Moon Phase Nice

Moon Phase Nice: New Moon

On Saturday, October 10, 2026, the moon in Nice is a New Moon with 0% illumination. Moon age: 29.1 days.

Illumination
0%
Moon Age
29.1d
Next Full Moon
Oct 26
Distance
--
☽ Moonrise
7:30 AM
↑ Highest
—
☾ Moonset
6:39 PM

Nice, France-current-moon-phase-today

☽ Best Places to View the Moon in Nice, France

Nice sits at roughly 43.70°N on the Baie des Anges along the French Riviera, the fifth-largest city in France with around 358,000 residents. Built across a scattering of hills at the foot of the Alps, Nice was recognized by UNESCO in 2021 as a Winter Resort Town of the Riviera, and its history runs far deeper than its 19th-century tourist boom — a nearby archaeological site preserves evidence of fire use around 400,000 to 380,000 years ago. Between a hilltop park with sweeping bay views, a palm-lined seafront promenade, and a warren of ochre-hued old town streets, Nice gives a genuinely varied set of places to watch the moon.

1

Colline du Château (Castle Hill)

A roughly 92-metre hill and 19-hectare park on the site of a medieval fortress demolished in 1706 under Louis XIV, with only scattered ruins remaining today. A free elevator or a set of stairs leads up to Bellanda Tower's belvedere and an artificial waterfall, with views stretching over the Baie des Anges, the city, and the surrounding hills and Prealps on a clear day — a noon cannon shot, tied to a well-known 19th-century local anecdote, still fires daily.

2

Promenade des Anglais

A palm-lined seafront avenue stretching about 7 kilometres along the Baie des Anges, its origins tracing to a path developed in 1824 through the efforts of English residents led by Reverend Lewis Way, later formalized with the grand hotels, including the Hôtel Negresco, that still line it today. Its open sea views make it an easy, unhurried option for an evening walk.

3

Vieux Nice (Old Town)

A dense labyrinth of ochre and yellow façades dating largely from the 17th century onward, home to the famous Cours Saleya market and the baroque Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate. It's a lively option for an evening walk, with plenty of restaurants and bars tucked into its narrow lanes.

4

Place Masséna

The city's central square, instantly recognizable for its black-and-white checkerboard paving, connecting the old town to the more modern boulevards beyond. It's Nice's simplest option for an ordinary evening, close to everything else on this list.

5

Terra Amata Archaeological Site

The site of a prehistoric elephant-hunters' camp discovered during construction work, where archaeologists found some of the oldest known evidence of controlled fire use, dating to around 400,000 years ago. The on-site museum has been closed for accessibility works since April 2026, with reopening planned for autumn 2026 — check its current status before visiting.

6

Port Lympia (Old Port)

Nice's historic harbour on the eastern side of Castle Hill, with colourful façades framing the water. It's a quieter alternative to the busier Promenade des Anglais, with traditional boats and pleasure craft sharing the same stretch of water.

◉ Best Times for Moon Photography

🌕 Full Moon ±1 day — Colline du Château and the Promenade des Anglais both give a wide, open sightline over the Baie des Anges
❄ Dec–Feb — mild Mediterranean winters, with the Riviera's sheltered coastal position keeping temperatures relatively moderate
🌙 Mar–May & Sep–Nov — comfortable evenings for a walk up Castle Hill or through the old town
☀ Jun–Aug — warm, relatively dry summer evenings, with long daylight hours and generally favourable conditions for outdoor photography
🥶 Freezing temperatures are uncommon in Nice compared with much of France

📷 Quick Photography Tips

🎯A tripod helps at open spots like Colline du Château and the Promenade des Anglais, more exposed to sea wind than the streets of the old town
🏰The Bellanda Tower belvedere provides an elevated panoramic view across the Baie des Anges, particularly useful for wide moonrise compositions
🚡Check current elevator hours to Castle Hill if you'd rather skip the climb up the Lesage staircase
🔋Sea air and condensation can affect lenses over an evening outdoors — carry a cloth to wipe down equipment
🕐 Timezone

Nice runs on Central European Time (UTC+1), shifting to Central European Summer Time (UTC+2) for daylight saving time, from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October.

🌐 Other Locations

For the moon phase in any other city worldwide, visit our Dynamic Moon Phase Calculator for instant lunar data tailored to wherever you are.

Enjoy the moon over Nice — a Riviera city where evidence of fire from roughly 400,000 years ago sits quietly beneath palm-lined boulevards built for 19th-century winter tourists.

The moon phase today in Nice, France is shown in detail above — complete with exact illumination percentage, moonrise/set times, and the best viewpoints to see it. For the moon phase today in any other city or location worldwide, visit our Dynamic Moon Phase Calculator on the home page.

◐ While Actually There

Castle Hill has been Nice's natural high ground for so long that its actual castle has mostly disappeared — Louis XIV had it torn down in 1706, and today's park exists on the memory of a fortress rather than the fortress itself. What's left is arguably better suited to an evening than the original ever was: gardens, a waterfall, and a belvedere that turns the whole bay into a single view.

The Promenade des Anglais tells a very different, much more recent story — a seafront path English residents developed in 1824, gradually built up over a century into the palm-lined boulevard that now defines the city's postcard image. Terra Amata, tucked into a hillside a short distance away, complicates that tidy narrative considerably: humans were using fire on this same stretch of coast some 400,000 years before anyone thought to plant a palm tree.

None of it requires much beyond checking the Castle Hill elevator's hours if you'd rather not climb, and confirming Terra Amata's museum status given its ongoing 2026 closure. The old town, Place Masséna, and the Promenade des Anglais are all straightforward for an ordinary evening without much advance planning.

"Nice's palm-lined seafront is barely two centuries old — the evidence of fire in the hills just behind it is roughly 400,000 years old."

✓ Your Nice Moon Chase Checklist

Before You Go

  • Check the moonrise time and phase on this page for each night of your stay
  • Check current elevator hours to Castle Hill if you want to avoid the stairs up
  • Check the Terra Amata museum's current status before visiting, since it closed for accessibility works in April 2026 with an expected autumn 2026 reopening
  • Check current opening hours for Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate if you want to go inside, not just view the old town streets
  • Check the forecast for strong winds, especially before photographing from exposed hilltop or seafront locations

What to Bring

  • A light jacket for winter evenings — generally mild by French standards, though sea breezes can add a chill
  • A tripod, useful at open spots like Colline du Château and the Promenade des Anglais
  • Comfortable shoes for the climb up Castle Hill and the cobblestones of the old town
  • A light layer for summer evenings, when temperatures can remain warm after sunset
  • A cloth to wipe down camera gear after time near the sea

On the Night

  • Arrive 20–30 minutes before moonrise at open spots like Colline du Château or the Promenade des Anglais
  • Shoot RAW and bracket exposures, especially where the bay's lights mix with moonlight from the Castle Hill belvedere
  • Mind wind at exposed hilltop and seafront spots, particularly on breezy evenings
  • Confirm current transport options if visiting Terra Amata or Port Lympia in the evening
  • Watch for sudden coastal wind changes, since the Riviera's weather can shift quickly
Castle Hill's elevator runs on its own posted hours, and the Terra Amata museum has been closed for accessibility works since April 2026 with reopening planned for autumn 2026 — check current status before building an evening around either.
The moon over Nice shares the sky with a hilltop park built on the memory of a demolished fortress, a seafront promenade barely two centuries old, and evidence of fire use roughly 400,000 years old just beneath the surface. Use the phase calendar on this page, check Castle Hill and museum status before you go, and let the belvedere frame the whole bay at once.

? Nice Moon Phase — Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is the moon phase today in Nice?

The moon phase today in Nice is a New Moon with 0% illumination. The next full moon is in 17 days, on Oct 26. Moonrise is at 7:30 AM and moonset at 6:39 PM.

Q. Where is the best place to view the moon in Nice?

Colline du Château, a roughly 92-metre hill and 19-hectare park, is the best elevated spot, and the Bellanda Tower belvedere gives a panoramic view over the Baie des Anges and, on a clear day, the surrounding hills and Prealps. The Promenade des Anglais runs about 7 kilometres along the bay and gives open sea views, while Port Lympia on the eastern side of Castle Hill offers a harbour foreground. Place Masséna and Vieux Nice are easy central options for an evening walk, though the narrow old-town lanes give little open horizon.

Q. Where does the moon rise and set in Nice, and how high does it climb?

At about 43.7°N, Nice's moonrise and moonset points swing across the horizon each month, from roughly northeast to southeast for rising and northwest to southwest for setting. A winter full moon culminates high in the south, at roughly 70° above the horizon, while a summer full moon stays low, peaking near 23°. The Baie des Anges opens to the south, so the moon's whole southern path, high in winter and low in summer, crosses the sea horizon from the Promenade des Anglais and Castle Hill. A moon rising in the east can appear beside Castle Hill and the hills east of Port Lympia from the west end of the bay. Check the azimuth for your date and exact spot.

Q. Is light pollution a problem for moon observing in Nice?

The moon is bright enough to observe and photograph from almost anywhere in Nice, so light pollution rarely limits the lunar disc itself. It does wash out earthshine on a thin crescent and any faint sky detail. The promenade, the old town, Place Masséna and the port all carry substantial artificial lighting, so Nice is a light-polluted site rather than a dark-sky one, best suited to moon-over-sea and moon-over-city compositions. The bay's lights can also reflect on the water and compete with the moon's own reflection.

Q. What camera settings and phases work best for moon photography in Nice?

For a full moon, start with Looney 11 (f/11, ISO 100, 1/100 s) and refine using your histogram, since it is a baseline rather than a guarantee. The moon is much brighter than the lit bay and promenade, so shoot RAW and bracket or blend exposures to keep both crater detail and the bay's lights, especially from the Castle Hill belvedere. A waxing gibbous is useful for blue hour over the Baie des Anges while the foreground is still lit, and a full moon rises around sunset. A 200–400 mm lens helps isolate the moon against the shoreline or Castle Hill, with a tripod for bracketing and reflections and manual focus on the moon using magnified live view.

Q. How do sea wind and coastal conditions affect moon viewing in Nice?

Nice has mild Mediterranean winters and warm, relatively dry summers, and freezing temperatures are uncommon, so cold is rarely the issue. Sea wind is the bigger concern at exposed spots like Colline du Château and the Promenade des Anglais, where it can shake a tripod or long lens, and coastal conditions can shift quickly. Sea air and condensation can also leave a film on lenses over an evening outdoors. Check the forecast for wind, cloud and visibility before heading out, and carry a lens cloth.

Q. Can I shoot the moon at Nice's viewpoints after dark?

Access varies by site. Castle Hill's elevator runs on its own posted hours, so check current times, along with the park's opening hours, before planning a late visit; the alternative is the staircase up. The Terra Amata museum has been closed for accessibility works since April 2026, with reopening planned for autumn 2026, so check its current status. Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate keeps its own hours if you want to go inside. The Promenade des Anglais, Place Masséna, Vieux Nice and Port Lympia are open urban spaces with artificial lighting, so confirm transport options for evening visits.

Q. Does this page work for cities besides Nice?

This page is set up specifically for Nice, France. For the moon phase in any other city or location worldwide, use the Dynamic Moon Phase Calculator on the moonphase.today home page.