Underwhelming European airport at least offers a beautiful view

3 hours ago 3

By Chrissie McClatchie

July 10, 2025 — 5.00am

The airport

Nice Cote d’Azur Airport (NCE), Terminal 1

The flight

Ryanair FR1959, Nice to Dublin

The arrival

In any discussion about cities with airports you can walk to from the centre, the French Riviera’a Nice is always one of the first mentioned. Its glorious six-kilometre waterfront boardwalk, the Promenade des Anglais, is like a well-lit airstrip guiding you from downtown to the terminal. I’m all for it on a sunny day when you’re not stressed about missing your flight, but not when you’re travelling alone with two kids under 10 who have an aversion to carrying their own luggage. I intend to take the 15-minute bus (€1.70/$3) from my home in Villefranche-sur-Mer to Nice port and hop on the excellent tram line (no charge, as it is considered a connection on my bus ticket) for the final 30 minutes of the journey. After seeing one bus pass just as we are walking to the stop, meaning a 20-minute wait for another, I open the Uber app and check the prices – $35 for the three of us to get to the airport in 25 minutes on a Friday night. I’m sold.

The look

Some airports wonderfully incarnate the destination they are a gateway to. Nice isn’t one of them – although I don’t know what that would look like if it were. A terminal shaped like a superyacht or with palm trees planted on the roof? At least some art inspired by the wealth of painters who have called this corner of the world their muse, surely? Terminal One, where this flight leaves from, is an airy, modern structure with plenty of windows. Terminal Two, the more recent construction, is also an airy, modern structure with plenty of windows. One has a gently sloped roof parted like a head of hair, and the other has lots of geometric shapes poking out from it (maybe inspired by sails after all). One aspect I can’t fault is the location. The Mediterranean Sea can be seen from all angles in the departure lounge and, with its runways jutting out into the water, the landing is one of the most beautiful in Europe.

The landing at Nice is one of the most beautiful in Europe.

Check-in

Who uses a check-in counter these days, especially for short-haul, short-stay trips in Europe? We’re travelling hand luggage only and have already checked in on the app (otherwise Ryanair whacks on an extra $115) so I don’t even glance in the direction of the check-in counters. May, especially the final weekend when the Cannes Film Festival and Monaco Grand Prix collide, can be madness, as well as the first days of the French summer holidays. Apart from that, passenger traffic is pretty standard for a major gateway.

Security

For the first time in a while, I’m not put in the naughty line at security because I haven’t emptied my water bottle or taken out the lip gloss stuffed in the depths of my backpack. My smugness doesn’t last long, though. Passengers taking flights to destinations outside of mainland Europe must pass through border control and as I cheerily hand over our passports to the police officer, I’ve completely forgotten one of the golden rules of travelling out of France with children as a French resident: if they don’t have your surname (like my children), you must have written permission from their father to leave the country alone with them. A few nervous minutes follow, but, after letting out an annoyed breath, the officer decides I don’t look like I’m kidnapping my own kids, and to my relief waves us through.

Food + drink

In a word: sad. About a decade ago, new restaurants were unveiled to much fanfare, including Jamie Oliver’s Pizzeria and a second outpost of Chez Pipo, who, for nearly a century, has made what many consider the best socca in town from their piping-hot woodfire oven on Nice port. Today, the counter is run by an unenthused teenager who would prefer to be out with his friends on a Friday evening, and the socca — a savoury, chickpea-flour pancake that is the region’s classic street-food dish — has ended up just as overpriced and uninspired as everything else in the terminal.

Retail therapy

It’s probably a good thing that I’m with my kids, otherwise my wallet might be $100 lighter and my luggage one Diptyque candle heavier — but they have no interest in the large Aelia Duty Free store that separates security and the departure gates. The Parisian candle brand is the one luxe item I secretly crave — I can easily walk past the other fancy boutiques like Longchamp and Max Mara without temptation.

Passing time

The Wi-Fi is free and reliable, but this isn’t the place you want to be delayed in — even if you’re into your gossip magazines and treat the brightly lit concourse as a chance to play a game of celebrity spotting (I have never seen any, but family members have had better luck).

The verdict

I love an airport that builds a sense of anticipation about adventures to come. That’s not Nice Cote d’Azur, unfortunately. There’s no nice bar to splash out on a fancy drink to kick-start your travels and both terminals are small enough that you’ve walked end to end in under five minutes. As France’s second-busiest flight hub – after Paris’ two airports combined – and a gateway to not only southern France, but also Liguria in Italy, this could be a showcase that welcomes visitors to one of the most desired travel destinations in the world. It has so much potential — which is what makes the fact it’s perennially underwhelming all the more of a letdown.