Côte d’Azur: Nice
japra | Apr 16, 2010 | Comments 14
Rick Steves says, “Nice, with its spectacular Alps-to-Mediterranean surroundings, eternally entertaining seafront Promenade, and intriguing museums, is an enjoyable big-city highlight of the Riviera.” We agree! Nice made a fantastic base for our time in the French Riviera.
You won’t need a car here; so much is within an easy walking distance. What you can’t reach by foot, you can get to by bus or tram. To reach the other towns in the Côte d’Azur, just hop on the train and you’ll be there in no time. When you visit, just wear your most comfortable walking shoes and enjoy life at a slower pace.
We spent our first hours in the Riviera wandering this city’s streets:
Pedestrian zone filled with shops and
cafes (more on that later).
A book market in the Place du Palais.
The narrow streets of Old Nice
are filled with
such interesting
shops.
One of the things that surprised me was this: Nice has a pebble beach! Don’t you always think of white sand when you think of the Cote d’Azur? I did. At any rate, we found some really pretty sea glass and enjoyed the sound of the water swirling around in the smooth rocks. Roxi and I could have stayed there for hours, but Mr. DJ wanted to
walk up Castle hill before it got too much later.
You can take the lift for a small fee, but we elected to climb the stairs. There were many places to rest, plus the views along the way make the effort worthwhile.
There’s more room at the top ;-)
We could look right down into the city
while being serenaded by this local musician.
A few more flights of stairs and we reached the very top. There is a little cafe, of course.
and this show.
Filed Under: Blog • Côte d'Azur (French Riviera) • Destinations • Featured • France
About the Author: JaPRA is an expat Texan living in England with her husband (Mr. DJ), their 17-year old daughter (Roxi), and their dog Trudy.
Oh that’s lovely!! Those little streets are so cozy!
Lucylucia, I love the twisty, narrow streets of European old towns :-)
Wonderful pictures! They look like shots of movie sets! And what a great argument for going car-less is that one of the tiny street with the tiny red car–can you imagine backing it out of there?!
Kathy, that was pretty much all we said on this holiday: “This looks like a set!”
And yeah, I wondered where that guy was going in his little car… Isn’t that an interesting road/stair?
Sounds like one to put on our go see list. I noted that the butchers selling horse had their own shops. Not so in Nice it would appear.
Maureen, I have a photo of a cooked hog’s head from another shop. I can’t say my palate is that sophisticated…
I love the pic of the street with the little red car at the end – it looks a little wider than my bicycle! People must need nerves of steel to drive their cars between buildings like that.
I also LOVE the picture of the tree with the yellow flowers in front. Wonderful shot.
From your pics, it looks like ya’ll chose a good time of year to go – it seems like you got to visit places without hoards of people around you.
Julia, they do have nerves of steel! And really small cars ;-)
And I highly recommend going off season if you can. I would avoid this place in July and August. I would go right after the kids let out from school. Late May/early June seems like a good time for travel here. At least in my book!
Thanks so much Japra, LOVED this tour with your gorgeous photos. This is exactly my idea of the perfect vacation, plus the fact that you can just hop on a train or a bus or just simply walk around.
Christine, it is a great place to visit. I hope you get out there soon! Lots of amazing scenery and delicious food :-)
These photos really make me happy. I want to visit Nice. I like Nice visits. Wouldn’t it be nice to visit Nice again? I’ve never been there, but it looks…
well, you know.
Thanks for these great pictures!
Chris, you are a Nice person. I think it would be Nice for you to have a Nice visit :-)
Great shots which brought back some lovely memories for me. :)
I’m glad you enjoyed them, my friend.