The netcdf files include metadata that describe their content. To list the metadata of a netcdf file (dimensions, variable names, attributes), you can use the ncdump command that comes with the netcdf library :

ncdump -h file.nc

To list the metadata and the values of variable var1 :

ncdump -v var1 file.nc | more

A number of people use ncview to have a quick look at variables in a netcdf file:

ncview file.nc &

Ferret is also a convenient software to have a quick look at netcdf files, e.g. :

ferret
  yes? use "/home/bob/DATA/bathy_meter.nc"
  yes? show data
  yes? shade BATHYMETRY
  yes? go land
  yes? plot BATHYMETRY[i=200]
  yes? plot/over BATHYMETRY[i=215]
  yes? quit

Ferret is also useful for more complicated things, like regridding, see Ferret Documentation to explore possibilities.

It is also possible to use PyFerret, which works as the standard Ferret but is encapsulated in Python. This can be installed through anaconda as:

conda create -n FERRET -c conda-forge pyferret ferret_datasets --yes

Then, to use it:

conda activate FERRET
ferret

When exiting, you’ll need to leave the environment:

conda deactivate

See this page to install Ferret on your computer.