Everyone said how much I’d love Nice, but I’d resisted after our NDE on the way back from Corsica about 8 years ago, but I’d recently I’d started to forget what I was worried about. That was until I stepped onto the tarmac and saw our plane which was not much bigger than a model aeroplane and had propellers to match – eek!
Deep breaths and think of all the lovely sights to see...
When I said I was looking forward to paddling my feet in the water at Nice, I was thinking more of the sea than the water in the streets, so I was understandably disappointed!
Deep breaths and think of all the lovely sights to see...
When I said I was looking forward to paddling my feet in the water at Nice, I was thinking more of the sea than the water in the streets, so I was understandably disappointed!
I’d booked the Hotel Villa de la Tour in the old town and when I arrived at 9am to drop off my bag, the nice lady on reception took pity on me looking like a drowned rat and gave me my room straight away so I could change. How’s that for service!
Fortunately, I have never been put off my sightseeing by a spot of rain (as those who have seen the pink poncho photos in Pisa can tell you), so I zipped up my waterproof and started off for the open bus tour of the city. In for a penny, in for a pound...
♪ What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours ♪
When I woke up this morning and saw the sun peeping through the curtains, I knew that breakfast was going to be a quick affair so that I could get out in the sunshine and finish my sightseeing. I soon found myself on the promenade again heading down to the Hotel Negresco.
The Negresco dates back to 1912 and is one of the few remaining privately owned palaces still existing in the world. The current owner Jeanne Augier has created a unique living museum where guests can share her passion for art and artifacts from epic periods throughout history dating from the renaissance to the 3rd Millennium, so it is no surprise that it was classified a National Historic Monument in 1974. Sadly, my budget couldn’t run to staying here.
So what surprised me about the Promenade des Anglais? Well, firstly the colour of the water. In Corsica, we are used to clear shallow blue water with hardly a ripple, and soft golden sand, but the sea of the Cote d’Azur certainly lived up to its name and was an amazing opaque azur blue.
I was also surprised that the beach was predominantly grey pebbles with the odd section of sand here and there that had obviously arrived by bulldozer! The third thing was the disabled sections of beaches, complete with blue wheelchair sign. Is it me, or are there places more deserving of disabled areas, but perhaps that sums up the priorities of the Cote d’Azur!
Fortunately, I have never been put off my sightseeing by a spot of rain (as those who have seen the pink poncho photos in Pisa can tell you), so I zipped up my waterproof and started off for the open bus tour of the city. In for a penny, in for a pound...
♪ What a difference a day makes, 24 little hours ♪
When I woke up this morning and saw the sun peeping through the curtains, I knew that breakfast was going to be a quick affair so that I could get out in the sunshine and finish my sightseeing. I soon found myself on the promenade again heading down to the Hotel Negresco.
The Negresco dates back to 1912 and is one of the few remaining privately owned palaces still existing in the world. The current owner Jeanne Augier has created a unique living museum where guests can share her passion for art and artifacts from epic periods throughout history dating from the renaissance to the 3rd Millennium, so it is no surprise that it was classified a National Historic Monument in 1974. Sadly, my budget couldn’t run to staying here.
So what surprised me about the Promenade des Anglais? Well, firstly the colour of the water. In Corsica, we are used to clear shallow blue water with hardly a ripple, and soft golden sand, but the sea of the Cote d’Azur certainly lived up to its name and was an amazing opaque azur blue.
I was also surprised that the beach was predominantly grey pebbles with the odd section of sand here and there that had obviously arrived by bulldozer! The third thing was the disabled sections of beaches, complete with blue wheelchair sign. Is it me, or are there places more deserving of disabled areas, but perhaps that sums up the priorities of the Cote d’Azur!
At the other end of the Promenade des Anglais is the port. I’d seen this briefly the day before from under my hood on the open bus tour and I knew I wanted to take a longer look in the sun. The port looked more like a pleasure port than a commercial dock, but in fact these are one and the same.
Surrounded by colourful ‘belle époque’ style buildings, it was here that I decided that I could probably get used to boats after all when I spotted ‘SIREN’. This was absolutely the biggest yacht I have ever seen in my life – according to Google 73.5m long, 20 million euros to buy and between 440,000 & 550,000 euros per week to hire. Might as well have two weeks at that price...
It was tempting to linger a while and see who I could engage in conversation, but I soon realised that only the crew were on the yachts, not the owners – damn! I also realised that the current economic crisis was just something that was happening to other people as it was clearly not touching the Italian yacht industry, or the occupants of these magnificent vessels.
I walked back past the war memorial, and considered walking up the many hundreds of steps to the Ancien château. I considered it for all of 30 seconds until I spotted the sign for the lift. At 1.20€ return, it would have been rude not to make use of it! The Devils pit as it is known was dug originally to bring water up to the old castle, but now forms the lift shaft. This did not fill me with confidence, but I looked at the stairs again and quickly made up my mind that I had to be brave.
Apparently people spend hours looking for the chateau at the top of Castle Hill without realising that it no longer exists. I’d done my homework so instead I spent ages looking for the huge manmade waterfall which sadly was turned off, so I headed back down to the Cours Saleya.
It’s here that the flower market is held each day. When I first explored in the rain I was a little disappointed because I hadn’t realised that the flower market is only on in the mornings, and by 1pm the stalls of colourful fragrant blooms are replaced by tables for the restaurants lining either side of the pedestrianised area.
The next day I made sure I was there early enough and was rewarded not only with the flowers, but also spices, olives, fruit and vegetables as well as artists selling oil paintings and other craft wares.
At the far end of the Cours Saleya is the house where Matisse lived and from here I decided to follow the medieval walking tour from my guide book. I soon found myself at the Palais Lascrais and amazingly, entry was free. Although it was small, it’s well worth a visit. On the ground floor is the old apothecary. The staircase of honour leads up to the state rooms on the first floor, but it was the ornate carvings and decoration of the staircase itself that tempted me to break the rules and take a photo.
It said in the guide book that I should have an ice cream at Fenocchios ice cream parlour on the Place Rossetti and it would have been rude to refuse! They have 96 different flavours including Rose, Jasmine, Coca Cola, Pina Colada, Chilli and all the old favourites. I finally decided on coffee which was just delicious.
I wandered through the old town admiring the colourful old buildings and beautiful old fashioned shops that seemed to date back a couple of hundred years. This area is home to a whole host of boutiques and little cafes and eateries, so I was spoilt for choice at both lunch and dinner. I love just wandering aimlessly when I am exploring a city and that’s how I discovered the Jardin Albert I and the peaceful green spaces with various art works and fountains.
Beyond the gardens is the Place Massena and the Avenue Jean Medecin, the main shopping areas of Nice. I loved the Place Massena with its black and white chequered ‘floor’ and galleried buildings lining three sides. It was here that I’d amused myself in the Galleries Lafayette on the first day when I wanted to escape the rain, but it was so much prettier in the sun.
One of my regrets was that I’d taken the open top bus ride on the first day in the rain (just me and two Japanese tourists were mad enough to do it!), but on the other hand it was a great introduction to Nice and also gave me the opportunity to visit a couple of places that were further out of the centre and I probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
The first was one that I desperately wanted to see which was the Monastère de Cimiez. The Monastery dates back to the 15th century and is absolutely stunning inside. I’d accidentally visited on the one day of the week (Wednesday) when it’s given over to silent prayer and photos are not allowed inside. Drats! I don’t normally mind breaking the rules, but even I draw the line at upsetting monks!!
The museum attached was closed as it was lunchtime but I was nosing around and found a beautiful cloister tucked away behind the administration office. There were ancient stone arches with peeling paint, old prints and gorgeous red geraniums which all added to the charm of the place and I had it all to myself which was even better!
Outside was the Monastery gardens and a cemetery but as it was drizzling, I did just a quick tour of the gardens and decided to leave the cemetery for another time.
Just ‘next door’ in the gardens of the Arènes de Cimiez is the former home of the artist Matisse which now houses a permanent exhibition of his works as well as temporary exhibitions that change from time to time. I was lucky that at the moment it was Rodin. The difference between the two sculptors for me was really marked and although I’m not a fan of Matisse, it did remind me that I do love Rodin’s work. This was another bargain as it was free...
Back on the bus, and a quick visit to Russian Orthodox Church. Nice has a big Russian population which dates back to the days of the white Russians. This was the first church outside Russia to be designated Cathedral status, and to date is still the largest church of this type outside of Russia – pretty impressive. It’s a shame the colours just haven’t come out as vibrantly as I’d hoped.
On my way to the bus station, I spotted a superb building decorated in bright mosaics and framed with palms trees that turned out to be the Lycee Massena (college). When I think what my college looked like, it was quite a contrast!
Surrounded by colourful ‘belle époque’ style buildings, it was here that I decided that I could probably get used to boats after all when I spotted ‘SIREN’. This was absolutely the biggest yacht I have ever seen in my life – according to Google 73.5m long, 20 million euros to buy and between 440,000 & 550,000 euros per week to hire. Might as well have two weeks at that price...
It was tempting to linger a while and see who I could engage in conversation, but I soon realised that only the crew were on the yachts, not the owners – damn! I also realised that the current economic crisis was just something that was happening to other people as it was clearly not touching the Italian yacht industry, or the occupants of these magnificent vessels.
I walked back past the war memorial, and considered walking up the many hundreds of steps to the Ancien château. I considered it for all of 30 seconds until I spotted the sign for the lift. At 1.20€ return, it would have been rude not to make use of it! The Devils pit as it is known was dug originally to bring water up to the old castle, but now forms the lift shaft. This did not fill me with confidence, but I looked at the stairs again and quickly made up my mind that I had to be brave.
Apparently people spend hours looking for the chateau at the top of Castle Hill without realising that it no longer exists. I’d done my homework so instead I spent ages looking for the huge manmade waterfall which sadly was turned off, so I headed back down to the Cours Saleya.
It’s here that the flower market is held each day. When I first explored in the rain I was a little disappointed because I hadn’t realised that the flower market is only on in the mornings, and by 1pm the stalls of colourful fragrant blooms are replaced by tables for the restaurants lining either side of the pedestrianised area.
The next day I made sure I was there early enough and was rewarded not only with the flowers, but also spices, olives, fruit and vegetables as well as artists selling oil paintings and other craft wares.
At the far end of the Cours Saleya is the house where Matisse lived and from here I decided to follow the medieval walking tour from my guide book. I soon found myself at the Palais Lascrais and amazingly, entry was free. Although it was small, it’s well worth a visit. On the ground floor is the old apothecary. The staircase of honour leads up to the state rooms on the first floor, but it was the ornate carvings and decoration of the staircase itself that tempted me to break the rules and take a photo.
It said in the guide book that I should have an ice cream at Fenocchios ice cream parlour on the Place Rossetti and it would have been rude to refuse! They have 96 different flavours including Rose, Jasmine, Coca Cola, Pina Colada, Chilli and all the old favourites. I finally decided on coffee which was just delicious.
I wandered through the old town admiring the colourful old buildings and beautiful old fashioned shops that seemed to date back a couple of hundred years. This area is home to a whole host of boutiques and little cafes and eateries, so I was spoilt for choice at both lunch and dinner. I love just wandering aimlessly when I am exploring a city and that’s how I discovered the Jardin Albert I and the peaceful green spaces with various art works and fountains.
Beyond the gardens is the Place Massena and the Avenue Jean Medecin, the main shopping areas of Nice. I loved the Place Massena with its black and white chequered ‘floor’ and galleried buildings lining three sides. It was here that I’d amused myself in the Galleries Lafayette on the first day when I wanted to escape the rain, but it was so much prettier in the sun.
One of my regrets was that I’d taken the open top bus ride on the first day in the rain (just me and two Japanese tourists were mad enough to do it!), but on the other hand it was a great introduction to Nice and also gave me the opportunity to visit a couple of places that were further out of the centre and I probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
The first was one that I desperately wanted to see which was the Monastère de Cimiez. The Monastery dates back to the 15th century and is absolutely stunning inside. I’d accidentally visited on the one day of the week (Wednesday) when it’s given over to silent prayer and photos are not allowed inside. Drats! I don’t normally mind breaking the rules, but even I draw the line at upsetting monks!!
The museum attached was closed as it was lunchtime but I was nosing around and found a beautiful cloister tucked away behind the administration office. There were ancient stone arches with peeling paint, old prints and gorgeous red geraniums which all added to the charm of the place and I had it all to myself which was even better!
Outside was the Monastery gardens and a cemetery but as it was drizzling, I did just a quick tour of the gardens and decided to leave the cemetery for another time.
Just ‘next door’ in the gardens of the Arènes de Cimiez is the former home of the artist Matisse which now houses a permanent exhibition of his works as well as temporary exhibitions that change from time to time. I was lucky that at the moment it was Rodin. The difference between the two sculptors for me was really marked and although I’m not a fan of Matisse, it did remind me that I do love Rodin’s work. This was another bargain as it was free...
Back on the bus, and a quick visit to Russian Orthodox Church. Nice has a big Russian population which dates back to the days of the white Russians. This was the first church outside Russia to be designated Cathedral status, and to date is still the largest church of this type outside of Russia – pretty impressive. It’s a shame the colours just haven’t come out as vibrantly as I’d hoped.
On my way to the bus station, I spotted a superb building decorated in bright mosaics and framed with palms trees that turned out to be the Lycee Massena (college). When I think what my college looked like, it was quite a contrast!
So after two days, goodness knows how many kilometres on foot, a ride on an open top bus in the rain with some Japanese tourists and scrummy ice cream, I was on my way back to the airport with firm plans to return next spring. I can’t wait...
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