If you want high-tech hospital work on the Mediterranean, Nice deserves a place on your shortlist. The city stands out for three things: proton therapy and head and neck cancers at the Centre Antoine Lacassagne, respiratory health and ageing through the RespirERA university hospital institute (IHU), and a university hospital, the CHU de Nice, that is rebuilding its technical facilities and planning a robotic surgery institute.
The hospital landscape at a glance
In its "Strategy 2030" plan, published online in June 2026, the CHU de Nice describes itself as the only university hospital in the eastern part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. It leads the public hospital group of the Alpes-Maritimes department and says it serves more than 1.5 million people. The figures it gives for 2023 show the scale: 9,000 staff across 150 different jobs, around 3,400 births a year and more than 95,000 emergency department visits. A handful of partner institutions round out the picture.
| Institution | Focus | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| CHU de Nice | University hospital, all specialties | Only university hospital in the east of the region, according to the CHU; coordinates the RespirERA institute; plans for a robotic surgery institute |
| Centre Antoine Lacassagne | Cancer care | Comprehensive cancer centre in the Unicancer network; proton therapy, face and neck tumours, gynaecological cancer surgery |
| Institut Arnault Tzanck | Cardiac surgery | Listed as a partner in the CHU's strategic plan |
| CH Sainte-Marie | Psychiatry | Partner of the CHU for mental health |
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Proton therapy and head and neck cancers: the Centre Antoine Lacassagne
Founded in 1961, the Centre Antoine Lacassagne is one of the 18 French comprehensive cancer centres in the Unicancer network. It is a private, not-for-profit hospital, and patients are not charged above the standard fees. According to its 2024 annual report, the centre treats more than 6,300 patients a year and highlights two areas of expertise: tumours of the face and neck, and surgery for women's cancers.
What really sets it apart is proton therapy, a form of radiotherapy that uses proton beams to treat tumours close to sensitive tissue. The centre runs two cyclotrons, one low-energy and one high-energy, and has offered high-energy proton therapy since 2016 through its Mediterranean Proton Therapy Institute (IMPT). It describes itself as one of only three facilities in France offering this treatment. In 2024 it passed the milestone of 1,000 patients treated with high-energy protons. Children are treated there too, as are eye tumours.
Research is part of daily life. In 2024 the French National Cancer Institute (INCa) awarded the centre, jointly with the CHU de Nice, a five-year CLIP² label for early-phase clinical trials, and the centre entered the European OECI accreditation process the same year. For a doctor or nurse drawn to oncology, that means patient pathways where advanced radiotherapy, surgery, supportive care and trial protocols meet.
Respiratory health and ageing: the RespirERA institute
In May 2023 the French government selected Nice as one of twelve new university hospital institutes (IHU) under its France 2030 investment plan. RespirERA, led by the Université Côte d'Azur foundation, focuses on respiratory health, the environment and ageing. Its record at the French National Research Agency shows €20 million in funding over ten years from December 2023, with coordination based at the CHU de Nice.
Its research themes reach well beyond the lab: how the environment shapes health (the exposome), early detection of lung cancer, biobanks, imaging, liquid biopsy and artificial intelligence. The CHU also lists a university hospital federation called OncoAge, dedicated to age-related diseases. Whether you are a respiratory physician, an oncologist, a geriatrician or a clinical research nurse, Nice is a place where care and research sit side by side.
A hospital under construction: robotics, transplants, critical care
The CHU's Strategy 2030 plan sets out several projects. It plans to complete the second phase of its Pasteur 2 site, with 30 operating theatres, a critical care unit and a hyperbaric chamber. It also announces a robotic surgery institute covering orthopaedics, neurosurgery and thoracic surgery, and further development of liver transplantation and living-donor kidney transplantation. Two more university hospital federations are highlighted: INOVPAIN, on refractory chronic pain, and Plan&Go, on computer-assisted and augmented trauma surgery. None of this is a promise of a job, but it shows the skills a hospital in transition needs: theatre, intensive care, rehabilitation and care coordination.
Which professions will find what?
- Doctors: oncology and radiotherapy at the Centre Antoine Lacassagne, respiratory medicine and lung research with RespirERA, surgery (robotic, cardiac at the Institut Arnault Tzanck, transplantation) and psychiatry.
- Nurses: cancer care, early-phase trials, operating theatre, critical care, emergency medicine and geriatrics in a hospital that lists 150 different jobs.
- Midwives: the CHU's maternity unit, with around 3,400 births a year according to the hospital's 2023 figures.
- Physiotherapists: respiratory health (RespirERA) and trauma (the Plan&Go federation) are among the themes Nice puts forward, and rehabilitation goes hand in hand with surgery.
- Occupational therapists: ageing (OncoAge) and chronic pain (INOVPAIN) are among the research themes the CHU highlights.
- Aides-soignants (the French title): a large university hospital and its partners rely on care teams in every department. A healthcare assistant qualification from another country does not automatically allow you to work as an aide-soignant in France: our aide-soignant guide explains what applies to you.
Everyday life in Nice
Nice is the main city on the eastern Côte d'Azur, set between the sea and the foothills of the Alps, close to Monaco and the Italian border; the CHU mentions partnerships with Monaco, the Var department and Corsica. Université Côte d'Azur, whose medical faculty trains future health professionals and whose foundation leads the RespirERA institute, is based in the city.
The regional health agency also takes part in Paysage+, a cross-border project linking Piedmont, Liguria and the Alpes-Maritimes on public health topics such as healthy environments, health security and young people's mental health. For the practical side (bank account, social security, finding a flat), read our guide to settling in France and our article on housing for healthcare workers.
From idea to application
Picking Nice is step one. How you get the right to practise depends on your profession and your qualification, so start with the guide that fits you: doctors, nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, aides-soignants or occupational therapists. Our general guide to working in France with a European health qualification gives you the big picture.
To compare pay, see our article on salaries for EU healthcare workers in France. And if you would rather not plan your move to Nice on your own, the Suxens team is here to help turn the idea into a complete application.