Car rental in Nice

Car Rental in Nice: driving the French Riviera

Nice is an excellent base for your travels along the French and Swiss Mediterranean coast. Featuring excellent cafes, markets, art museums, and shops, Nice offers its visitors relaxation, sun, and relaxed fun. Use Nice as your home away from home while you explore the south of France in your rental car. Book today!

Nice is a very popular place to visit in the major summer months, so avoid the crowds and still take advantage of good weather by visiting the city in the spring (particularly mid-March through April) or the fall (September through October).

French is the official language of France and attempts to speak French are appreciated throughout the country; although many French people have learned some English, fluency is limited anywhere outside of the most popular tourist destinations.

Nice is located in the Central European Time Zone, UTC+1.

The currency in France is the euro, and credit cards are widely accepted throughout the country. Still, it’s advisable to visit the ATMs found all over the city and have some cash on hand for bakeries and other smaller shops.

Cheap car hire in Nice is available in 12 locations, including the Nice Côte d`Azur Airport (NCE), downtown Nice, at the railway station, and at Plaine du Var.

Visa Regulations

As a signing member of the Schengen Agreement, France accepts visitors from many countries around the world visa-free for up to 90 days. Double check entry requirements for your nationality before you depart, as you may be required to apply for a visa before you leave or to register your arrival at a police or border control station once you do arrive.

Driving in Nice

While driving in the city itself can be frustrating due to frequent one-way systems and fairly packed streets, Nice is surrounded by some of the most exciting roads in the world. The rate of deaths by car in the area is one major piece of evidence for this excitement, so play it safe by sticking to the speed limit and driving carefully wherever you go so you can enjoy some of the most beautiful stretches of road in Europe.

Right-Hand Driving

• Traffic drives on the right-hand side of the road throughout continental Europe.

Speed Limits

• In the city: 50 km/h
• Two- to three-lane highways: 90 to 110 km/h
• Rural four-lane highways: 130 km/h
• Speed limits are rigidly enforced throughout France.
• Traffic is particularly bad during morning (7 to 9 am) and evening (5 to 7 pm) rush hour.

Other Regulations

1. To avoid competing for limited and expensive street parking, buy a fixed-length ticket from one of Nice’s numerous underground car parks for the length of your stay in the city, which should cost you around $8 to $10 a day, or be sure to book a hotel that offers you complementary off-street parking.
2. Your domestic driver’s license is sufficient for driving and renting in France, provided it is valid for the length of your rental contract.
3. Many of France’s motorways are tolled; you’ll pick up a ticket marking your entry onto the highway, which you will require for the calculation of your toll when you ultimately exit the highway again.
4. The minimum driving age in France is 18 years old. You will likely have to be at least 21 years old to rent a car and will face young-driver surcharges until the age of 25.

Cheap Car Rental in Nice

Car hire in Nice, France typically starts at around $10 a day. Here are some of the best deals in Nice:

• Fiat 500 or similar (mini class) – $10/day
• Volkswagen Polo or similar (economy class) – $14/day
• Ford Focus or similar (compact class) – $16/day
• Ford C-Max or similar (intermediate class) – $22/day
• Renault Scenic or similar (standard class) – $25/day

Note that prices vary depending on the availability of each specific car and the season in which you rent. For the most accurate offers, use the search bar above.

Tips for Renting a Car Inexpensively in Nice

There is some seasonal variation in price for rental cars in Nice, with the price rising slightly in the summer months. However, you can still save a great deal of money when you hire a car in Nice by booking from the airport. At the airport, rental car companies like Autoclick and Budget often offer car hire in Nice for $20 and less a day. Moreover, if you’re travelling in less popular tourist months, such as February, you can often find cars at around $12 a day if you wait to book until one or two months before your arrival!

At all other locations, keep an eye out for discounts starting at 8% that make rentals from world-wide recognized companies, such as Hertz and Keddy, even more affordable.

Particularly when you rent from these larger companies you can save between $10 and $20 a day by extending your rental period to over a week.