The Promenade des Anglais at 8 in the morning, the light catching the blue of the sea, and you thinking there are probably worse places to open your computer. In Nice, terrace season lasts almost all year, and the competition among good outdoor spots to work is real: you need to sort through the purely scenic terraces and the genuinely functional ones.

We looked for terraces where you can genuinely work: not just a chair facing the sea, but a place where the team welcomes computers without fuss. Here are three addresses we keep in our Nice favourites.

Hug Cafe Nice

Rue de Suisse, HUG Café is a small speciality café with outdoor seating, ideal in summer, in the lobby of the Hôtel du Centre Nice. It's less equipped than an XL coffee shop, but the quality-to-location ratio is unbeatable and the coffee delivers.

Decent terrace, computer welcome, simple and good food. The modest size means you'll need to arrive early if you want a seat.

Worth trying for a short morning session with a coffee that's worth the detour.

Foam Place du Pin

On Place du Pin, a short walk from Place Garibaldi and the port, Foam is a craft beer bar and restaurant with two terraces and wifi, open every day from 10am to midnight.

The atmosphere is livelier than in a speciality café: aim for the morning or early afternoon, before aperitif time.

The spot for a terrace session near the port, with lunch on site.

myWO Nice Centre Grimaldi

On rue du Maréchal-Joffre, a few minutes from the Promenade des Anglais, myWO runs a work lounge inside the Hôtel Roosevelt, with a terrace.

Wifi and power outlets on site, computers welcome, and it's open 7 days a week from 11am to 6pm, weekends included.

The spot for an afternoon of work in the sun right in the centre, when the cafés are full.

How to work well on a terrace in Nice

A few useful rules on the coast:

  • The mistral can send everything flying. If you're working outdoors, put a weight on your papers and check your keyboard is stable.
  • Sea-facing terraces have little shade. At midday, your screen is done for. Target a covered terrace or a hotel lobby during the hottest hours.
  • Salt air corrodes USB ports. Avoid very long sessions facing the sea if your computer is older.

Want to explore further?

If you want our complete selection of Nice spots, we also have a guide that covers all the good spots in town (cafés, coworking spaces, community spaces), not just terraces. For detailed listings of places in Nice, head to our city page.

Looking for terraces in another city this summer? We also have our selections for Avignon, Grenoble, Montpellier.

In summary

Nice is probably the French city with the longest terrace season potential. Seven to eight useful months a year, coworking spaces with terraces, neighbourhood bars with terraces, and well-equipped cafés in the quieter streets. Our selection covers all budget levels and all ways of working.

Want to explore other options on the coast? Find our city-by-city selections and local guides on Deskover.