Travel Guide to Nice, France

The most attractive and interesting part of Nice is surely the 5-kilometer long Promenade des Anglais Boulevard with its posh hotels and perfect beach. But this city can offer you something more than stroll and beach!

The old city. At the bottom of the mountain, where the Chateau Castle is situated, ancient Nice used to be located. From the east side the old city area was enclosed by the hill, and from the west side the Paillon River divides it from the modern city. If we take into account the geographical position, it'll become absolutely clear why this part of the city, founded by the Greeks, has the life of more than 2000 years.

In the old part of the city you'll really feel the atmosphere of a typical optimistic and lively provincial town. In this area every morning open their doors flower-shops, greengroceries and fish markets. It's a real pleasure to look at working tradesmen and butchers. At such markets one can buy everything he wants starting with various spices and ending with exotic fruit. The products are placed in such a picturesque way that it's impossible to leave without making a lot of purchases.

It's not easy to name the only or the most popular and suitable route of visiting the sight of the Old City. But if you walk around this area you'll surely pass by the City Hall, the Palace of Justice and the St Reparate Cathedral. You'll hardly manage to miss the main point of interest there – the Marché aux Fleurs Square. But to get fascinated by the city to the maximum, you should go to the distant alleyways, which are in the north not far from the bus terminal. In the Old City you can enjoy the cool of the shade, cause the house there stand very close to each other. But don't forget to look upwards, otherwise you won't see the color variety of the buildings.

After being for some time in old Nice, you'll feel yourself in a small Italian town. The houses of pastel shades, dogs, lazing in the sun, calm and smiling people – all this create the feeling of absence of time. Of course, if to have a look at the nooks of Nice, you'll get to know that people there live a rather poor life. At dinner time a lot of stalls and bars sell cooked in wooden ovens soccas. Soccas are cooked from garbanzo flour and used to be the meal of the poor, but nowadays it's likely to be a delicate. These round cakes resemble pizza, they are very cheap, but efficiently satisfy hunger.

The Castle Mountain Château. The Old Nice is enclosed by the castle mountain. On the 100-meter hill used to be situated the fortress and cathedral. When Nice belonged to Duchy of Savoy, Louis XIV managed to occupy the city. Then in 1706 by his order the fortress was blown up. This is the reason, why if you get to the Chateau, you will see not a medieval castle, but just some carcass of the castle wall. Though, it's worth getting to the mountain for two reasons: first – you'd enjoy the fantastic view not only on the Old Nice, but on the whole Promenade des Anglais. From the Chateau it's convenient to watch the planes taking off and landing nearby at the airport. And the second – there you'd be close to nature as never before.

The whole territory, actually, is an enormous garden with exotic plants, huge palms, cactuses, burs and the magnificent waterfall in the center. On the top of the south mountain takes place the Navy Museum, where one can look at the models of ships and navigation instruments. If you have enough time, you should go to the Castle Mountain twice – in the morning and in the evening. At daytime you'll see the amazing view on the city and the sea, and at night the endless line of lights will break your heart. The best time for enjoying the beauty of Promenade des Anglais is night. A great number of street lamps, hotel lamps and the beach with its floodlight will give an unforgettable romantic feeling.

The museums. If you get to Nice, it'd be a good idea to visit the well-known Negresco Hotel that is more likely to be a museum than accommodation. Coco Chanel, Ernest Hemingway, Marlene Dietrich, Françoise Sagan… and it's not the full list of its guests. Nice is paradise for those, who are found of visiting museums: the Massena Museum that tells us about the history of Nice and the art of local painters, the Museum of Modern Art that exhibits the collection of European and oversea avant-gardists.

Shopping. Of course, in such city as Nice it'll be unreasonable to spend all your time visiting museums, walking along the alleys and climbing the mountains, another thing to do there is shopping. The most suitable street for it is Massena Street. If you go to the very end of this street, you'll get to the Massena Square, where takes place the Galeries Lafayette (the biggest supermarket). To find some other shopping centers and just good shops, you should go to the north from the Massena Square.

Read more about Nice:
Restaurants and cuisine in Nice
Local traditions and lifestyle
'Must visit' places in Nice
Nightlife and attractions in Nice
Preparing for Nice: Advices
Nice photogallery