"When a player like this tells you Manchester City is the place to be, because it's the club of the future, they want to win everything and they have a big project, you have to listen," Nasri told the City website (www.mcfc.co.uk).
The versatile 24-year-old attacking midfielder, capable of playing through the middle or down the wing, signed for City on Wednesday for a reported 25 million pounds ($41 million) after protracted negotiations.
Vieira, formerly of Arsenal, AC and Inter Milan, Juventus and Manchester City, who won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European championship, retired in July and now works in Manchester as the club's football development executive.
Nasri also had advice from former Arsenal team mates Gael Clichy and Kolo Toure, both now at City.
"I spoke to them a lot, as well as Patrick Vieira," he said. "They know the difference between Arsenal and Man City, for me that made a big difference."
Londoners Arsenal have not won a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup, and while City's triumph in the same competition in May ended a 35-year silverware drought, the world's richest club have not clinched a league title for 43 years.
In his video interview on City's website, Nasri was not bothered by the largely empty trophy cabinet at his new club, and was excited at the prospect of linking up with the likes of Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero and David Silva.
"When you arrive at a club you want to play with big players. I'm just happy to be in this dressing room and I can't wait to play with them," he said.
"In France they call Man City the 'Galacticos' like it was with Real Madrid and Zidane."
Vieira's 1998 World Cup team mate Zinedine Zidane followed Portugal's Luis Figo to the Spanish capital in 2001, after which Brazil's Ronaldo and Englishman David Beckham signed for Real, all for huge fees. ($1 = 0.610 British Pounds)
