See main article: article and 2011 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur. Richard Gasquet was the defending champion, but chose not to compete in this year.
No.3 seed Nicolás Almagro won the tournament by defeating Romanian Victor Hănescu 6–7(5–7), 6–3, 6–3 in the final. It was the 10th ATP Tournament won by Nicolás Almagro in his career.
The top four seeds received a bye into the second round.
See main article: article and 2011 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur – Singles qualifying.