$720,000 Homes in Nice, France

New York Times

21-02-2025

Old Nice | €695,000 ($730,000)
This two-bedroom, two-bath apartment, renovated in a style blending Art Deco and traditional rusticity, is in the heart of the old town, or Vieille Ville, of Nice, France.
The old town is a triangular waterfront neighborhood located next to the Place Masséna, Nice's historic main square. It is packed with colorful pink, yellow and orange tenements with turquoise shutters, wrought-iron balconies and red tile roofs. The area is known for its narrow streets, baroque churches, pretty squares, and charming shops and galleries. Attractions include the 17th-century Cathèdrale Sainte-Réparate in Place Rossetti; the vibrant Cours Saleya, the city's main marketplace; the Lascaris Palace, which houses a collection of old musical instruments; the Nice Opera house; and the decorative False Gate, leading to the newer part of the city.
The neighborhood fronts a portion of Nice's approximately four-mile strip of pebble beach along the Mediterranean Sea. While the old town is mostly pedestrian, there are plenty of buses and trams on the perimeter. The Nice Côte d'Azur Airport, which has international flights, is about six miles southwest of old Nice, and can be reached by car or public transportation.
Size: 883 square feet
Price per square foot: $827
Indoors: The apartment, on the fifth floor of a six-story walk-up building, has a spacious main living area with an open kitchen and dining area. There are wood beamed ceilings, floors of parquet and geometrically patterned tiles, and skylights. The living area has casement windows opening to a partially covered tiled balcony with a wrought-iron railing.
The fully equipped kitchen has black cabinets and open shelving, a backsplash of dark-colored wood, and a small breakfast bar for dining. The two light-filled bedrooms are situated along a hallway and have parquet floors and casement windows. There are two bathrooms with showers. The apartment has electric heating.
Outdoor space: A 65-square-foot balcony overlooking the old town.
Costs: Annual property taxes are about €942 ($989), and annual homeowner fees total €1,100 ($1,155). Purchasing fees in France are just over 7 percent of the property price, which includes fees for stamping, registration and notary.
Contact: Laura Fontanili | Keller Williams Massena/La Scala Realty by KW | [phone]
Vernier-Libération | €685,000 ($720,000)
This one-bedroom, one-bath apartment with balconies is on the top floor of a bourgeois-style building just north of Nice's city center.
The building, from 1908, is on the border of the Vernier and Libération neighborhoods, about nine minutes via public transportation from the Place Masséna in Nice's center. Vernier, which has a mix of residential buildings, factories and warehouses, is just north of the Nice train station. Libération is a trendy, lively neighborhood to the northeast, attractive for its Niçois lifestyle and fewer tourists than in the city center.
At the heart of the Vernier neighborhood, which offers a full range of amenities, is the Vernier International College. Other attractions include the Jardin des Hoirs de Cessoles and environmental center.
Libération, which is centered around Place du Général-de-Gaulle, offers quality groceries, fine restaurants and wine cellars, along with a popular open-air market, the Marché de Libération. The former Gare du Sud, with Eiffel-inspired glass roofs, is now a food center offering Mediterranean specialties, places to congregate and cultural events. Also in the neighborhood is the Sainte Jeanne d'Arc Church, a modern-looking church of reinforced concrete with Art Deco influences.
Public transportation abounds, with buses, the tramway and the Nice-Digne line of the historic Train des Pignes. The Nice Côte d'Azur Airport is about five miles southwest of Libération, and can be reached by car or public transportation.
Size: 818 square feet
Price per square foot: $879
Indoors: The sixth-floor apartment, which was renovated in 2023, has high ceilings, wood floors and French doors accessing two balconies. The living area and open kitchen have two fireplaces and ample built-in shelving. The fully equipped eat-in kitchen has natural wood cabinets.
The bedroom has a fireplace and French doors opening to a balcony with a wrought-iron railing. The bathroom has wood accents and connects to a 118-square-foot dressing room. The apartment also has a cellar and air-conditioning.
Outdoor space: There are two balconies, each covering 22 square feet, with views of the hills of Nice.
Costs: Annual property taxes are €967 ($1,016), and quarterly fees are €317 ($333).
Contact: Knight Frank SNC | [phone]
Le Port | €695,000 ($730,000)
This two-bedroom, one-bath apartment with a balcony is on the sixth floor of a building in the old port of Nice.
Le Port, or Port Lympia, is one of the oldest ports on the French Riviera, accommodating yachts, merchant vessels, traditional fishing boats and ferries. Surrounded by buildings painted in red and gold, many in the Italian neoclassical style, the port is a developing neighborhood that offers everything from Michelin-star restaurants to maritime activities. There is a nautical club, a sailing school, boat trips and rentals, scuba diving, seafood vendors and event venues. The Musée de Préhistoire de Terra Amata was built on a prehistoric site near the old port dating back 400,000 years.
While Le Port has its exclusive restaurants and bars, along with the Yacht Club de Nice on the upscale Boulevard Franck Pilatte, there is also an authentic charm to the area, which is separated from Nice's nearby old town by Colline du Château, a large park. Along with its small shops and cafes with inviting terraces, there are tiny, pebbly beaches called Plage de la Réserve and Plage des Bains Militaires. The area is also a short drive from the Promenade des Anglais, the popular four-mile strip of pebble beach with cafes, museums, casinos and parks.
Bus and tram lines serve Le Port, and a free shuttle styled after a traditional fishing boat from the Provence region crisscrosses the port in the summer season. The Nice Côte d'Azur Airport is about six miles southwest of Le Port.
Size: 786 square feet
Price per square foot: $929
Indoors: The apartment's entrance hall, with full-height cupboards, leads to a spacious living area that includes a fully equipped open kitchen with terrazzo floors, an oak island and bank seating. The living area has oak parquet floors and sliding glass doors that open to a west-facing balcony.
There are two bedrooms with custom-made dressing rooms, and a bathroom paneled in marble with a glass-walled shower. The apartment, which is air-conditioned, comes with a cellar and there is a parking garage. Custom-built furniture is included in the sale price; the rest is negotiable.
Outdoor space: An approximately 65-square-foot covered balcony has views of the Mediterranean Sea.
Costs: Annual property taxes on this apartment are €1,324 ($1,391), or roughly double that if not the owner's primary residence. The annual maintenance fees are about €2,628 ($2,760), including heat, elevator and water.
Contact: Alessandro Borghetti | Maison Cino Real Estate | [phone]