Nice

Towns and Villages - by Provence Beyond

Villages > Nice      

Nearby:  | Aix-en-Provence 176 km | Antibes Juan-les-Pins 25 km | Breil-sur-Roya 55 km | Cannes 32 km | Grasse 42 km | Marseille 189 km | Menton 28 km | Monaco 20 km | Peillon 20 km | Roquebrune-Cap-Martin 26 km | Saint Jeannet 20 km | Saint Paul-de-Vence 18 km | Train des Pignes | Vence 21 km | Villefranche-sur-Mer 4 km |

Below: | The Center | The Chateau | Cimiez | Promenade des Anglais | Beaches | Vieille Ville (Old Town) | Markets | Favorite Sons and Daughters | O.T. | Dates | Sports | Hiking | Lodging Hotels |

Nice is ancient. Inhabited for 400,000 years, the "modern" city of Nikaia was established by the Greeks. The Romans may have started the tourism with their extensive baths on Cimiez. In spite of modernization, the city retains its medieval heritage in the vieille ville (old town), with its narrow winding streets and closely-packed red-tiled roofs.

Other than a base for your trips into Beyond, Nice is a center of activities. Lodging, dining, shopping, sunbathing and swimming, movies, theaters, opera, museums -- or just strolling along the Promenade des Anglais and enjoying the good life.

What's happening in Nice this week? The "Semaine des Spectacles" is a weekly guide available from every newsstand. It comes out every Wednesday, and contains everything that's going on in the towns of Provence and the Côte d'Azur (including Nice, Cannes, Aix). It lists restaurants, nightclubs, movies (many in "Version Originale"), museums, and other diversions.

Parks and Playgrounds

There are parks and playgrounds all around Nice. Places to sit in the shade and rest your weary feet during a day of shopping or sightseeing, and let the kiddies burn off some energy.

Nice Public Library

The public library is on Rue Biscarra, behind the "Nice Etoile" mall. Open to anybody, the library has a good collection of books on local history and regional areas and villages. Mostly French, of course, but it also contains a selection of books and magazines in English, and some other languages, if you want to spend a few hours inside on a rare rainy day.

Sundials

Walking along the Promenade des Anglais towards the port, the walk rises up to the Pointe des Ponchettes beneath the chateau rock. There's a good view from here back along the beaches and the town. You can become a part of the sundial (cadran solaire) here; stand at the correct place and your shadow will indicate the time.

The Center

The center of Nice is from the big fountain, Fountaine du Soleil, across the Place Massena, ringed by bright pastel buildings, and up the Avenue Jean Médecin. Continuing beneath the railway overpass beside the train station, Ave Jean Médecin becomes Ave Malaussena.

The Rue de France pedestrian shopping street runs from the end of the Place Massena, roughly parallel to the seaside. This area is full of shops, including some exclusive clothing boutiques, and restaurants and cafés with outdoor terraces - a great place to sit and watch the world go by, while you eat or drink.

The Chateau

"Le Chateau" isn't a chateau -- the castle on top of this high rock hill overlooking Nice old town and the port has been gone since 1706, but it's a great place to visit. There are cool walks in the shade of the trees, great views out over Nice and the Mediterranean, a large grassy park, playground, Roman ruins and a waterfall.

Access. You can walk up the stairs at the front, from the Quai des Etats Unis, and have a great view as you climb; there are 213 steps from the bottom to the observation platform on top of the Naval Museum, and then more steps and various walkways on to the top. An elevator is available from the same starting point if your legs aren't up to it.

In the old town, go up the Rue Rossetti from the Cathedral Ste. Réparate to find steps and walkways that go up past the cemeteries to the top. There's also roads that you can drive, or walk, up: the Monté Montfort goes up from the "point" between the Baie des Anges and the port, and from near the Place Garibaldi.

Cimiez

Cimiez sits on a hill a couple of km from the center of town. It's about an hour's walk, or a short bus ride, to this lovely site in a residential area above the hustle and bustle of the city. The grounds of "Cimiez" include a large park amidst olive groves, the Archeology museum, Matisse museum and the Franciscan Museum and Monastery. During a couple of weeks in August, this is the site of the Nice Jazz Festival, with music until midnight every night from three stages, in the olive groves and the Roman Amphitheater.

There aren't many cafés in this residential area, but the terrace café in the park, on the Allée Miles Davis, behind the bust of Lionel Hampton, has whole-wheat baguette sandwiches.

Promenade des Anglais

The promenade stretches about 7 km around the Baie des Anges, a favorite for leisurely "promenades" since the Belle Epoque at the turn of the last century. Activities include sitting and watching the sea - and the sunbathers on the beach, jogging and roller skating. Summer nights the activity actually increases.

Beaches

The beaches of Nice, and along the coast to Antibes, are shingle (smooth stones). From Antibes-Juan-les-Pins to Cannes, the beaches are sand. It's obvious which you need for building sand castles, but many people actually prefere the grit-free shingle beaches. Also, it's not much fun trying to skip sand out across the water. Our photo her shows a family enjoying the warm winter sun in the middle of December.

Vieille Ville (Old Town)

The "vieille ville" is the most "Beyond" part of Nice. With narrow streets curving in irregular fashion between old buildings with red-tile roofs, this could be almost any medieval village of the region. The streets are packed with shops and shoppers. Small restaurants, food, meat, produce, pasta, clothes, gifts, anything and everything. You can buy wine by the bottle or the barrel (bring your own container) and an amazing variety of fresh-made ravioli and other pasta.

The Cours Saleya has a daily flower market and a food market in the mornings. There are scores of stands, from large, professionally displayed wares to folding tables set up by family farmers with their produce and live fowl directly from the farm. The length of the Cours Saleya is sided by the low buildings separating the "Cours" from the seaside. Once housing the fishermen's catch, they have given way largely to seafood restaurants. The other side of the Cours Saleya is lined by terrace cafés, lovely old buildings and the grand Prefecture.

Markets

Cours Saleya. The most famous market of Nice is the flower market and main market on the Cours Saleya in the old town (see above). On Mondays, the Cours Saleya has a large flea market, the Marché a la Brocante et Antiquités.

Ave. Malaussena. A very large, authentic market can be found most mornings along the Ave. Malaussena (continuation of Ave. Jean Médecin beyond the train station overpass).

Rue Raiberti. The covered market on Rue Flaminius Raibereti, just off the Place Général de Gaulle at the top of Ave. Malaussena, has produce in the street-side stalls, and mostly butchers and dairy-product stands inside.

Favorite Sons and Daughters

Lance Armstrong, the American winner of the 1999 Tour de France cycling race lives in Nice (or did at the time of the race). Well-done, Lance! Since Beyond wrote that, a few years ago, Lance also won the tour de France in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004, deserving another Well-done, Lance!

Simone Veil, considered the "First Lady of Europe", was born in Nice. Passing via the Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen Nazi camps, Simone has gone on to win world-wide recognition as one of the most courageous and influential peoplein our time, with national honors from countries around the world. Simone Veil was the first president of the European Parliament, and just recently (May 2005) was awarded Spain's Prince of Asturias prize for International Cooperation, following previous winners Helmut Kohl, Yitzac Rabin, Yasser Arafat and Lula da Silva (of Brasil).

Office de Tourisme

Tel: 04 93 92 82 82; Fax: 04 93 92 82 98
Email: info@nicetourisme.com

CRT - Comité Régional Tourisme - 55 Promenade Anglais

Tel: (33) 493 37 78 78; Fax: (33) 493 86 01 06

Office de Tourisme - Gare SNCF

This tourist office is at the railway station.
This is a good source for flyers on laundromats and cybercafés.

Office de Tourisme et des Congrés - Ave Thiers

BP 79, 06302 Nice cédex 4
Tel: (33) 493 92 82 82
Information, Ave Thieres; Tel: (33) 493 87 07 07
Information, 5 Promenade Anglais; Tel: (33) 492 14 48 00
Reservations - Tel: (33) 493 92 80 90
Reservations - Address: BP 4079, 06302 Nice Cedex 04

Office de Tourisme - Nice-Ferber (near the airport)

Tel: (33) 493 83 32 64

Dates

Every Tue-Sat - Brocante-Antiques, Pl. Rabiliante, port (Tue-Sat)
Every Mon - Brocante, Cours Saleya
Every Feb - CARNAVAL
Every Mar - Fête des Cougourdons - Jardins de Cimiez
Every Mar - Foire Internationale de Nice - Acropolis-Expositions
Every Mar - Paris-Nice Cycling Race arrival
Every May - La Fête des Mai - Cimiez jardins et Arènes (every sunday of the month)
Every June - Fête de la Mer/Fete de la St Pierre - Port de Nice
Every June - Triathlon International de Nice (email: fftri@fftri.com)
Every July - Nice JAZZ Festival - Cimiez Jardins et Arènes, from 18h every night.
Every Aug - Bataille de Fleurs (parade of flowered floats on the Promenade des Anglais)
Every Sep - Arrivée du Tour de France Automobile Historique - Promenade des Anglais
Every Sep - Fête de la Vigne, celebrating the Bellet wine _ Jardins de Cimiez
Every Sep - Triathlon de Nice - Promenade des Anglais
Every Oct - Fête Patronale de la Ville de Nice Sainte Reparate - Vieux Nice

Sports

Golfing

Camping

Parachuting

Aigle Nautique

Location: 50 bd Franck Pilatte, 06300 On the Mediterranean coast, between Cannes and Italy.

Tel: 0493 567 799

C.T.R Plongée SousMarine Cote d'Azur (Commission Technique Régionale)

Location: 21 rue Marie Bashkirtseff, 06200 On the Mediterranean coast, between Cannes and Italy.

Tel: 0493 832 969

Club Nautique de Nice

Location: bd Franck Pilatte On the Mediterranean coast, between Cannes and Italy.

Tel: 0493 893 978

Nice Diving

Location: 26 Bd Stalingrad, 06300 Nice On the Mediterranean coast, between Cannes and Italy.

Tel: 0493 894 244; Fax: 04 93 89 12 69

Email: esmarine@aol.com

Web: nicediving.ifrance.com

Club de Plongée le Nautile

Location: 35 av Ste Marguerite, 06200 On the Mediterranean coast, between Cannes and Italy.

Tel: 0493 212 106

All year

Club de Plongée Nausicaa

Location: 9 av Frédéric Mistral On the Mediterranean coast, between Cannes and Italy.

Tel: 0492 090 070

Ecole de Plongée Sous-Marine Le Poséidon

Location: Quai Lunel - Port de Nice, 06300 Nice On the Mediterranean coast, between Cannes and Italy.

Tel: 0492 004 386; Fax: 04 92 00 43 87

Email: tlo@poseidon-nice.com

Web: www.poseidon-nice.com

Contact : Thierry Leonard

Hiking

The GR5 (Grande Randonnée) that begins at l'Aire St. Michel, Nice north, will take you across France or across Europe. The trail begins at the road junction of the D114 and D214, where the Grande Randonnée (marked with the red-and-white signs) goes up the small Chemin de Chateaurenard.

The GR5 crosses the GR51 - Balcony of the Cote d'Azur 2 km north of the start, past Mont Chauve, between Aspremont and Tourrette-Levens.

Lodging - Hotels

Railway Station. There are several hotels near the Nice railway station, on Ave Thiers that runs past the front of the station, and on the streets going south from the station, Ave Durante, Rue d'Angleterre, Rue Pagnanini. We have some 2-star hotels listed for Ave Thiers and Ave Durante. You can get a current list from the Nice Office de Tourisme.

Towns with Online Bookable Hotels in Provence Alpes Côte-d'Azur: • Hotels by our partner ActiveHotels • Hotels by our partner Venere