Where to Stay for the Nice Carnival (2027): The Best Areas, 12 Hotels and the City Tax

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The Nice Carnival runs from 9 to 28 February 2027, but the official programme lists parades on only eight days, and every one of them is in the same place, the enclosure on Place Masséna around the Albert I garden. So the question is how far you want to walk home after a parade that ends at 10pm. The hotel bill has its own detail: Nice charges a tourist tax per person and per night, and its portal says the 2027 rates stay the same as 2026, at €3.48 for a four-star.

This guide covers what the organisers had published in early November 2026, five areas, 12 hotels, the tax and the airport tram. For the rest of your stay, where to stay in Nice covers the same city, and eleven of its hotels also appear here. The hotels are researched picks, chosen for location, what each property publishes and consistent guest feedback, and each was checked as operating in October and November 2026. No hotel pays to appear here.

The short answer

Not sure which area? Rank these areas for your trip: pick what matters and see the reasons.

9 to 28 February: what the official programme lists

The organisers’ site, nicecarnaval.com, titles the 2027 edition “Long Live Love!” and gives the dates as 9 to 28 February 2027. The Explore Nice Côte d’Azur tourism site lists the same dates and the theme “Vive l’Amour”. Everything below is on Place Masséna except the free opening afternoon, and the programme is marked as subject to change:

In the evening parades the floats are lit. The flower parade is the Bataille de Fleurs, in which costumed performers on flower-decked floats throw flowers to the crowd. The organisers say the first one took place on the Promenade des Anglais in 1876, but the 2027 programme lists Place Masséna for every parade, so we do not tell you to expect it on the Promenade. The “d’aqui” parade is billed as the best option for families.

Tickets. The organisers’ price page said in November that the public prices “are currently being updated”, so we cannot give you a figure, and the ticket shop was down for maintenance when we looked. What the official pages do say:

• Everyone needs a ticket, in the pedestrian zone or in the grandstands. Children under 6 are admitted free but still need one, and in the stands a child aged 3 to 5 needs a seat.
• Promenade-only tickets are sold at automatic kiosks, including the Metropolitan Tourist Office at 5 Promenade des Anglais, and a two-show package can be bought online.
• Tickets are dated and generally non-refundable, except under a “refundable ticket” option that closes 72 hours before the event. Doors open two hours before the show and close to new arrivals 30 minutes after it starts.

Getting home. The organisers’ transport page says the station is 15 minutes on foot from the site and that a ZOU! regional train runs every 15 minutes between Cannes and Menton during the carnival, with extra trains after 11pm for the night parades. It also lists tram line 1’s Masséna, Opéra-Vieille Ville and Cathédrale-Vieille Ville stops as closed and line 2 as running normally, but it names no edition, so check Lignes d’Azur.

Menton’s Lemon Festival, the same fortnight

Menton, along the coast, holds its own citrus festival over almost the same dates. The Fête du Citron site gives 13 to 28 February 2027 and names no theme. Its corsos are on Sundays 14, 21 and 28 February at 14:30 and on Thursdays 18 and 25 February at 21:00, on the Promenade du Soleil, with fireworks at 22:30 on the Thursdays. Seats in the stands cost €30 for an adult and standing places €16; the stands were already full for 21 and 28 February, with standing places left, when we looked.

The programmes barely collide. Nice lists no parade on the Menton Thursdays or on Sunday 14 or 28 February; the clash is Sunday 21 February, when Nice’s daytime parade and Menton’s corso both start at 14:30. Menton’s station is 200 metres from the Jardins Biovès, by the festival’s count, and its page lists Zou! bus lines 600 and 601 from Nice, about an hour.

Nice’s tourist tax in 2027

The Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur sets the taxe de séjour. Its rate sheet for 1 January 2026 has two parts: the metropolitan tax and an additional tax of 34% for the Ligne Nouvelle Provence Côte d’Azur, a rail project. The sheet lists no other surcharge, and the portal says the 2027 rates stay identical to 2026. Per person, per night:

Under-18s pay nothing. The tax is not always in the room rate, so a hotel may ask for it at the desk. Here is our arithmetic, not an official figure: a couple spending four nights in a four-star hotel pays 2 × 4 × €3.48 = €27.84 on top of the room. The sheet lists no seasonal or event rates, so a carnival night costs the same in tax as any other. The tourist taxes of other cities are set out in our comparison.

Getting in from the airport, and around

Nice Côte d’Azur has two terminals, and tram line 2 serves both.

• Tram line 2 runs from Terminals 1 and 2 to the Jean Médecin stop in the city centre in less than 30 minutes, according to the airport, and on to Port Lympia. A tram runs about every 7 to 8 minutes on weekdays.
• Fares are set by Lignes d’Azur. A Solo ticket for one journey, with transfers for 74 minutes, is €1.70, a one-day airport return is €10, and a one-day pass is €7. We found no Lignes d’Azur page saying which ticket the airport section needs, so check the machine at the stop.
• Taxis have a flat fare from the airport to the city centre of €32, tax included, among the airport’s indicative 2026 fares.

Masséna and the Carré d’Or: the shortest walk

The tourist office calls Place Masséna the heart of the city, the link between the old town and the modern districts, and sends shoppers to the boutiques of the Carré d’Or. Of the 12 hotels, only the Aston La Scala gives a distance to the site, and it is the closest on its own account.

Where to stay near Masséna

How the hotel links work: a hotel’s name goes to its own website. “Check rates” opens it on Booking.com through our partner Stay22, which pays us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you.

• Hôtel Aston La Scala, comfortable. A four-star at 12 avenue Félix Faure. Its page for the 2026 carnival said it stood 100 metres from the entrance to the festivities and two minutes’ walk from a grandstand seat, and it sold a carnival package, valid from 13 February to 1 March 2026, with buffet breakfast and a carnival kit in each room. We found no 2027 page. Choose it for the shortest walk to the stands. Watch out: the Opéra-Vieille Ville tram stop in front of it is on the organisers’ closed list, and it runs live music nights. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Hôtel Villa Rivoli, good value. A three-star of 24 rooms in a Belle Époque townhouse built in 1890, at 10 rue de Rivoli, 100 metres from the beaches and the Promenade, by the hotel’s count. Choose it for a townhouse near the sea at a lower price. Watch out: the Lower Ground Floor rooms have small windows. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Hôtel Windsor, comfortable. A boutique hotel at 11 rue Dalpozzo, a few metres from the seafront in its own words, run by the same family for four generations. Most rooms are decorated with murals or by contemporary artists, and a tropical garden has a pool. Choose it for a garden and art in the middle of the city. Watch out: the pool is heated only from May to October, and the 15 m² Intimité rooms face the city. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Hôtel Victor Hugo, good value. A two-star of seven rooms on the ground floor of a building of 1905, at 59 boulevard Victor Hugo, each themed on one of the writer’s works, with the Promenade five minutes away by the hotel’s count. Choose it for a small, personal hotel. Watch out: its page says it is closed from 1 November to 27 December 2026 inclusive, and reception closes at 7pm with no arrivals accepted after that hour. Check rates on Booking.com →

Vieux Nice: lanes, markets and a short walk

The tourist office describes Vieux Nice as a maze of coloured lanes, baroque churches and markets. The organisers’ access page says residents of the Old Town enter and leave the carnival site through the Descente Crotti and must show proof of address.

Where to stay in Vieux Nice

• Hôtel Palais Saleya, comfortable. A building of the 18th century at 21 rue du Marché, at the entrance to the Old Town, with 26 suites and apartments, and the Cours Saleya and the beach each less than a five-minute walk away by the hotel’s count. Choose it for a suite in the Old Town. Watch out: it sells suites and apartments only, the smallest a 25 m² Junior Suite, and the French breakfast is €18 extra. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Villa Saint Exupéry Beach, budget. A hostel at 6 rue Sacha Guitry with private rooms and dorms of four to ten beds, all en suite; by its own count it is 50 metres from the Old Town and two minutes from the beach. Choose it for the lowest price in this guide. Watch out: it is a social hostel with a lively bar and a pub crawl, so it is not for light sleepers. Check rates on Booking.com →

Promenade des Anglais: the seafront

The tourist office’s guide calls the Promenade des Anglais the seaside avenue of seven kilometres on the Baie des Anges. The programme places no parade on it, but the carnival’s ticket office stands there during events, on the south side opposite No. 5.

Where to stay on the Promenade des Anglais

• Le Negresco, splurge. The hotel’s own site counts 102 rooms and 26 suites, each decorated in the style of an era of French art, and a restaurant with a Michelin star, Le Chantecler. Choose it for the Riviera’s best-known grand hotel. Watch out: the site lists no room sizes or prices, so compare categories before you book. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Westminster Hôtel & Spa, comfortable. A four-star at 27 Promenade des Anglais, opened in 1881, with 99 rooms, junior suites and suites and a bar with terraces on the seafront. Choose it for a four-star on the seafront. Watch out: the entry-level Escale rooms are 17 to 19 m², and the 400 m² spa costs extra and is closed to children under 16. Check rates on Booking.com →

Jean-Médecin and the station: trams and trains

The Jean Médecin stop is where tram line 2 from the airport reaches the centre, and the Nice-Ville station has the coast line towards Menton. The cost is distance: the organisers put the station 15 minutes’ walk from the site.

Where to stay near the station

• Splendid Hôtel & Spa, comfortable. A four-star at 50 boulevard Victor Hugo, 400 metres from the station by the hotel’s count, with 130 rooms and suites, a rooftop bar and a spa, run by one family for four generations. Choose it for a four-star near the station. Watch out: the site gives no room sizes, so ask what each category measures before you book. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Maison Durante, good value. A house at 16 avenue Durante, two minutes’ walk from the station by the hotel’s count, with a garden of orange trees and palms. The Classic rooms are 14 m² and the Superior rooms 16.5 to 18 m². Choose it for a quiet garden by the station. Watch out: the Classic rooms are small, with a shower and no bath. Check rates on Booking.com →

Port Lympia: the harbour and the castle hill

The tourist office describes Port Lympia as lying between the castle hill and Mont Boron, with the painted wooden pointus and large yachts. Tram line 2 ends at the port. Both hotels below are on the quai Rauba Capeu, and neither gives a walking time to Masséna, so ask before you book.

Where to stay at Port Lympia

• Hôtel La Pérouse, splurge. A four-star boutique hotel of 53 rooms and suites at 11 quai Rauba Capeu, with a pool carved into the rock and a rooftop over the Baie des Anges. Choose it for a hillside hotel over the bay. Watch out: the pool is open-air, so ask what is open in February. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Hôtel Suisse, comfortable. A four-star in an Italian-style building at 15 quai Rauba Capeu, with 38 rooms, most of them looking at the sea. Choose it for a sea view at a four-star. Watch out: there is a Standard Single and Double category with no view. Check rates on Booking.com →

How to book Nice for Carnival

• Pick your nights from the programme. Saturdays 20 and 27 February have a flower parade and a parade of lights; Tuesdays 16 and 23 have a parade of lights only.
• Ask about packages. None of the 12 hotels publishes a 2027 carnival package; the one carnival offer we saw, at the Aston La Scala, was for 2026.
• Keep free cancellation. Tickets are dated and generally non-refundable, and a weather cancellation can come up to two hours before the start.
• Count the tax. It is per person and set by the star rating, from €1.07 at a hostel to €3.48 at a four-star.
• Check the room size and the hours. The smallest published rooms are the Maison Durante’s 14 m² and the Windsor’s 15 m², and the Victor Hugo’s reception shuts at 7pm.
• Compare totals. Hotel booking sites compared goes through where to book. If you are weighing carnivals, see where to stay for Venice Carnival.

All 12 at a glance

Before you go

• Before you fly, sort out mobile data (the best eSIM for Europe) and cover (the best travel insurance). For the rest of your trip, see where to stay in Nice.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & further reading

• Nice Carnival: official site, 2027 edition and official programme
• Event pages: La Carnavalina, Opening Parade of Lights, Carnival Parade of Lights, Flower parade, Carnival Parade “d’aqui” and Closing Parade of Lights
• Nice Carnival: prices and points of sale, access to events, FAQ and transport
• Nice Carnival: the flower parade
• Explore Nice Côte d’Azur: Carnaval de Nice 2027 “Vive l’Amour”
• Fête du Citron, Menton: official site, corsos des fruits d’or, corsos nocturnes and getting to Menton
• Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur: tourist tax rates from 1 January 2026 (PDF, in English) and the tourist tax portal (in French)
• Lignes d’Azur: single-journey tickets and day passes
• Nice Côte d’Azur Airport: public transport (in French) and taxis (in French)
• Nice Côte d’Azur Tourist Office: Nice tourist guide 2026 (PDF, in French)
• Official websites of each hotel named above, checked in October and November 2026

Dates, prices and hotel terms change, and the Nice Carnival’s 2027 ticket prices were not published when we checked; the programme is marked as subject to change. Every hotel detail here was checked in October and November 2026, and where a hotel’s carnival page described 2026 we say so; confirm minimum stays, rates and cancellation terms with the hotel before booking. These are researched picks, not reviews. This article contains affiliate links: hotel rates on Booking.com and other booking sites through Stay22, and tours, transfers and eSIMs through our partners; if you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. No hotel pays to be included.

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