Nice, France

Nice, on the French Riviera, is the 5th largest city in France.  It's the main city on the Côte d'Azur. 

The city has around 350,000 people but there are about 1 million people in the greater metro area. 



Nice was a part of Italy for years but has been a part of France since 1860.  Due to the mild Mediterranean weather it has long been a popular tourist destination.

With 4 million tourists each year, it is the second-most visited city in France, after Paris.  From the latter half of the 18th century, the English upper classes took to wintering in Nice.  The main seaside promenade is called the Promenade des Anglais.


The beach is great except that there is no sand.  The public beaches here are made up of large flat stones.  The beach time was fine but I can't wait until September when I'll be back on a California beach with my niece and nephew.


The Colline du Château (Castle Hill) has a great view of the Baie des Anges (Bay of Angels), the harbor and the Old Town.




On top of the hill is also a Christian cemetery with Catholic and Protestant sections.  There's also an adjacent Jewish cemetery.





At the base of the hill is the Monument des Mort which honors France's war dead.

The Orthodox Russian Cathedral was built in 1912 right before the Russian Revolution.  Unfortunately, it was closed for some reason when I went to visit it.  I guess another trip back to the Côte d'Azur is in order.



Here's a Rick Steves video I found on YouTube that talks about Nice.

 

©Rick Steves