Appreciating Nice
I have visited Nice many times and regard it as an underrated city. For many it is the gateway to the Riviera: to Antibes, Cannes and St Tropez to the east to Beaulieu, Cap Ferrat and Monte Carlo to the west. It would never for example be compared to Barcelona as a port city. Yet it has much to offer in terms of beauty, amenity and recreation. Last night after a taking a sundowner at the Beau Rivage beach bar and enjoying a copious platter of fruits de mer at Boccaccio we took a stroll along the Rue Medecin, Jean and Tony Medecin dominate the civic history of the city as its mayors. We stopped at a sign which in 1944 commemorated a resistance fighter left to hang by the Nazis, a salient reminder of the barbarity of their occupation post 1943. Nice was occupied no less than 5 times by France, Italy, Germany, the Allies and returned to France.
An Italian friend of Bob’s who visited us for a couple of days informed us of its strong Italian influence. Garibaldi was born and lived here. When they had to move his statue to accommodate the tram lines the Italians insisted it could only be moved forward as Garibaldi never took a step back. The place named after him is typically of Turin with its portico and soft colours. Around it is a wonderful municipal park. The current mayor considered the central bus station a eyesore, ordered its demolition and though in area of prime development replaced it with a park.
Aside from the sea, Promenade des Anglais, marina, port and vibrant old town Nice has an opera house, team third in Ligue une, the Chagalll and Matisse museums, a museum of modern art, modern theatre and one of the great old fashioned hotels the Negresco. Daffers enjoys shopping on the Rue Massena. It has 1200 restaurants and its own nicois cuisine giving its name to the salad, a form of onion pizza called socca and the daube meat stew.
Nice airport is the second largest in France and the city has an excellent tram system. The train along the coast is one e of the most picturesque rides in the world. Do Visit here!
