Grocery shopping in Nice

August 8, 2006 6:27 PM

I have a couple of very specific questions about our upcoming travel to Nice, France. 1. Does the Monoprix located on Avenue Jean Medecin sell groceries? And if so, would it be likely that we can find space in the nearby car park at about 6 pm on a Saturday? (We're coming directly from the States to a rural gite and will need to buy provisions for at least Sunday breakfast.) 2. Does the Monoprix at Place Garibaldi sell groceries and, if it does, is it possible to park nearby? (Both of these stores figure on our planned route out of the city. However, maps only show car parks near the one on Jean Medecin.) 3. Does traffic on Avenue Thiers, where the train station is located, run in both directions or just one way? It's not totally clear from all the maps I have consulted. If it is only one way and to the east, we'll have to greatly revise our itinerary out of town. Thanks muchly.
posted by NinaLee to Travel & Transportation around Nice, France (7 answers total)

1. According to this site they have on-site parking. (Open until 8:30pm) I've been in a lot of Monoprix's and I haven't seen any that DON'T have food, at the very least there should be a small bakery that will sell bread and yogurt, etc. You should be fine.
2. The Monoprix at pl. Garibaldi doesn't have on-site parking, but there should be some in the area.
3. This map shows there are no restrictions on ave Thiers, only on the side streets around it, meaning the traffic is two way, but I'm sure there are kinds of weird restrictions on where you can turn.
posted by blue_beetle at 7:50 PM on August 8, 2006

Also, if you don't know already, Monoprix will be closed on sundays. Even if you can't make it to Monoprix, there will be a Casino (not the gambling kind) on every corner that you can buy food at.
posted by blue_beetle at 7:55 PM on August 8, 2006

Is there a particular appeal to shopping in-town? Much like in the US, the most convenient food shopping opportunities in France often lie out of town. Nice has two Carrefour hypermarchés, for instance, but you're going to find grocery stores all over.

Unless you're in a real rush or a time crunch, work out vaguely where you're going and don't worry too much about the precise roads. You really don't need to in the South of France. At least, not if it's a vacation :)
posted by wackybrit at 7:57 PM on August 8, 2006

one more thing, you'll have to pay for parking (at Monoprix or elsewhere), so be prepared with a couple of euros in coin.
posted by blue_beetle at 8:01 PM on August 8, 2006

I don't know that specific area but chances are you'll find a local market somewhere close to you on the Sunday morning, so if you can get the basics on Saturday evening, you can stock up on the good stuff the morning after. Here's a list (in French) of the markets in the Alpes Maritimes département - see if there's anything near where'll you be.
posted by jontyjago at 12:28 AM on August 9, 2006

1- Monoprix on Jean Medecin does sell groceries. You can park in the underground car park situated right beside Monoprix, under the "Nicetoile" shopping center. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding a place even though Saturday afternoon is the most busy time of the week!
2- I don't know, but I guess it doesn sell groceries too.
3- The traffic on avenue Thiers runs in both directions.

Beware! Two tramway lines are currently being built in Nice and several traffic restrictions are in place. Don't rely on your maps... See "Bien circuler a Nice" for current information.
posted by rom1 at 8:18 AM on August 9, 2006

Response by poster: I am grateful for the helpful responses I’ve received. I can’t think of any other forum, portal, search engine, etc. where such specifically targeted information can be obtained virtually on demand. I’m especially thankful to “rom1” for letting me know about the construction work going on now in Nice. I had seen reference to the project but mistakenly thought it had to do with a cablecar system (tramway has always meant cablecars in my vocabulary) to the north of the railroad station. We’ll be heading up route D2204 to a small community called Sclos de Contes and had planned to follow Jean Medecin and Boulevard Jean Jaures on our way out of the city, two streets greatly impacted by the current work. Obviously, a change of itinerary is called for.
posted by NinaLee at 12:46 PM on August 9, 2006