Nice Outdoors - what to do when the sun's shining! (That's most of the time!)
Get Orientated!
Nice is an outdoors city. With an average of only 4 rainy days a month throughout the year (London 12, Manchester 15!), a temperature that rarely goes above 90F in summer or below 40F in winter, it is an all-year destination as popular (and as lively) in winter as in summer. It does snow about once every ten years, but the last time was February 2005, so you should be OK until 2015!
Nice is a great walking city and many of our suggestions will involve footing it - but you can always relax on the beach or in an outdoor cafe.
If it's your first visit to Nice, and you don't have much time, you might find a guided tour useful. There are two possibilities, both to be found on the Promenade des Anglais, opposite the Casino Ruhl. Le Petit Train (Little Train will take you through the old town and up to Le Chateau. A 40 minute trip costs €6 (children under nine €3). However, we don't really recommend it; it only covers the Old Town, the Chateau and the Port, which you'll probably visit anyway and we've never seen anybody looking happy on it - it's more bemused or embarrassed. How did we end up here? But if you don't mind looking like a tourist (or have kids with you), go for it.
A better, but more expensive, alternative (Adults €17, Children €9) can found a few yards further on. The open-top double-decker bus gives a Grand Tour of Nice lasting 1hr 30min and gives you a much better idea of the city layout. From March to early November the service runs every half hour from 9.30am to 6.30pm; the rest of the year hourly from 9.30am to 5.00pm.
The service makes 11 stops and you can hop on and off anywhere you want. It includes Cimiez (Roman ruins and Matisse Museum) and the Acropolis (Museum of Contempory Art). If you pay €20 rather than €17 you can extend the ticket to two days.
Promenade des Anglais
It is the Promenade des Anglais which Nice is most famous for. This superb sea-front boulevard, always decked with flowers, follows the curve of the Baie des Anges and was originally a path just two metres wide. It was an Englishman, the Reverend Lewis Way, who had it built at his own expense in the early 1820s. The locals immediately named it the Chemin des Anglais. In its final form, two lanes of traffic separated by flower-beds and palm-trees, the "Prom" was inaugurated in 1931 by the Duke of Connaught (son of Queen Victoria).
The pristine facades, palm trees and blue skies that feature on postcards of this famous promenade are hard to believe - but the seaside walkway really is that sparkling-clean and exotic. The famous blue chairs appeared in the late forties, only to disappear in 2004 and make a comeback, welded together - allegedly to stop too many of them disappearing into Italian camper vans!
Including its extension, the Quai des Etats Unis, you now have eight kilometers (five miles) of easy flat walking. You can walk all the way and back in around three hours. If your feet can take it, your heart will thank you for it. So get your skates on, and join the throngs of glamorous Italian couples, haughty Parisians, eccentric retired Niçois dressed forty years too young, roller-bladers, joggers, bikers, families, everyone just taking a stroll down the Prom.
Cours Saleya
One of Nice's greatest pleasures is wandering the outdoor markets along the Cours Saleya. Blooms of every colour and shape burst to life. Row after row of spices beckon. There are grapes the size of golf balls and olives glimmering in the sun. Fresh fish are stacked in icy display cases.
Besides the vendors under tents, there are several shops, boutiques, cafes and restaurants along the sides. Buy hats, tableware, tacky souvenirs or a cafe au lait.
The Cours Saleya is situated between Vieux Nice (Old Town) and the Quai des Etats Unis (continuation of the Promenade des Anglais). Bustling any day of the week, this one can't be missed. It serves as a flower and produce market every day but Mondays, when it becomes an antiques market. On summertime evenings, there is an arts and crafts market.
Here are the hours:
Flower Market open 6 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 6 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday, and 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sundays and holidays.
Fruit & Vegetable Market open 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every day but Monday.
Antiques Market open 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays (unless they are holidays or the eve of holidays).
Arts & Crafts Market, from June 1 to Sept. 30, every day from 6 p.m. to midnight.
The Cours Saleya can be a delightful place for dining al fresco, provided you remember that it is a tourist area and you are there more for the ambience than the quality of the food!
Vieux Nice
Nice's old town is a delightful mish-mash of winding streets, lively squares and Genoese, Provençal, medieval and baroque architecture. It has plenty of cafés and restaurants and comes alive in the evenings, with places to booze and boogie.
If you want to see baroque churches, St-Martin-St-Augustin (the oldest church in Nice), St-François de Paule (baroque and classical), St-Giuame (also known as St-Jacques, l'Annonciation and Ste-Rita) and the elegant Chapelle de la Miséricorde are recommended.
Cathédrale Ste-Réparate (1650-80) in the area's central square, Place Rossetti, was built in honour of the city's patron saint; the steeple dates from the 18th century.
Palais Lascaris is a beautiful example of Genoese baroque architecture, and it's also home to an 18th-century apothecary and a museum of local history.
Old Nice is an ideal place to loiter, taste, smell and look around. It is a maze of winding alleys and very small streets with stairs covered by hanging laundry. A lot of small restaurants, exotic shops, cafes, open air stalls with sausages, cheese, pizzas, fruits confits and broiled sucking pigs, not to mention the Nice delicacy of Socca, a sort of chick-pea pancake! Look up and admire facades adorned with "trompe l'oeuil" and frescoes.
Just relax, wander and enjoy. And if you get lost, you'll soon get found again!
Colline du Château and Cascade
The best reason to visit "Castle Hill" is for the spectacular panoramic view of the city and sea. You won't actually see much of a castle (only a few sections of it remain). You can take the elevator (next to the Hotel Suisse on the Quai des États-Unis a few yards from Cours Saleya) up for €1.00 return or hike up the stairs for free to the park atop the hill. Be sure to bring your camera.
This is a shady public park where local families come to stroll and admire the panoramic views of Nice and the sparkling Baie des Anges. It's a great place for a lazy-day escape or to beat the heat on a summer afternoon, (when the spectacular waterfall is very welcome) and sometimes has open-air concerts as entertainment.
The château after which the hill and park are named was established in the 12th century but was razed by Louis XIV in 1706. In the one remaining tower, the 16th-century Tour Bellanda, above the eastern end of Quai des États-Unis, is the Naval Museum. The cemetery where Garibaldi is buried covers the northwest of the park.
Be prepared for the explosion of Castle Hill's canon at noon, said to have sounded at midday ever since the Scotsman Sir Thomas Coventry-More had it installed in 1861 to remind his wayward wife it was time for lunch!
The Port and a Boat Trip
The Nice Port area is one frequently overlooked by tourists, but it shouldn't be. Just around the corner from Old Nice and the Quai des Etats Unis, this is a great spot to watch the Corsica ferries lift off. There are also some of the city's hippest nightclubs here.
As usual there are plenty of cafes and restaurants, plus a daily flea market - Marché aux Puces.
Now is the chance to check out boat trips from the port. Trans Côte d'Azur (www.trans-cote-azur.com) have regular boat trips along the coast, plus stopping trips to the Ile Sainte Marguerite (a quiet island opposite Cannes), Monaco and St. Tropez.
If you don't want to walk to the port in advance you can get timetables and tickets from the Tourist Office at 5 Promenade des Anglais.
A Day on the Beach
Yes, the beach is shingle and not sand! While it's no good for sandcastles (get the train to Antibes or Cannes if that's a must), at least you don't end up with sand in every orifice! Remember to bring a pair of plastic sandals (or buy them locally) for walking and swimming and you'll hardly feel the stones.
The beach is divided into two sections - concession and public. The concession areas are easily recognised - row upon row of beach loungers complete with cushions and parasols. Anyone can use them, but the full package (including access to showers) will set you back about €15.00 per person per day.
The public beach, with cold showers at frequent intervals -is free. Just lay down your towel and yourself wherever you can find a space.
And remember, whichever part of the beach you choose, the sun and the sea are the same!
The Russian Orthodox Cathedral
The Emperor Nicolas II was partly responsible for financing its construction.
Inaugurated in 1912, the Cathédrale Saint Nicolas presents a superb harmony of pink bricks, light grey marble and brightly coloured ceramic. Crowned by six "onion-shaped" domes, it contains superb treasures : icons, woodwork and frescoes.
Inspired by St. Basil's Cathedral on the red square in Moscow, it is a reminder of the era when Russian aristocrats came to spend winter in Nice.
The cathedral is in a park setting, north of the train station, and is open to visitors as long as they dress appropriately: no shorts, sleeveless shirts or miniskirts, please.
From the port walk along the Promenade des Anglais and continue past the Negresco until you reach the Boulevard Gambetta. Walk along the Boulevard until you pass under the urban motorway and you will see signs to the Eglise Russe on the left.
Rue de France Pedestrian Zone
The Nice pedestrian zone, or "zone piétonne," is a hub of activity. It is central to the Carré d'Or and a few steps from the apartment. It runs parallel to the Promenade des Anglais, but one block in. Similar in atmosphere to the Old Town.
This is the place if you need to load up on souvenirs. Street entertainers frequent this area. There are gourmet shops, clothing shops, news stands, bookstores and more.
Grab a café au lait and watch the world go by, nibble on a crepe, or visit in the evening for a robust meal with an Italian accent. This is just a lively spot!
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Contributor's Note
We have a 2 bedroom vacation apartment to let on the Promenade des Anglais in the centre of Nice. Sleeps up to 7. Check out the website for details.
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