Getting to know nice Nice

Summer, sun, Nice.

After breakfast, we go to the city center to join a free walking tour. For this, we have to go to

Place Messena. We are impressed by the buildings and the first impressions that Nice offers us.

We still have time to stroll - we get lipstick in the color of my nails - before we wait at the fountain at 11 am.

Our guide is in her early 20s - that's what we estimate - and comes from Cyprus, she is studying tourism management and the tour is part of her internship. We like her ☺️ This is how we find out, among other things, that:

• - Nice has the second busiest airport in France
• - Place Messena connects the south and north of the city
• - Nice is of Italian origin, it became French in 1860
• - There are rules for residents on Place Messena (do not hang laundry outside on balconies, do not walk around naked outside, do not hang colored curtains)
• - The opera used to have only one door made of wood, a fire caused 200 deaths, then it was rebuilt in 1886 and Queen Victoria visited the opera
• - At 12 o'clock you always hear a cannon shot in Nice. The custom originated from Sir Thomas who wanted to have lunch at 12 o'clock every day, but his wife was late, so he arranged that she be reminded with the help of a loud cannon shot

• - There was a major bank robbery in Nice in 1976, 32 million euros were stolen.

We finish the very informative tour on the castle hill. The panoramic view you get from the castle hill is also one of the main reasons why Colline du Château has long been on the list of the most popular sights in Nice. Colline du Château has been inseparably associated with the French Riviera for a long time, without which the southern French coast would be missing an important jewel. The castle hill, which is about 90 meters high, impresses not only with its historical significance, but also with the incomparable view of the lively Vieux Nice and the elegant Promenade des Anglais.

Once upon a time, there was a fortress on the castle hill, which even housed a cathedral called 'Notre Dame du Chateau'. Many centuries ago, this castle was designed to protect the formerly Roman and Greek settlers from destructive attacks by enemies. This hill was also considered a hub for the expansion of the city's territory.

Today, only remnants of that time remain on this famous vantage point. The sight of these ruins can only hint at how magnificent the fortress must have been. The castle had a fateful day in 1706 when Louis XIV ordered its demolition following a temporary takeover by the Counts of Savoy. Since then, nothing on the castle hill has been the same. Visitors are free to reach Colline du Château by car, elevator, or on foot. Many visitors also choose to visit the castle hill in the evening hours.

After the end of the tour, we decide to go to the Jewish cemetery and the port of Nice (On the castle hill Colline du Château, right next to the Christian cemetery Cimetière du Château, lies the small Jewish cemetery (Cimetière Israélite). A wall separates the two burial grounds. The oldest tombstone in the Jewish cemetery dates back to 1540).

Nice is really beautiful, the views, the narrow streets in the old town, the long promenade that invites you to linger and move, the food and the people... I like all of that. And of course, the language, even if Phine is slowly getting tired of my repetitive phrases ☺️

(qui la mer, un Chat, Vamos a la playa, le beuttreee... Spoiler: some of it is wrong 😂).