in fact there are notices saying that gloves must be worn.

If you go to the indoor rink by the Acropolis (I've not been yet) then www.wguides.com gives the following details:

"Located right in the centre of town, this Olympic ice-skating rink is open throughout the week. You can rent a range of skates (from EUR2.75): classic skates for beginners or hockey skates for those in search of speed and thrills. Once kitted out, step out onto the ice, try to keep your balance and above all, avoid crashing into anybody! Entry EUR3.15-EUR4.30. Snack bar and paying car park available."

Address: Place Massena, Central Nice (December only)

Directions: For December only: the large square at the start of boulevard Jean Medecin, separating the Old Town and the beach from the modern city centre.

For all-year skating: Jean Bouin Sports Centre, Place Don Bosco.

Other Contact: above link for all-year skating

Theme: Other

Scuba dive from Nice

For 37 euros we tried our first scuba dive, a ‘Bapteme’. Children have to be 8 or older. There are two dives a day, 9:00 and 14:30, each trip lasts about three hours.

The cost includes the boat trip past the Cap of Nice towards Villefranche, instruction and all equipment, practise and a half-hour accompanied dive. Our instructor, Richard, went carefully went through all the safety procedures and signals etc until he was confident we knew what to do.

Once ready, but without the tanks and weights, you jump in and practise breathing just below the surface of the sea with regulators and air attached to the boat so there is no chance you can either dive or drift away. When deemed ready, the harness, weights and tank is put on you by the instructor, another practise, then off you go.

The pressure hurt my ears a bit and I found the whole experience a bit unnerving, I had to concentrate hard on keeping relaxed and I never really felt completely comfortable. My instructor held my hand throughout the dive (very romantic - a fishy ‘brief encounter’) and led me around to points of interest – an octopus hiding in a rock, various fish, starfish etc. The chap who dived with my husband didn’t hold HIS hand; he just gripped him by his harness.

I was really pleased I'd had a go at scuba diving but not tempted enough to book a 5-day course which would have been the next step requiring a medical certificate. My daughter chickened out of her deep dive after about five minutes down there but I thought she did very well, considering how scared I felt and she was very nifty with the scuba when practising just below the surface of the sea. I am sure it will be something she will try again another time. She got a certificate at the end of the dive.

The website gives you the full range of diving options, prices, contact, map directions etc. and the office is located on Quai Lunel by the booking office for 'trans cote d’azur' boat trips.

Equipment: Swimsuit and towel are what you are told to bring. I would arrive with your swimwear on, under your clothes, as you get changed on deck in front of everyone.

An underwater camera would have been handy, husband left ours back in UK so in bad books although it would have been easy enough to buy a disposable underwater camera if we had been more organised.

I would also bring suncream, sunglasses and a bottle of water. A comb wouldn't go amiss afterwards when you are drying and changing. A beach bag to stash your clothes.

Address: Le Poseidon Diving Centre, Quai Lunel, Nice Port

Directions: Office and reception on the east side of the Port, close to Castle Hill. Next door to the Trans Cote D'azur boat trip company.

Other Contact: email: tlo@poseidon-nice.com

Phone: Tél/Fax : +33 (0)4 92 00 43 86

Theme: Scuba Diving

Website: http://www.poseidon-nice.com/en/index.html

Ski from Nice - take the skibus to Isola 2000

If you are in Nice during the winter months, you can go skiing for the day in Isola 2000 in the southern French alps, by catching the skibus which leaves the Gare Routiere (bus station) in Nice at 7.30am and returns you back into Nice by about 7pm. There is more information via my ski pages where you will find links to the Isola 2000 website, snow reports and the skibus information site (in french)

The cost in January 2003 was 26 euros (I think it's now 27 euros) and this included the return trip and ski pass - you have to exchange this portion of your ticket at the skipass booths in Isola 2000. We had a great day out and and came back exhilarated and exhausted. The resort itself is fine for beginners and intermediate skiers and very nice for families. I think that experienced skiers may find the resort a bit limited in both size and difficulty.

Equipment: Most of the people on the skibus seemed to be young students and they all seemed to have their own equipment - mostly snow-boards which were stashed in the bus hold. We hired skis from Bruno Sports (the closest hire shop to where the bus parked!) They were quick and helpful. We have our own ski clothes so I don't know if snow-wear can be hired...

You need to book skibus tickets in advance; you can not just turn up in the morning. I sent a cheque to the skibus offices three weeks before we wanted to go and they posted the tickets to me in the UK. The address is on the skibus site- address above. Or, you can buy tickets a few days in advance directly from the Gare Routiere in Nice.

Address: Isola 2000 about 90 km north of Nice

Directions: 90 km (56 miles) north of Nice via RN 202 and D 2205. But don't make life hard for yourself - take the the skibus from the Gare Routiere (bus station) in Nice.

Other Contact: http://www.isola2000.com/

Phone: 04 93 23 15 15

Theme: Skiing/Snowboarding

Website: http://www.allaboutnice.com/isola2000.html