The Cap de Nice coastal path – from the port of Nice to Villefranche

Nice ends, on its eastern side, in a rocky headland. Beyond the old port, where the city's last houses give way to villas and pines, the Cap de Nice drops straight into the sea, and along its foot runs a coastal path that turns a city walk into something much wilder. The Sentier du Littoral leaves the road just past La Réserve, above the little cove of Coco Beach, and follows the water for six kilometres round the cape, past the Palais Maeterlinck and a restored blockhouse, down rock-cut steps into the bay of Villefranche-sur-Mer. For most of the way the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat peninsula sits on the horizon ahead; at the end you arrive in the Lazaret quarter, beside the tower where, legend says, the remains of Paganini were once kept, with the Darse harbour and the Citadelle Saint-Elme a little further on. The tourist office allows about two hours one way, rates it medium because of the stairs, and makes one firm condition: go only when the sea is calm.

01The story

For a long time the coastal path on the Cap de Nice was a walk that stopped short. Its final section has now been completed, and in the words of the Côte d'Azur tourist board it is now possible to reach the shores of Villefranche from the Cap de Nice on foot. Along the way the Département has restored and made safe the blockhouse on the Pointe des Sans-Culottes, and the route ends in a quarter shaped by a much older use of this coast: the Lazaret, Villefranche's quarantine station, of which only the Tour Paganini and its tiled roof survive.

02What you see

The walk begins at the eastern end of Port Lympia. From the Parc Vigier, Boulevard Franck-Pilatte runs along the shore to the Jardin Félix-Rainaud, with views out to sea and over to Cap Ferrat; just past La Réserve, overlooking Coco Beach, the path leaves the road and takes the stairs down to the water. It then follows the rocks below private properties and rounds the Cap de Nice to the Palais Maeterlinck.

Insider tip

Free, all year – but only when the sea is calm. About two hours one way.

There is one interruption. A long staircase brings you down to Boulevard Maeterlinck on the Basse Corniche, and for about 800 metres the route follows the road before a flight of steps on the right takes you back to the shore. From here the path passes the blockhouse on the Pointe des Sans-Culottes, then climbs and drops on steps cut into the rock, with the roadstead of Villefranche and the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat peninsula opening out in front of you, before arriving in the Lazaret quarter at the Tour Paganini.

If you have the legs for it, carry on along the Darse, Villefranche's old harbour with its boatyards and a CNRS research centre, to the sixteenth-century Citadelle Saint-Elme, and into the town for the chapel decorated by Jean Cocteau.

03How to visit

The path is free and open every day of the year, but the tourist office is clear that it should be walked only when the sea is calm – in a swell, the low sections by the water are no place to be. Allow about two hours one way, or two and a half at an easy pace; the distance is around six kilometres depending on where you start. Wear proper shoes: the difficulty comes from the stairs rather than the length. The Nice tourist office publishes a GPX track of the route on its website. If you prefer a shorter outing, the tourist office suggests walking only the first stretch, or climbing the steps from the Jardin Félix-Rainaud up into the Mont-Boron quarter.

04Getting there and back

Start on the eastern side of the port of Nice and follow Boulevard Franck-Pilatte towards the Jardin Félix-Rainaud. There is no need to walk back: Villefranche-sur-Mer has its own railway station on the TER line between Nice and Ventimiglia, and two bus lines run to Nice from the Octroi stop – line 15 to the Lycée Masséna and line 600 to the port of Nice (Arson Fodéré stop). Timetables are on the Lignes d'Azur website.

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