This Southern French town is really nice.
Southern France is full of amazing little towns and big cities. Some are historic villages, like Arles and Avignon, and some are more modern, like Marseilles. Nice (pronounced Neese) is a cross between the too. You won’t find glass skyscrapers here, but amazing hotels built in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Nice, founded by the Ancient Greeks around 350 BCE, started turning into a tourist town way back in the 1700s when people flocked here for the mild winters. Hotels dominate the surrounding hills and along the pebble beach today.
I’m not usually one for tourist resorts or towns. I originally only decided to stay in Nice because it is an easy way to get to Monaco, only right down the road. More I looked into it, I decided to add a day just to explore the city. I’m so glad I did. While it is a tourism hot spot, it’s an old fashion one. You won’t find many fancy resorts, but hotels from the early 1900s that often don’t survive anymore. Walking through Nice was like going back in time, to what resort towns used to look like. It was a pleasant surprise.
My plans for the day were completely changed as I went along. It was such a nice, warm day that I just walked all over. Here is what I found:
My day started by taking a bus to the top of Cimiez, a high hill in the middle of the city. I wanted to check out the ancient arena and the local archaeology museum. Well, the arena happened, the rest didn’t. I saw so many cool hotels on the way up here, I decided just to explore.
Near the arena is the Monastery of Cimiez.
The monastery church is simply wonderful inside.
And to make me even happier, there was a cemetery next to the church. A very packed cemetery.
Packed but lovely.
Heading down the hill, I saw many wonderful old hotels. I’m so glad that they all survived.
Wonderful detail on all these old hotels.
Just so many amazing buildings along a single road.
That is one fancy Chamber of Commerce building.
Made it to the bottom of the hill. The area around the beach is pretty flat and much of the buildings look like these.
I just love this bright yellow plaza.
Separating the hilly Old City from the “newer” flatter portion is a lovely long park, Promenada du Paillon. Of course, it’s lined with more hotels.
So, so many amazing hotels. Even the hostel I stayed at was in a neat building.
Along the beach is a very long promenade, which includes walking paths and even more fancy hotels like this one.
This is my favorite of the hotels, the Hotel Negresco, which opened in 1913.
A lovely pebble beach. I ate my lunch along the beach here. It was so nice and warm. Don’t let the other visitors’ coats deceive you.
And here is the lovely promenade.
Next, I headed up the hill you see in the distance on the previous photo for some amazing views of Nice.
On the other side of the hill, you can see the Port of Nice. Cruises leave from around here and so do the buses to Monaco.
I now headed down the hill to check out Old Town Nice, which is so lovely and colorful.
Even the churches are painted in lovely pastel colors. This is St-Jacques-le-Majeur, built in the 17th century. The outside was completed in 1836.
The pastel colors even continued into the inside of the church.
A lovely street lined with restaurants leads up to the cathedral.
The Cathedral of Sainte-Reparate. I love the bell tower.
This is one beautiful church.
Nice is just so full of lovely hotels and colorful buildings.
So much color!
I am so glad I decided to give Nice a shot. I really enjoyed my two days staying here. It’s also a cheap place to stay if you are heading to Monaco. Nice is just a great place to walk around and enjoy the color and the beach, of course.
Check out more posts in my Wandering series!
