Nice or Antibes without a car?

I'd stay in Nice for a first Riviera visit built around several day trips, and in Antibes for a slower stay built around the old town and time by the water. Both can work without a rental car. The deciding detail is the route from your hotel to the station and dinner, rather than the distance between the two towns.

For three nights, I would choose one base. Moving hotels to see Antibes from Nice uses time you could spend there as a visitor. Change that answer when the second hotel is itself part of the holiday: several afternoons at a pool or a particular room can justify a different address. A day trip and a resort stay solve different problems.

I'd choose Nice if you want a city evening after a coastal outing, or expect to travel east and west on different days. Keep your hotel search around the journeys you will repeat. A seafront room can be worth the longer station walk when you will spend mornings on the promenade; a station-side address is more useful when each day starts with a train.

The official Nice tourism rail guide describes the TER coastal connection between Cannes and Ventimiglia. That makes a rail-based holiday plausible; it does not mean every hill village, beach club or hotel is beside a station. I would plan one coastal destination per day and leave an evening in Nice, instead of collecting towns between train departures.

For a hotel-led Nice stay, I would compare Le Negresco on the Promenade des Anglais. Its art collection and individually styled accommodation give a reason to spend time inside as well as on the seafront. I would choose it for that stay, rather than as a station-side shortcut; the room category and the walk to your departure still matter.

I'd choose Antibes when the plan is to walk out for breakfast, spend part of the day locally and return for dinner. Start the accommodation search around the old town and port, then examine the actual walk to the station. An address on Cap d'Antibes is a different proposition from a room near the town center, even when both use Antibes in the listing.

I would pay for the peninsula when the hotel and swimming are the main reason to be there, with money set aside for transfers. I would choose a town address for a stay that depends on frequent trains. Do not assume a hotel shuttle covers the station, operates into the evening or is included: those are terms of the specific property and booking.

I'd compare three journeys before comparing room photographs: arriving with bags, returning from the station and walking home after dinner. Draw them to the hotel's entrance, not the neighborhood label. A short straight-line distance can still mean a road crossing, steps or a route you would rather avoid with luggage.

For Nice, distinguish Nice-Ville from Nice-Saint-Augustin when planning an arrival; they are different stations, not interchangeable names. The tourist office's station directory lists both. For Antibes, keep the station and old town in the same comparison. I would choose a smaller room on the route you want to walk over a larger room that requires an extra transfer every time you go out.

From Nice, I would use arrival afternoon for the seafront and dinner locally. Give the first full day to Antibes, with enough time to stop for lunch rather than turning it into a station-to-station checklist. Use the second full day for one place east of Nice, or stay in the city if the weather makes a long outing unappealing. Keep departure morning free of another town.

From Antibes, I would reverse the emphasis: settle into the old town on arrival, keep a full day for the local waterfront and use the other full day for Nice. The point of sleeping in Antibes is having time there. If nearly every planned day is elsewhere, I would reconsider the base before paying a premium for the view.

I would choose Nice for a short shoulder-season visit when city walks and meals can carry the trip if swimming is not appealing. I would lean toward Antibes for a slower warm-weather stay where being near the water matters more than covering the whole coast. Weather is not a promise, so the hotel needs to work on an indoor afternoon too.

Keep a taxi or private transfer in the budget for a late arrival rather than building the booking around an unverified last train. Compare actual-date rail departures and the property's arrival instructions before choosing a nonrefundable rate. The French Riviera planning hub keeps the base decision together; add reservations only after the arrival and the evenings fit that base.