Nice, the capital of the French Riviera and fifth-largest city in France (with 350,000 inhabitants), is the second tourist destination and has the second-busiest airport in the country (with five million visitors and fourteen million passengers every year). Its unique environment and pleasant climate make it an exceptional location and a very attractive setting for major international cycling events.
As well as Paris-Nice, which has been turning Nice into a cathedral of cycling every March since 1933, the city was proud to host the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in August 2020, which showcased the mind-boggling cycling potential of Nice and its surroundings. To cap it all, Nice will soon host the finale of the 2024 Tour de France in a historic first for the Grande Boucle! Proof, if proof need be, that this extraordinary outdoor arena meets the standards of the biggest cycling race on Earth.
The closing stage of Paris–Nice will continue this tradition, with a new visit to the fabled Col d'Èze, which looms large over the Mediterranean and commands a fabulous view of the French Riviera. The peloton will get a feel for the finale of the next Tour de France, an individual time trial starting from Monaco and culminating on the Promenade des Anglais after going over La Turbie and the Col d'Èze.
Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur strives to create a nurturing environment for cycling, from high-level cycling to new mobility solutions, focusing on its bicycle path network, which stretches for 223km in the metropolitan area, and the development of the Vélobleu bicycle sharing system (equipped with 1,700 bicycles and 450 electric bicycles). Other initiatives include making roads safer for cyclists, shining a light on the mountain passes where golden pages of cycling history have been written, 40 road and gravel circuits, and 60 recreational routes for MTBs and e-MTBs spanning over 1,000 km across 25 municipalities. And, finally, an unparalleled project: a 261 km MTB trail linking Auron and Nice through the most stunning panoramas in the metropolitan area, crossing sixteen towns and cities and stopping over in seven. No surprise that Nice earned top marks (4 bicycles) in the "Tour de France Cycle City" label.