I was there for the race this past summer with my wife and 2 young kids, and we rented a minivan for the week that we were there. We stayed in a villa up the hill, so we needed the car to get around. Driving in Nice is a little bit sketchy if you're not accustomed to highly congested areas and tiny parking spots, but we got used to it pretty quickly. Surely you could get around without a rental vehicle if your accommodations are close to the race site down on the Promenade; and I've heard that the trains are very easy to deal with for getting out and about if you chose to venture outside of Nice. Overall, we had a great time over there and really loved the area. And, importantly, the wine is both amazing and cheap!

Is there enough to do to keep the kids entertained while you were there. We were in Zurich this year and after 2 days they had enough of seeing the city & sights. Luckily there was a beach/water park on the lake which occupied them.

My wife and I rented an apartment while there. We mostly ate dinner in, but went out for breakfasts, coffees, and drinks after dinner, partly to keep costs down and partly to get the right nutrition as picky triathletes. It stays light out late there, and the post-dinner walks were wonderful. There is great nightlife there, too, with many places open later than in other parts of France. The Monoprix grocery store was within 5-10 minutes walking distance of our place, which was very close to the transition area. Grocery shopping was fairly inexpensive and good food can be had for cheap. There are also outdoor markets. I don't think there's any need to rent a car, which is incredibly expensive in Western Europe. We took trains when we needed, and buses are usually even cheaper. We walked a ton, which is the French way, anyhow.

I have an EU (French) passport which can help with discounts at some places like museums. Assuming you don't have that, get an international student ID card for discounts, or, if that proves difficult, try to find something similar. It can be a good way to save some money here and there. Also: avoid touristy things. The beaches are mostly free, and activities like hiking are usually free and great ways to see places. Don't buy too many knick-knacks, and skip going to places like Monaco (and definitely don't eat out in Monaco -- it's $$$).

You've got airfare and accommodations paid. The only other thing you "need" is food. You also have ten months, so start saving (not to be pushy, but it's true). If you live fairly frugally, you'll be ok.

Yes, the kids (4 and 8) were fine the whole time we were there. It helped that there was a pool at the house we rented and we weren't constantly being touristy. The Cours Saleya is a neat place with lots of stuff to check out (convenient underground parking garage too, if you're driving around), and there's a nice park for the kids at the top of this cool rock/mountain thing right down there. The beaches are nice, but they're covered in smooth stones instead of sand so make sure you take water shoes for the kids. A Rick Steves book directed us to a particular beach in Antibes that was supposedly amazing and had sand instead of stones, but it was quite underwhelming...we felt like we were on Lake Erie instead of the Mediterranean. However, the kids didn't care and had a lot of fun...kids are great that way!

Go win a ton of cash in Monaco and make the trip a profitable one!

Um, we just walked everywhere.

We would definitely do a fair bit of walking while there. Thought about renting cruiser bikes to get around the immediate area too. Might be fun for the kids, just not sure about how bike-friendly it is for that kind of thing. Thanks for the replies so far and keep 'em coming!

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"It's too dangerous and expensive to ride with d*ckheads" -tridork

Bump. Thinking about this for 2016 (!). Would like more intell.

That was helpful

Thought it was a no-brainer myself.

Have your credit card company issue you a card with a chip in it; without it, many grocery stores will be cash only and you will not be able to rent a veloblu bike to cruise around town.

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Sharting Happens...deal with it!

http://caughtontherun.blogspot.com/

Your kids must be young! I was in Zurich in Sep with my 16 year old daughter and she could have spent a week just shopping on the Bahnhofstrasse! I was like...'move along...nothing to see here!!" :)

Kids were 10 & 12. Went to London afterward and all the 12 yr old wanted to do was shop.

Like someone else mentioned, get a credit card with the chip. We had trouble a few times with the magnetic strip not working on our cards. Everyone in Europe uses the chip cards. Quite a few times we had to use cash when the card wouldn't work.

Also thinking of Nice in 2016.

Anybody know when this usually sells out? Another thread said it stays open till December but I don't think that is accurate.

IM France general registration sold out on October 15th this year.

And does anybody know what they cap the registration at? 2000, 2500, 3000?


Edited to add: more or less 2800 athletes last year.