Trendie Wine Bars in Nice

The list I wish I'd had.

Aug 26, 2026

The French Riviera is not short of a good wine bar. The options are actually endless. Which sounds great until you’re stood there with zero clue what’s good and what’s not.

It’s hard to get this really wrong in France. Whilst I’m interested in the good wine bars, I’m more interested in the trendie ones. And I’ve never really been able to fully trust a random guide for that. I’d much rather notice somewhere I walk past, ask a local and maybe have 1 or two places saved from a friend’s recommendation.

The Art of L’apéro

Nice is also, not coincidentally, apéro territory. I’ve been a few times now, and I always stay in the old town. Like a lot of places in France, it’s somewhere that hasn’t even tried to squeeze every ounce of life into something to be optimised. Minus the odd tourist trap, it genuinely feels like it’s kept its soul.

Growing up with a french mum, I grew up with Apéro culture, and whilst I do my very best to integrate it into my life in london, where a drink means a full night out or nothing at all, it still feels very far away.

Apéro isn’t a nice to have here, it’s a complete necessity. From around 6pm the bars fill up. No one’s eating dinner yet, that would be absolutely ludicrous. People are just having a glass, maybe a little something with it.

If you’re not familiar with l’apéro, it’s a ritual more than anything. It’s the hour or two between whatever you were doing and whatever’s next. Think of like permission to actually enjoy your life for an hour two, and no one is asking you to justify it. You’re with your friends, maybe you’re ordering a small glass of wine, potentially with some olives on the table, and it’s just a Tuesday.

So, this is the list of places pour prendre l’apéro. Here are a few I went to and would recommend. A few I walked past, but didn’t have time for but saved anyway to try another time. Or you can go for me and tell me how it is :)