With over 300 sunny days a year and a vibrant LGBTQ+ scene, the capital of the Côte d’Azur (The French Riviera) is a dream destination for queer travelers! In this queer & lesbian Nice guide, we’ll dive into the best things to do, queer bars and clubs, plus the best events year-round to plan a trip for!
From a lesbian-owned bookstore to old town gems to festivals and a queer carnival, Nice offers something for everyone.
What’s so powerful about Nice is its atmosphere. With its great weather, beautiful coastline, major airport, and richness in diversity and cultures, the city feels incredibly welcoming to all. Additionally, you can easily find LGBTQ-friendly establishments as they proudly display the Nice Irisée Naturellement label.
It’s a liberal city where no one cares about the private lives of others. Where France struggled with lots of protests against equal marriage rights, Nice has been unbothered and chill about it for decades.
Gay Area Nice
This French city is compact (and super walkable!), so we would argue it’s gay in its entirety. But if you do want to get more specific and call out a gay area in Nice, you can find petit marais (Marais is the gay area in Paris) near Place Garibaldi.
The streets Rue Bonaparte and Rue Emmanuel Philibert have a high concentration of LGBTQ+ residents as well as gay-owned bars, cafes, and restaurants. While fun during the daytime, the area comes alive at nighttime!
For the lesbians, there’s the unofficial lesbian area of Nice around Rue Delille, which has multiple lesbian-owned businesses around.
Queer Places Nice
Without further ado, let’s dive into the best queer places to visit in Nice! Continue reading for the best lesbian bars, clubs, and events.
Librairie Vigna
This lesbian-owned bookstore has been run by a couple, Marie-Hélène Dampérat and Françoise Vigna, since 2011. Their (mostly used) book collection focuses on queer cultures, feminism, art, and poetry.
It’s the only bookshop of its kind outside of Paris. They also regularly host exhibitions and cultural events.
Garden Café Nice
The Garden Café Nice is a café and juice bar owned by a lesbian couple. It’s a great place for brunch, and their French toast and bagels are particularly yummy. Be prepared to wait in line, because it’s a popular place!
The LGBT Center / LGBTQ+ Côte d’Azur Centre
In 2010, the LGBTQ+ center began as a community hub to provide support, as a gathering and information space. Nowadays, it’s become a hub for a large network of queer organizations in Nice and its surroundings.
There’s a community space with a bar and a queer library, which is connected to the larger city library.
Next door, they’ve also opened up a ടexual health center, as well as connections to a larger network of queer-friendly doctors and health professionals.
They offer hormonal subscriptions for trans people, shelter for young queer people on the streets. This center has grown to be one of the largest in France!
Also interesting: this center is supported by the city, thanks to a mayor who decided to take political action.
Carm’elles
One of the LGBTQ+ Center’s member associations is the lesbian sports and cultural association Carm’elles. The word Carm’elles is a word play, like caramel, it’s sweet, hard and soft, salty and sugary; for all tastes.
The association has 150 members of all ages, and organizes lots of tournaments, meetings, and events. Check out their events while you’re in town.
Les Culottées
Another queer women’s association is Les Culottées, which offers a strong professional network, with doctors, lawyers, and banks. They also organize trips; every year, they have a big meeting (about 200 women, mostly above 50 years old) on the coast of Spain.
The name Les Culottées comes from a comic book and means ‘someone who dares’. It’s an organization for connection, but there’s also an education aspect to it. Whilst some events are for members only, their dinners and parties are for everyone! Plus, they’re trans and non-binary inclusive.
Adelphes & collectif queer 06
For a younger crowd, there’s the student association Adelphes, which focuses on anti-discrimination events, and the radical collectif queer 06.
Gay Beaches Nice
You’d want to take a dip in the sea in this sun-drenched beach city! The top 3 gay beaches in Nice are St Laurent d’ze Plage, Castel Plage, and Coco Plage. The latter two attract mixed crowds, so those are best for lesbian and non-men queers!
Queer Bars Nice
Like we mentioned before, head to Rue Bonaparte and Emmanuel Philibert for a high concentration of gay establishments. But we want to highlight a few bars across town. Red Kafé used to be a popular place, but has been (temporarily) closed for a while now, so that might be permanent.
- La Civette Du Cours – best for a glass of wine in the afternoon.
- La Cave Wilson – for fabulous cabaret shows and 1930s vibes.
- Le Couloir – one of the oldest gay bars in Nice.
- BLITZ bar – epicenter of trendy and colorful nightlife.
Queer Clubs Nice
Dance the night away until the early hours! These are the top three queer clubs in Nice.
- Le Glam – mythical, legendary, chic, spacious, and eclectic.
- L’Omega Club – electronic music, DJs, big events.
- Le Six – compact, fun balcony (by ladder), shows, theme nights.
Queer Events Nice
Fun fact: Nice has proportionally more queer events than Paris (compared to inhabitants)! Here we go:
Nice Pink Parade
Nice’s Pink Parade, in summer, travels along Promenade des Anglais with an uninterrupted view of the azure sea and palm trees, before culminating in an outdoor Pink Drink party.
Dolly White Party
Legendary street party in petit marais every August. Easy to find; simply follow the crowd and music. The party helps raise funds for the LGBTQ+ center!
Fête de la Musique
Since 1982, the summer solstice (June 21) has been a celebration of community, music, and summer.
WISDIN
The Women’s International Sports Days in Nice, organized annually in May by Carm’elles, is for all the sporty queers! The goal is to connect people, more than making everything a serious competition.
In & Out
In collaboration with Les Culottees (remember them from earlier in the article?), In & Out is a queer film festival that celebrated its 17th edition in April 2025.
Every spring, there’s a whole queer carnival happening in Nice. I got to see it with my own eyes in 2025, and I can assure you: it’s MAGICAL!
It’s a collaboration between organizations connected through the LGBTQ+ center, and it’s amazing to see huge events like that, by and for the community.
OVNi
International video art festival every November/December. It’s their mission to promote contemporary art and video art.
Nice So Fetiche
Okay, this one might be a bit more for the gay guys, but every November Nice turns into a leather paradise with the Nice So Fetiche festival.
Curious about more events? Check out the LGBTQ+ events calendar.
Where to Eat?
What’s better than food? Food made by gays! We already mentioned the cute brunch Garden Café Nice, but we have a few other restaurant recommendations for you!
- Restaurant Acchiardo – certified Cuisine Nissarde (authentic food from Nice), family owned, and one of the family members is gay.
- La Cantine de Jo – fast casual French food plus queer-owned!
- Sunset Restaurant – where you can get an entire performance/show with your food.
- Bocca Nissa – for amazing Mediterranean food and vibes; don’t forget to check out their bathrooms.
- Felix Brasserie – another amazing brunch spot with an amazingly Instagrammable decor.
Where to Stay?
Honestly, instead of giving you a list of options, I’m just gonna tell you: you NEED to stay at the Windsor Hotel. They have art rooms, are the sponsor of the LGBTQ+ film festival In & Out, and founded OVNi (they also host artist residencies), they have queer staff, and carry the Irisée Naturellement!
Beyond Nice
Don’t limit yourself to just exploring Nice! Get yourself a French Riviera Pass and discover what the larger region has to offer.
Enjoy queer Nice! Do you have any questions or want to add something to this guide? Drop it below or send me a message.
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