Passrider FAQ: How To Get to Nice, France from the U.S. (Updated for 2026)

Updated August 29, 2026. Originally published June 11, 2024. Schedules below are from current airline filings and change by season, so always confirm with your airline before you list.

Quick answer: Yes, you can fly nonstop from the U.S. to Nice, France (NCE), but only in the summer season (roughly May through October). For summer 2026 that means Delta from Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS) and New York-JFK (JFK); United from Newark (EWR) and Washington-Dulles (IAD); American from Philadelphia (PHL); and La Compagnie from Newark (EWR). From Canada, Air Canada and Air Transat fly Montreal-Trudeau (YUL) to Nice in summer. In the winter, La Compagnie is the only nonstop left, twice a week from Newark. Everyone else connects through a European hub, a Middle East hub, or flies into Paris and takes the TGV down to Nice.

A reader asks:

Traveling from Charleston SC to Nice, France in January. What are my options out of the US for flights to NCE? Would it be better to fly somewhere else and take the train to NCE?

For your trip from Charleston, SC (CHS) to Nice, France (NCE) in January, you have several options for flights. There are no nonstop flights from Charleston to Nice, and in January there is only one nonstop from any U.S. city (more on that below), so you will need to connect through a major hub either in the U.S., Canada, the Middle East or Europe.

I don’t know which airline is your airline of choice, so I’ve laid out the options by the way you’d actually fly them as a non-rev: nonstop from the U.S. when it’s running, one-stop through a U.S. hub, one-stop through a European or Middle East hub, and the fly-to-Paris-and-take-the-train option.

Which airlines fly nonstop from the U.S. to Nice?

This is the part that has changed the most since I first answered this question in 2024. Back then it was Delta from JFK, United and La Compagnie from Newark. Here’s the summer 2026 lineup, with weekly frequencies from a sample week in early September 2026:

• Atlanta (ATL) on Delta (DL). Daily, Boeing 767-400.
• Boston (BOS) on Delta (DL). New for 2026 (launched May 16, 2026). Three times a week, Airbus A330-300.
• New York-JFK (JFK) on Delta (DL). Daily, Boeing 767-400.
• Newark (EWR) on United (UA). Daily, Boeing 767-300.
• Newark (EWR) on La Compagnie (B0). Five times a week in summer, Airbus A321neo, all-business-class.
• Washington-Dulles (IAD) on United (UA). Four times a week, Boeing 767-300.
• Philadelphia (PHL) on American (AA). Daily, Boeing 787-8.

From Canada, Montreal (YUL) has Air Canada (AC) on the Boeing 787-8 and Air Transat (TS) on the Airbus A321neo, each three times a week in summer.

Non-rev note: all of these are seasonal routes. The Delta flights from ATL and JFK on the 767-400 have the most seats of the bunch. Check your loads before deciding which one to take.

Can you fly nonstop to Nice in January?

Yes. Looking at the schedule in mid-January 2027, every one of the Delta, United, American, Air Canada and Air Transat flights above stops for the winter. The one holdout is La Compagnie (B0) from Newark (EWR), twice a week on the A321neo, and it is an all-business-class airline, so it isn’t much use for most non-rev travelers unless you have an agreement with them.

So for the reader’s January trip from Charleston, the practical answer is: you are connecting somewhere. Here are the best ways to do it.

What are the best one-stop options from the U.S. to Nice?

Through a European hub (the most choices)

Fly your airline (or its agreement partners) across the Atlantic to a European hub, then take the hub carrier’s own nonstop down to Nice. These are the ones that matter most for U.S. travelers:

• Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) on Air France (AF). This is the big one. Delta and Air France both fly CDG from lots of U.S. cities (including Atlanta, Boston, New York-JFK, Washington and more), and Air France runs a shuttle-style schedule CDG-NCE all day. (The Paris-Orly flights to Nice are now on Transavia France, Air France’s low-cost sister carrier, so check whether your agreement covers them.)
• Amsterdam (AMS) on KLM (KL). Another SkyTeam option, so a good fit if you’re on Delta. But most other airlines have agreements with KL.
• Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC) on Lufthansa (LH). The Star Alliance choice for United travelers. And remember if you fly from FRA to NCE, you’ve gone to FRANCE.
• Zurich (ZRH) and Geneva (GVA) on Swiss (LX). Also Star Alliance.
• Brussels (BRU) on Brussels Airlines (SN). Star Alliance, and United flies to Brussels from the U.S.
• Vienna (VIE) on Austrian (OS). Star Alliance.
• London-Heathrow (LHR), London-Gatwick (LGW), London-City (LCY) and London-Stansted (STN) on British Airways (BA). oneworld, so this is where American travelers go, and Heathrow has more U.S. flights than anywhere else in Europe.
• Madrid (MAD) on Iberia (IB). Also oneworld, and Iberia flies several U.S. cities.
• Rome-Fiumicino (FCO) on ITA Airways (AZ). SkyTeam.
• Dublin (DUB) on Aer Lingus (EI). Handy if you like clearing U.S. Customs in Dublin on the way home. I recommend it; cheaper departure taxes too.
• Lisbon (LIS) on TAP Portugal (TP). Star Alliance.
• Istanbul (IST) on Turkish Airlines (TK). Star Alliance, and Turkish flies a lot of U.S. cities.
• Reykjavik (KEF) on Icelandair (FI).
• Copenhagen (CPH), Stockholm (ARN) and Oslo (OSL) on SAS (SK). SkyTeam.
• Helsinki (HEL) on Finnair (AY). oneworld.
• Warsaw (WAW) on LOT Polish (LO). Star Alliance.
• Athens (ATH) on Aegean (A3). Star Alliance.
• Luxembourg (LUX) on Luxair (LG).

Nice also has a huge low-cost network if your agreements or your ZED fares don’t work out and you need to buy a cheap ticket for the last leg. easyJet (U2) has more routes out of Nice than any other airline and flies Nice from Paris (CDG and ORY), London (LGW and LTN), Amsterdam, Berlin, Geneva, Lisbon, Madrid, Rome, Manchester and dozens more. Ryanair (FR) flies Dublin and London-Stansted, Vueling (VY) flies Barcelona, Transavia (HV and TO) flies Eindhoven and Paris-Orly, Norwegian (DY and D8) flies the Scandinavian cities, Eurowings (EW) flies the German cities, and Wizz Air (W6 and W4) flies Eastern Europe and Rome. Every one loves Nice…

Through a Middle East hub (the long way around, but it works)

If your agreements are with a Gulf carrier, or you can get across to their hub, these airlines fly nonstop to Nice from their home bases:

• Qatar Airways (QR) from Doha (DOH)
• Emirates (EK) from Dubai (DXB)
• Etihad (EY) from Abu Dhabi (AUH)
• Saudia (SV) from Riyadh (RUH)
• Kuwait Airways (KU) from Kuwait City (KWI), with the flight continuing through Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), so you can also pick it up in Paris
• Middle East Airlines (ME) from Beirut (BEY)
• Gulf Air (GF), seasonal in summer 2026, from Bahrain (BAH) with a stop in Milan-Malpensa (MXP); the Milan-Nice leg runs twice a week
• El Al (LY) from Tel Aviv (TLV)

Emirates and Etihad are the new additions to this list since 2024, and both fly a lot of U.S. cities, so a U.S.-to-Dubai-to-Nice or U.S.-to-Abu Dhabi-to-Nice routing is a real option now if you have those agreements. It’s a long day, but it’s a way to get there on your own agreements when the transatlantic nonstops aren’t running.

Nice also has nonstop service from North Africa on Royal Air Maroc (AT) from Casablanca (CMN), Air Algérie (AH) from Algiers (ALG) and Constantine (CZL), and Tunisair (TU) and Nouvelair (BJ) from Tunis (TUN), Monastir (MIR) and Djerba (DJE), if that fits your agreements.

Is it better to fly to Paris and take the train to Nice?

Another option is to fly into a major European city and then take a train to Nice. This could be a scenic and enjoyable part of your journey, and for a non-rev it has one big advantage: the train doesn’t have loads. Once you’re in Europe, your seat to Nice is pretty much guaranteed. But the trains can be full in the summertime. Here are the practical routes:

• Paris (CDG): Fly into Paris-Charles de Gaulle and take a TGV high-speed train to Nice. Most departures leave from Paris-Gare de Lyon (about a 45-minute on the RER or taxi ride from the airport), and a few TGVs leave right from the Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV station under Terminal 2. The train ride takes about 5.5 to 6 hours and offers beautiful views of the French countryside and the Mediterranean coast on the last stretch. Nice-Ville station is in the middle of town.
• Milan (MXP): Fly into Milan-Malpensa and take a train to Nice, changing in Ventimiglia at the border. The train ride from Milan to Nice takes approximately 5 hours.
• Rome (FCO): Fly into Rome-Fiumicino and take a train to Nice. This journey takes longer, around 7 to 8 hours, but offers a scenic route through the Italian Riviera.
• Barcelona (BCN): Fly into Barcelona and take a train to Nice. The train ride from Barcelona to Nice takes around 8 to 9 hours with a change in France.

Buy the TGV ticket in advance on SNCF Connect once you know you’re on the transatlantic flight; walk-up fares on the Paris-Nice TGV can be steep. And if you’re 60 and over, you get a discount.

Getting from Nice airport to the city

Nice Côte d’Azur is one of the easiest airports in Europe to exit. Tram Line 2 runs from both terminals into the city center, and it’s cheap and frequent. you literally walk out of baggage claim and onto the station. There’s no need to book a car or a transfer unless you’re heading up the coast to Monaco or Cannes or just want to do so.

My recommendation

In summer, take the nonstop if your loads look good; Delta from Atlanta or JFK gives you the most seats, and American’s Philadelphia flight is a good backup. In January, forget about a U.S. nonstop unless you have La Compagnie passes, and instead connect through Paris on Air France or Delta, through London on British Airways, or through Frankfurt, Munich or Zurich on Lufthansa and Swiss. Flying into Paris and then taking the train to Nice is often a convenient and enjoyable option due to the frequent flights and train services available, and it removes one standby list from your trip.

However, if you prefer minimizing travel time, connecting through a European hub with a short nonstop to Nice is the best choice. Comparing loads, travel time, your personal preference for train travel or nonstop flights, and your airline agreements will help you decide the best route.

Frequently asked questions

Are there nonstop flights from the U.S. to Nice, France?

Yes, in summer only. For summer 2026 Delta flies Nice from Atlanta, Boston and New York-JFK; United from Newark and Washington-Dulles; American from Philadelphia; and La Compagnie from Newark. All except La Compagnie stop for the winter.

Which airline flies to Nice in the winter from the U.S.?

Only La Compagnie, twice a week from Newark, as of the January 2027 schedule. Everyone else connects through Europe or the Middle East.

What is the best hub to connect through to get to Nice?

Paris-Charles de Gaulle on Air France has the most flights to Nice by far, followed by London on British Airways and Frankfurt, Munich and Zurich on Lufthansa and Swiss. Pick the hub that matches your airline’s alliance and your agreements.

How long is the train from Paris to Nice?

About 5.5 to 6 hours on the TGV from Paris-Gare de Lyon to Nice-Ville. A few TGVs leave from the Charles de Gaulle airport station, which saves the trip into the city.

Is Nice a good non-rev destination?

Nice has nonstop flights from more than 50 airlines, including summer nonstops from seven U.S. and Canadian airports and nonstops from every major European hub year-round, so there are many ways to connect. Tram Line 2 runs from both terminals into the city center.

Can I fly to Nice from Canada?

Yes. Air Canada and Air Transat both fly Montreal to Nice three times a week in summer. Neither flies it in the winter.

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