Café
Fenocchio
A family ice-cream maker founded in 1966, serving more than 90 flavours on Place Rossetti, including Niçois oddities such as tomato-basil and Swiss chard tart.
A confectionery on the port quays, open since 1974, where free tours show how candied fruit, crystallised flowers, citrus jams and chocolates are made.
Good to know
Confiserie Florian is a confectioner's shop and workshop on the Quai Papacino, overlooking Port Lympia. The house was founded in Nice in 1921 by Georges Fuchs and also has a well-known confectionery in the Gorges du Loup inland. The shop on the port opened in 1974, and it is one of the most enjoyable free visits in the city, especially for families and anyone with a sweet tooth.
The main draw is the free guided tour of the kitchens where the sweets and chocolates are made. Guides explain the slow traditional process of candying fruit and crystallising flower petals, a speciality of the Riviera, and visitors see where the products are prepared. Tours are offered in five languages, and staff speak English, Italian, German and Spanish as well as French. A free tasting follows, which is the best way to decide what to buy.
The shop sells homemade chocolates, sweets flavoured with fruit and flowers, jams made with citrus from the Nice area, candied fruit and crystallised flower petals, as well as biscuits, all of which make good souvenirs and gifts.
At Easter, Christmas and Carnival time, children can tour the sweet-making and moulding workshops, where more than 600 moulds are used to make figures that are hand-painted with coloured chocolate. These family visits are not offered at weekends.
Florian opens every day from 09:00 to 18:30, with a lunch break from 12:00 to 14:00, so plan your visit for the morning or mid-afternoon. It is closed on Christmas Day. Payment by card, cash, American Express and Apple Pay is accepted. The shop is accessible for wheelchair users with assistance, and there is a car park, which is useful in the port area. It is not a café, so there is no table service, but the tasting makes up for it.
Allow 30 to 45 minutes for a tour and some shopping, and arrive well before the lunch break if you come in the morning. Confiserie Florian is right on the quay, so combine it with a walk around the harbour, lunch at Chez Pipo a few streets away, or a climb up Castle Hill from the port side.
Yes, guided tours of the kitchens and tastings are free.
The shop on the port opened in 1974.
Every day from 09:00 to 18:30, closed from 12:00 to 14:00.
Chocolates, candied fruit, crystallised flower petals, fruit and flower sweets, citrus jams and biscuits.
Yes, tours are offered in five languages, including English.
At Easter, Christmas and Carnival, children can visit the sweet-making and moulding workshops on weekdays.
Yes, there is a car park and space for coaches to drop off groups.
It is accessible for wheelchair users with assistance.
Thing to do
The long market square of Vieux Nice, where flower, fruit and vegetable stalls trade from Tuesday to Sunday and an antiques market takes over on Mondays.
Restaurant
The two-Michelin-star restaurant of brothers Gaël and Mickaël Tourteaux, pairing Niçois produce with spices and flavours gathered from other continents.
Hotel
The pink-domed palace of the Promenade des Anglais, a five-star hotel with 130 rooms and suites, a Michelin-starred restaurant and a celebrated art collection.
Tour operator
An open-top hop-on hop-off bus with 12 stops around Nice and Villefranche-sur-Mer, recorded commentary in nine languages and departures all year.