2024 - June - Nice

To clear up any initial confusion: Nice and Nizza are the same place! Nice is not pronounced like the English "nice" but more like our "nies". However, we in Germany know Nice more as Nizza and so I will only use this name in this article from now on.

Nice, that sounds so promising. It is a place of longing, like the entire Côte d'Azur. And so travelers from all over the world can be found here. Airplanes are constantly taking off and landing and circling above the city. And every now and then cruise ships dock in the harbor. Even though there is a lot of tourism here, we never felt it was overcrowded. And the place is not just made up of hotels, there are also many apartments and houses and their residents. But I suspect that the people living here are not exactly poor.

On the long promenade, you will of course meet a number of tourists, but above all a lot of joggers. The 7 km long and straight stretch of the promenade is just perfect for this.

By the way, it is called the Promenade of the English (Promenade des Anglais) and this has a financial background. The aristocrats from England who came here on holiday around 250 years ago liked the climate a lot, but they didn't like the "beach". Since they had money, they financed the construction of a wide street and large stones and black mud were turned into a promenade with a beach.

If you want to walk the entire promenade, like we did, the best place to start is at the harbor. Right at the beginning you'll see the famous "I love Nice" sign. This year it's yellow and has a "Tour de France" countdown next to it. It wasn't easy to get the entire text, including the symbolic cyclists, in one picture without someone posing in front of it.

If you're here, it's worth climbing up the castle hill (Parc de la Colline du Château). If you're a bit lame at this point and don't like the many stairs, you can also take the free elevator up. This was built in a former well shaft (!).

When I heard the name Château, I had the idea that there would be a small castle up there. But that's not the case. Instead, there are just a few ruins of a former citadel that was destroyed in 1706. What's particularly attractive here is the view of the city, the park above with a waterfall and/or the cemetery (Cimetiere du Château)! The latter turned out to be a resting place with a view that is well worth seeing. Eight of the sculptures in the complex were even awarded the Grand Prix de Rome.

By the way, it can happen that you are struck by thunder on the mountain. Every day at 12 noon a cannon shot is fired here. We were nearby at the time and had no idea about it. It scared us to death. A day later, further down in the city, we found it quite funny again.

So we head back down to the promenade. It continues towards the airport. As you stroll along, you will come across some of Nice's famous sights. For example, there is the blue chair. There is a large monument and of course countless versions to sit on. You will also be able to admire many chic hotels and the casino. The back of the opera house can also be seen from the promenade. You can often even hear whether you are on the right track when rehearsals are taking place inside. Or you will see a very small replica of the Statue of Liberty. It is also right in front of it.

But it is also worth taking a look behind the promenade into the city centre. Here, one shop follows the next and there are many restaurants. The Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate de Nice and the many churches are also worth a visit.

We also particularly liked the Promenade du Paillon. A wide green strip with a playground and a water surface has been created on a former bus station. We almost missed the latter because of a suicide (!). In fact, the square was closed for two days because a memorial service was being held here for Ben Vautier. The artist, who was unknown to me but very famous in Nice, committed suicide out of love for his wife on the day she died.

Since the square is of course usually not closed off, you will already be able to see the Place Masséna with its checkerboard-like floor and, above all, the very striking scribes sitting on poles. The figures made of white resin glow at night and represent the 7 continents. Unfortunately, we didn't see that. In fact, we were always busy in the evenings enjoying the good French food on our hotel terrace.