The fashionable city of Nice on the Côte d’Azur boasts the longer France’s seafront city, drenched in sunshine and teeming with hordes of happy vacationers for much of the year. Among tourists, in fact, Nice is the second most popular French city after Paris.
It has been a favorite among artists for centuries, many claim that the city enjoys a special light, but it is also a magnet for the wealthy and glamorous along with posh neighbors like Monaco and Cannes. Yet despite this, Nice doesn’t have an exclusive feel to it, actually attracting quite a diverse crowd alongside its glamorous core, from young couples and families to older tourists and even the occasional hen party.
Go beyond the less attractive suburbs to Vieux Nice, the old quarter of France’s fifth largest city, and you’ll find a tangle of historic streets where couples stroll hand-in-hand from boutique to souvenir shop, and diners they eat alfresco in the balmy evening air enjoying live. music and a place to people watch. This is Nice’s most charming neighborhood and the best place to spend summer evenings, with a lively cafe culture, great restaurants and plenty of friendly bars. If you’re exploring during the day, be sure to seek out some of the incredibly ornate Baroque churches, such as Eglise de Gésu on Rue Droite, where the vivid art and sculpture inside is stunning in its detail. In the heart of the old town, the closed and pedestrianized Place Rossetti is an evocative place by day and by night, lined with buildings in red and yellow ochres, famous for its ice cream parlors and beautifully illuminated at night.
The pebbly beach doesn’t seem to put off the many sunseekers who flock to take a dip in the turquoise sea before drying off on a sun lounger, despite risking a rather awkward entry and exit on the slippery and uncomfortable pebbles.
Along the waterfront is the elegant, palm-fringed Promenade des Anglais, backed by grand pre-war villas and hotels, the most impressive of which is the rose-domed Hôtel Negresco. The prom is a favorite place to walk and rollerblade, ride a bike, and ride a skateboard. Parallel to a stretch of this is the compact pedestrian zone “Zone Pietonne”, another pleasant area filled with cafes, restaurants and tourist souvenir shops near Place Masséna, the city’s main square.
Nice’s colorful flower market takes place on the Cours Saleya every morning, and this traditional square is also a good place to grab a bite to eat at one of the traditional Nicois restaurants. If you want to capture one of the best views in town, head to the Colline du Chateau and climb the stairs (or take the elevator three-quarters of the way up) for views of the Baie des Anges and the harbor. Although little remains of the ruined castle, the spectacular views alone make it worth the effort.
And if you can crawl indoors out of the sun, Nice also boasts more than 20 museums, many with wonderful art collections and some with free admission. Among the best are Musee Matisse, Musee Chagall, Musee et Site Archeologiques de Cimiez, and Parc Phoenix (a botanical garden and greenhouse).