Nice Information - Nice Vacation Packages


	Nice City Information Population: 345, 892; over 3.2 million visitors annually Time Zone: Greenwich Mean Time plus one hour: Time in Nice is 6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in New York.(7 hours ahead of central time in Chicago, etc.) When to Go Nice has the advantage of an exceptional micro-climate. Although the city opens onto the sea, Nice is protected from the wind by the surrounding hills and the Estérel mountains to the west, and the north-western barrier of the Mercantour Alps. The sea breezes give a mild climate in winter and reduce the heat in the summer. It is not unusual to lunch outdoors in the Cours Saleya in a T-shirt in February, while the rest of France is shivering in the cold June and September are the best months to be in the region, as both are free of midsummer crowds and the weather is summer-balmy. June offers the advantage of long daylight hours, while lower prices and many warm days, often lasting well into October, make September attractive. Try to avoid the second half of July and all of August, when almost all of France goes on vacation. Don't travel on or around July 14 and August 1, 15, and 31, when every French family is either going on vacation or driving home. After All Saints (November 1), though most of thesurrounding region closes down for winter, Nice thrives year-round. New Year's Day 1st January Easter Monday April (date varies) Labor Day 1st Monday in May Victory in Europe 1945 (VE Day) May 8 Feast of the Ascension Thursday in June (date varies) Whitsun early June (date varies) Bastille Day July 14 Assumption August 15 All Saints Day November 1 Armistice Day November 11 Christmas December 25 Business Hours Bank hours vary from branch to branch, but are usually open weekdays, generally from 8:30 to 5. Most take a one-hour, or even a 90-minute, lunch break. Gas Stations Gas stations on the autoroutes are usually open 24 hours. Museums & Sights Museum hours are irregular with seasonal variations and a tendency to change often. Usual opening times are from 9:30 or 10 to 5 or 6, but many close for lunch (noon-2). Most museums are closed one day a week (Monday or Tuesday) and on national holidays. Check museum hours before you go. Shops Large stores are open from 9 or 9:30 until 7 or 8. Smaller shops often open earlier (8 AM) and close later (8 PM) but take a lengthy lunch break (1 to 4 or 4:30) in the south of France Customs & Duties Arriving in France There are two levels of duty-free allowance for travelers entering France: one for goods obtained (tax paid) within another European Union (EU) country and one for goods obtained anywhere outside the EU or for goods purchased in a duty-free shop within the EU. Electricity The electrical current in France is 220 volts, 50 cycles alternating current (AC). French electrical outlets have two round holes ("female") and a "male" ground; your appliances must either have a slender, two-prong plug that bypasses that ground, or a plug with two round prongs and a hole. Embassies and Consulates U.S. Embassy (2 rue St-Florentin, Paris, 1, 01-43-12-22-22 in English; 01-43-12-23-47 in emergencies, métro Concorde, weekdays 9-3; 12 bd. Paul Peytral, Marseille, 04-91-54-92-00, weekdays 8:30-12:30 and 1:30-5:30 and until 4:30 on Friday). Emergencies In case of fire, hotels are required to post multilingual emergency exit maps inside every room door. Ambulance ( 15). Fire Department ( 18). Police ( 17). If your car breaks down on an expressway, go to a roadside emergency telephone (yellow boxes) and call for assistance. If you have a breakdown anywhere else, find the nearest garage or contact the police (dial 17). Language Although many French people, especially in major tourist areas, speak some English, it's important to remember that you are going to France and that people speak French. However, at least one person in most hotels can explain things in English. Even if your own French is terrible, try to master a few words. A simple, friendly "bonjour" (hello) will do, as will asking if the person you are greeting speaks English ("Parlez-vous anglais?"). Money ATMs ATMs are one of the easiest ways to get cash. Banks usually offer excellent, wholesale exchange rates through ATMs. To get cash at ATMs in France, your PIN must be four digits long. You may have more luck with ATMs if you are using a credit card or a debit card that is also a Visa or MasterCard, rather than just your bank card. Note, too, that you may be charged by your bank for using ATMs overseas; inquire at your bank about charges. Currency The unit of currency in Nice is the Euro (EUR). Under the euro system, there are eight coins: 2 and 1 euros, plus 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents. On all coins, one side has the value of the euro on it and the other side has the national symbol of one of the countries participating in monetary union. There are seven notes: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 euros. Notes are the same for all countries. Taxes All taxes must be included in posted prices in France. The initials TTC (toutes taxes comprises - taxes included) sometimes appear on price lists but, strictly speaking, are superfluous. By law, restaurant and hotel prices must include 20.6% taxes and a service charge. If they show up as extra charges on your bill, complain. Tipping The French have a clear idea of when they should be tipped. Bills in bars and restaurants include service, but it is customary to round out your bill with some small change unless you're dissatisfied. The amount of this varies: anywhere from 50 centimes/8 European cents if you've merely bought a beer, to 10 francs/EUR1.50 after a meal. Tip taxi drivers and hairdressers about 10%. In some theaters and hotels, coat check attendants may expect nothing (if there is a sign saying Pourboire Interdit - tips forbidden); otherwise give them 2 francs to 5 francs/30 European cents to 76 cents. Washroom attendants usually get 2 francs, though the sum is often posted. Telephones The country code for France is 33. All phone numbers in France have a two-digit prefix determined by zone: Nice, in the southeast, has the prefix 04. Numbers beginning with 08 are either toll-free or toll calls (with an additional charge on top of making the call). To make calls in the same city or town, or in the same region, dial the full 10-digit number. Directory & Operator Information To find a number in France, dial 12 for information. For international inquiries, dial 00-33-12 plus 11 for the U.S., 44 for the U.K. Another source of information is the Minitel, an on-line network similar to the Internet. You can find one - they look like a small computer terminal - in most post offices. Available (free for the first three minutes) is an on-line phone book covering the entire country. International Calls To call out of France, dial 00 and wait for the tone, then dial the country code (1 for the United States and Canada, 44 for the United Kingdom, 61 for Australia, 64 for New Zealand) and the area code (minus any initial 0) and number. Expect to be overcharged if you call from your hotel. Long-Distance Calls To call any region in France from another region, dial the full 10-digit number (including the two-digit prefix). Public Telephones Most French pay phones are operated by télécartes (phone cards), which you can buy from post offices, métro stations, and some tabacs (tobacco shops. Coin-operated pay phones are scarce, existing only in cafés (whose proprietors can set their own rates) and post offices. Phone cards are accepted everywhere else. The easiest but most expensive way to phone is to use your own Visa card, which is accepted in all phone booths and works like a télécarte. Arriving & Departing By Air Most airlines fly to Paris and have connecting flights to the south of France on domestic airlines. The one exception is Delta, which has frequent nonstop flights to Nice from New York. Air France serves Nice daily from Paris and London. Paris's Charles de Gaulle/Roissy (CDG) ( 01-48-62-22-80 in English; www.adp.fr) has daily flights to Nice. Paris's Orly (ORY) ( 01-49-75-15-15; www.adp.fr) has daily flights to Nice. The Nice-Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE) 7 km/41/2 mi from Nice, 04-93-21-30-30; sits on a peninsula between Antibes and Nice. There are frequent flights between Paris and Nice on Air Liberté, AOM, and Air France as well as direct flights on Delta Airlines from New York. The flight time between Paris and Nice is about 1 hour. Flying time to Paris is 71/2 hours from New York, 9 hours from Chicago, 11 hours from Los Angeles, and 1 hour from London.