Nice Gives a Taste of the French Riviera
A CITY of stunning views and gravely beaches
Nice was not one of my favorite cities, and the thing I most enjoyed about it was the train ride to it / bus from it - which went along the cliffs and offered stunning views of the riviera from high for hours. The French Riviera is beautiful to look at, with steep cliffs, colorful architecture, and pristine blue water. Nice gives a taste for it - but I think the best views were from a distance. Most of the beaches are gravely or full of coarse sand, though, so they aren’t the best for relaxing days lying about.
Nice will feel a bit like Italy - both in architecture and food (though the culture leans more French). This is because Nice was a part of Italy for much of the 1800s. It’s a reminder that our borders are modern - and have been fluid in the course of history.
The thing I’ll remember most from Nice is trying (and eventually failing) to save a pigeon that had gotten stuck to a glue trap at my hostel. If you’re reading this, please don’t use glue traps; they offer such a slow, gruesome, inhumane death to anything that crosses them. Nothing deserves that.
EXPLORE CASTLE HILL
Nestled to the east of the historic section of Nice is a beautiful park built on a hill that offers stunning views of the riviera. The park itself is calm and quiet, a welcome break from the hustle of the city. One of its best spots is a man made waterfall that cools you down on hot days and is surprisingly . . . Stunning.
GET LOST IN THE OLD CITY
In the heart of Nice is a large historic district with narrow, meandering streets and soft colorful buildings. Sections of it are extremely touristy, especially closest to the beach, but as you move away from the beach it becomes quieter and more charming. There’s lots of street food like pizza and socca (a chickpea flower pancake), and far too many souvenir shops. It’s not one of the most stunning old districts of Europe - but it does serve the old Europe flair you yearn for on a trip to France.
Along the north side of the historic district is a long park - including Place Massena - that divides the old city from a newer section. I enjoyed the park, especially some seeing some of its fountain and cuter children’s section installations (like ship and animal-shaped jungle gym style play centers).
WALK ALONG THE PROMENADE
The most famous attraction of Nice is its beachside promenade, which is 7 kilometers and offers views and access to its pristine blue beaches throughout. It’s lively and full of people running and biking, which leaves the beach feeling more integrated into the city than many urban beaches.
For me, personally, that somehow left it less peaceful than a regular beach walk, and less vibrant than a city walk. It’s a unique thread between the two - but not one I found particularly memorable.
OTHER THINGS TO DO
Nice does have several spots that make their tourist to-do lists, but I found them much less remarkable than those in other European cities, so I’m not going to list them; as you wander, you’ll bump into many of them anyway. Most of my hostel mates who had extra time in the city used it for day trips, which are abundant, so I’ll list a few of those.
Head to Monaco: A small country with a reputation for opulence that attract’s the world’s rich, its a short day trip from Nice.
See a Richer Riviera in Cannes: If you take the train to Cannes, you can see a version of the riviera with more expensive shopping and yachts.
Sunbathe at Villefranche-sur-Mer: You can take a bus to a more sandy beach, as my dorm mates did most days. The sand is still a bit course, but it’s not the gravel beaches of Nice itself.