Nice is a large city in France on the French Riviera.
Nice is nice
Understand
Nice is the place you want to go. It is popular amongst young travellers, but also has something for absolutely anybody!
Get in
By plane
Nice Airport () is one of the busiest in France and has direct flights to most major cities in Europe as well New York, Atlanta and a number of destinations in North Africa and the Middle East. The airport is located at the western end of Nice on landfill. Arrival and departure in good weather often provides beautiful views of the French Riviera.
Most airlines use Terminal 1 (the older terminal) while Terminal 2 is used primarily by Air France (and partners) and Easyjet. There is a free shuttle bus between the terminals.
Various bus lines depart from the airport. To get to the downtown bus depot, take line 98 (departing at bus stop 1 every 30 minutes, on the hour). The fare to the terminus is 4 Euros per person. The airport website has a page with timetables.
Some hotels offer shuttle buses from the airport - inquire at your hotel before or upon arrival.
By train
Nice is connected to the rest of France via the SNCF train network. A direct TGV train from Paris to Nice takes about 6 hours, fare for an adult is about 100 Euros. The train arrives in Nice at the central station (called simply "Gare SNCF").
A new service called "IdTGV" is now available: it offers low-cost TGV ticket (from 19€ for a single trip between Paris and Nice). These tickets have to be bought online, they are not refundable. http://www.idtgv.com/
By car
By bus
The best, cheapest and most reliable way to get from the Airport to central Nice or the Nice Ville train station is the 98 and 23 buses. They run high frequency between 08:00 and 20:00. The first one is at about 05:30 and the last one around 19:40. The airport website gives an updated timetable in PDF format (see by plane above).
By boat
Nice is right along the coast, so you should be able to find your way easily no matter if you run on gas or let the wind help you :-) However, remember to contact the local port before arrival to reserve a place for your boat. Otherwise there will most likely not be room for you.
Get around
By car
Best access is by car from the A8 autoroute. The airport is well signed from the A8 and the A8 well signed from the airport. Just make sure that you know which direction you need to go when getting on the A8 and which terminal when leaving. Especially in the morning and evening rush hour do allow extra time to deal with accidents and traffic jams. The A8 has a ferocious bend just by the airport and accidents are frequent.
Driving a car on the Riviera is only for the brave, the region has one of the worst accident records in France (which is saying something) and every local has his or her favourite story about a mad driver. However all major car rental firms, as well as some less well known ones such as easycar and ADA, are present. Most are located by terminal 2. If you have a choice try to pick a car that is already well dinged so that no one notices the new dings and scratches you will add.
By taxi
If you can, avoid the taxis. Sadly, in many cases, you do not have a choice. Also often it is hard to find a taxi when you need one.
Nice taxi drivers are notorious for ripping off foreigners. Insist on the meter being on the whole time. Try to sit where you can see it so that you can immediately query the driver when/if it goes off "accidentally." Taxi fares within Nice should be less than €20, Antibes €50 and Monaco or Cannes should result in fares of approximately €70.
By bus
A number of public buses crisscross Nice. When taking the bus, you must be aware of the somewhat odd way the bus schedules are laid out.
They list the departure time at the first bus station - not the one you are currently at (unless the two coincide, naturally). At the right hand side of the bus schedule, you have a list of stations, and next to some you will find the time listed it will take the bus to get there (+20', for example). This means that you will have to do a lot of guessing. Best ask a native and leave some extra padding time (30 minutes or more depending on the complexity of your bus trip) if you plan to take a bus to any scheduled event that you really do not want to miss (airport, train, etc).
You can find local bus route maps and timetables at this link. Route maps are listed under 'Maps' and timetables as 'Timetables'. They are provided in PDF format. Also, a new service ('Stop timetables') purports to display the times at your stop. From previous experience with the bus company, those should stand somewhere between educated guesses and outright fiction. The interurban bus station (Gare Routière) in central Nice is on Avenue Félix Faure near the Rue du Lycée.
Take care to check for temporary changes to your bus stops near any roadworks for Nice's new tram system.
By foot
Nice is a large, sprawling city: unless you are concentrating your visit to within the old town and the central shopping districts, you will have to use buses, taxis, or other forms of motorised travel.
By scooter/motorbike
Unless you are very experienced, don't.
By inline skating / rollerblading
There is a place you can rent skates from on 13, rue Cassini 06300 (slightly north-west of the port/harbor/quay), called Fun 'N Roll. Website here: www.fun-n-roll.com.
See
The ruined castle overlooking the harbour is a nice vantage point overlooking the city. Not much is left besides crumbling walls. Still, climbing up the stairs to reach the platforms 90m above Nice is well worth the view. Be aware that the castle "park" closes at 8:00 in the evening. Expect to be escorted outside if you stay longer.
Nice is also known for several museums. Some of the most famous are in Cimiez, the older, upper part of the city, including:
Do
Beaches
If you go to Nice for bathing or generally lounging on the beach,
you may wish to think again. The beaches of Nice consist entirely of
gravel and rocks - much nicer beaches exist in other cities around the
Mediterranean (Villefranche-sur-Mer or Cannes are way more sandy, though). A few private beaches have added a layer of sand, but the
free public beaches are a stony experience. Besides towels or mats, you
should definitely bring sandals (walking on the rocks can be painful) and
cushions (if you want to sit). There is, however, a beach volleyball area that is netted off; this area is artificially replaced with white sand, so as not to hurt the players' feet. Showers are provided (for free) on all public beaches, as well.
Private beaches offer various services from restaurants / bars to
the rental of lounge chairs and towels.
Beautiful Landscapes
Go to Eze. It is a small village on the way to Monaco. The village is situated on a small mountain and there is a beautiful garden with a spectacular view (a must see). There is also a perfume factory which you can visit for free.
Learn
There are many schools offering courses in French. Perhaps the most reputable is Alliance Française .
Work
Sophia Antipolis is a huge office/science/tech park 20 minutes outside of Nice
Buy
Most stores and restaurants in Nice will accept the major credit cards, as well as debit cards from major banks (anything carrying the EC or MAESTRO labels). If this fails you can always get money from any of the numerous ATM machines.
Postcards (as many other things) vary greatly in price. Do some comparison shopping as the price range is between 20 cents and 1 Euro per normal postcard.
Eat
A food called "Socca" is a local speciality, as is a tuna fish sandwich called "Pan Bagnat." Other specialties include Soupe de Poisson (Fish Soup, made with chili aioli, croutons, and grated cheese), Salade Nicoise (made with seafood), and Tourtes aux Blettes (sweet tartes made with Savoy cabbage, raisins, nuts, and powdered sugar).
Check out the daily market in the Vieux Nice for fresh, local produce.
Budget
Cheap & cheerful food in Nice is hard to come by. Even the menus offered at McDonalds are between 5.50€-7€ for a sandwich, pommes frites and a soda drink.
The best deals in the centre can be found in the port area. Old Nice and all along the sea front the prices cannot be described as budget.
However, lunch-time set menus are certainly good value, if not 'cheap' per se. 10-12€ should get you two courses, often with coffee and wine, and like much of continental Europe lunches can drift happily into the afternoon.
Mid-range
Splurge
Drink
You can save a lot of money by buying drinks and such in a normal supermarket instead of the vendors geared towards tourists. With the hot Niçois summers, carrying a bottle of water is almost a must.
Some popular places to go out for a drink include:
Sleep
There are a number of hotels within walking distance of terminal 1 of the Airport and a special hotel shuttle bus serves other hotels within Nice itself.
Budget
It would seem that the simplest solution is to stay at a youth hostel. There are quite a number in Nice, three of which are:
Mid-range
Being a heavily touristed city, it's easy to find a number of small hotels which are perfectly acceptable, and usually at a decent rate.
Hotels 2* located in the centre of Nice
Hotels 3* located in the centre of Nice
#2072
Splurge
Holiday palaces are numerous in Nice: there are 14 four-star hotels of which these are a sampling:
Stay safe
Nice is not really more dangerous than other cities in western countries. You can easily stay safe following a few pieces of advice:
Cope
Religious services
Notre-Dame Auxiliatrice, 36, Place Don Bosco. Sat: 18:30; Sun: 8:30, 10:00; Mon-Fri: 16:15, 18:30
St. Joseph, 21, Rue Smolett. Sat: 18:30; Sun 9:00; Thu: 18:00
Saint Jean-Baptiste, Place du Voeu/Rue Alfrede Mortier. Sat: 18:00; Sun: 11:00, Mon-Wed: 18:45; Thu-Fri: 8:30
St. Martin-St. Augustin, Place Saint-Augustin. Sat: 16:00, 17:30; Sun: 9:30, 11:00; Tue-Fri: 16:00
Some other catholic churches in downtown Nice:
Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate, Place Rossetti. Sat: 18:30; Sun: 10:00, 12:00; Mon-Fri: 10:00
Notre Dame du Port, 8, Place Ile de Beaute. Sun: 10:00; Mon-Fri: 18:00
Basilique Notre Dame, 2, Rue d’Italie. Sat: 11:00, 17:30; Sun: 8:30, 10:00, 11:15; 18:00; Mon-Fri: 11:00, 18:00
Reformed temple, 21, boulevard Victor Hugo. Sun: 10:15
Lutheran church, 4, Rue Melchior de Vogüé. Sun: 10:30
Baptist church, 32 rue de l'hôtel des postes. Sun: 10:30
Evangelical church, 51bis, avenue de Pessicart. Sun: 10:00
Anglican church Holy Trinity, 11, rue de la Buffa. Sun: 11:00; Mon&Thu: 12:15; Tue: 18:15; Wed&Fri: 10:30; Sat: 09:00
Greek orthodox church Saint Spyridon, 2, Avenue Desambrois. Sun: 10:30; Mon-Sat: 10:15
Russian orthodox cathedral Saint Nicolas, Avenue Nicolas II. Sun-Sat: 10:00
Apostolic Armenian church, 281 Boulevard de la Madeleine. Sun: 10:00
Get out
By train
If you're getting out of Nice towards Paris, consider taking the TGV. Cruising at 300 km/h is quite fun (but the train only reaches high speed beyond Marseille) and the train has a nice route with plenty of views of the coast. Be sure to ask for a seat on the left-hand side of the train when going west from Nice.
Some nice places just to the west of Nice include Antibes and Cannes.
East of Nice the trains stops at Villefranche, Monaco and Menton. San Remo in Italy is also just a little over one hour away.
Villefranche is two stops east of the main station in Nice and is a rather nice village with a small beach (and it is much less rocky than in Nice). The village is quieter and more relaxed than Nice. A train ticket from the main station in Nice is just 1.40 euros each way.
By bus
There are coaches from Nice Airport to most places between Marseille and Genoa.
Eze can be reached using line 82 or 112 from the Gare Routiere (bus terminal) in Nice. (Note that the train station is in Eze-sur-Mer, which is a considerable walk from the vollage of Eze. There is an infrequent bus service connecting the village of Eze and Eze-sur-Mer.)
Helicopter
There are a number of helicopter services available with regular flights to St Tropez, Cannes and Monaco. The price is quite competitive with a taxi fare and the views are stunning.
Nice (; Niçard Occitan: Niça or Nissa, Italian: Nizza, Greek:Νίκαια) is a city in southern France located on the Mediterranean coast, between Marseille and Genoa, with 933,080 inhabitants in the metropolitan area at the 1999 census. The city is a major tourist centre and a leading resort on the French Riviera (Côte d'Azur). It is the historical capital city of the County of Nice.
Administration
Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur région, Nice is a commune and the préfecture (administrative capital) of the Alpes-Maritimes département.
History
:For the ecclesiastical history, see bishopric of Nice
There were settlements in the Nice area approximately 2,000 years ago: the site of Terra Amata shows one of the earliest uses of fire and construction of houses.
Nice (Nicaea) was founded probably around 350 BC by the Greeks of
Massilia (Marseille) and received the name of Νικαία ("Nikaia") in honor of a victory over the neighbouring Ligurians (Nike being the Greek goddess of victory). It soon became one of the busiest trading ports on the Ligurian coast; but as a city it had an important rival in the Roman town of Cemenelum, which continued to exist as a separate city till the time of the Lombard invasions, and has left its ruins at Cimiez, which is now a quarter of Nice.
In the 7th century Nice joined the Genoese League formed by the towns of Liguria. In 729 it repulsed the Saracens; but in 859 and 880 they pillaged and burned it, and for the most of the 10th century remained masters of the surrounding country.
During the Middle Ages Nice had its share in the wars and disasters of Italy. As an ally of Pisa it was the enemy of Genoa, and both the King of France and the Emperor endeavoured to subjugate it; but in spite of all it maintained its municipal liberties. In the course of the 13th and 14th centuries it fell more than once into the hands of the Counts of Provence; and at length in 1388 the commune placed itself under the protection of the Counts of Savoy.
The maritime strength of Nice now rapidly increased until it was able to cope with the Barbary pirates; the fortifications were largely extended and the roads to the city improved. During the struggle between Francis I and Charles V great damage was caused by the passage of the armies invading Provence; pestilence and famine raged in the city for several years. It was in Nice that the two monarchs in 1538 concluded, through the mediation of Pope Paul III, a truce of ten years.
In 1543 Nice was attacked by the united forces of Francis I and Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha; and, though the inhabitants repulsed the assault which succeeded the terrible bombardment, they were ultimately compelled to surrender, and Barbarossa was allowed to pillage the city and to carry off 2,500 captives. Pestilence appeared again in 1550 and 1580.
In 1600 Nice was taken by the duke of Guise. By opening the ports of the countship to all nations, and proclaiming full freedom of trade, Charles Emmanuel in 1626 gave a great stimulus to the commerce of the city, whose noble families took part in its mercantile enterprises. Captured by Catinat in 1691, Nice was restored to Savoy in 1696; but it was again besieged by the French in 1705, and in the following year its citadel and ramparts were demolished.
The treaty of Utrecht in 1713 once more gave the city back to Savoy; and in the peaceful years which followed the "new town" was built. From 1744 till the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) the French and Spaniards were again in possession. In 1775 the king of Sardinia destroyed all that remained of the ancient liberties of the commune. Conquered in 1792 by the armies of the First French Republic, the County of Nice continued to be part of France until 1814; but after that date it reverted to Sardinia.
By a treaty concluded in 1860 between the Sardinian king and Napoleon III, the County was again ceded to France as a territorial reward for French assistance in the Second Italian War of Independence against Austria, which saw Lombardy unified with Piedmont-Sardinia. The cession was ratified by over 25,000 electors out of a total of 30,700. Savoy was also transferred to the French crown by similar means.
The dawn of the 20th century was the arrival of a modern mode of transport. In 1900, the Tramway de Nice electrified its horse drawn tramway and spread its network to Menton and Cagnes-sur-Mer, equipping the city of a modern mode of transport.
In the second half of the 20th century, Nice bore the influence of mayor Jean Médecin (mayor for 33 years from 1928 to 1943 and 1947 to 1965) and his son Jacques (mayor for 24 years from 1966 to 1990). On October 16 1979 23 people died when the coast of Nice was hit by a tsunami. As accusations of political corruption against Jacques Médecin grew, he fled France in 1990 and was arrested in Uruguay in 1993, leading to his extradition in 1994. He was then convicted of several counts of corruption and associated crimes and sentenced to prison.
Jacques Peyrat, the mayor of Nice since 1995, is a member of the UMP party and former member of the Front National.
In 2003, local head prosecutor Éric de Montgolfier alleged that some judicial cases involving local personalities had been suspiciously derailed by the local judiciary, which he suspected of having unhealthy contacts, through Masonic lodges, with the very people that they are supposed to prosecute or judge. A controversial official report stated that de Montgolfier had made unwarranted accusations.
Climate
Before referring to climate tables, one should be aware that the official Nice temperatures are recorded at the airport, which is a much cooler place than the rest of the town, being more vulnerable to marine air and cold winds from the Var valley. The following statistics and descriptions therefore use official temperatures.
Nice has a mediterranean climate : the city enjoys mild and sunny weather most of the year.
Summers are hot and dry but are often moderated by a breeze. It is not uncommon for daily maximum temperatures in August (the hottest month) to reach 30°C. During the 2003 heat wave, the average official minimum and maxiumum temperatures in August were respectively 23.7°C and 31.2°C, with 22 days over 30°C. The wettest period is Autumn, with October averaging 140mm of rainfall, although January is the wettest single month with, typically, 6 rainy days.
Winters are cool to mild and also rather wet. From December to February, the maximum daytime temperature usually remains between 10°C and 15°C (the coldest month being Januray).
Here are some extremes (since 1949) :
Highest recorded temperature : 37.7°C (1st of August 2006)
Lowest recorded temperature : -7.2°C
Most rainfall in 24h : 191.4mm
Frosts are rare and snowfalls are exceptional and remembered by inhabitants as special events.
Culture
Nice has a distinct culture due to its unique history. The local language Niçard (Nissart) is an Occitan dialect, still spoken by a minority. Strong Italian and (less) Corsican influences make it more intelligible than other non-extinct Provençal dialects.
Local food culture, which includes pissaladière, a pie with onions and anchovies sauce; socca, a type of pancake made from chickpea flour; bouillabaisse and various fish soups; "Stockfish"
(traditionally pronounced as "Stoquefiche" (French spelling) with special emphasis on the first "e"), farcis niçois, vegetables stuffed with breadcrumbs; and salade niçoise, a tomato salad with green peppers of the "Corne" breed, baked eggs, tuna or anchovies and olives.
In the past Nice welcomed many immigrants from Italy (who continue to make a large proportion of the population), as well as Spanish and Portuguese immigrants. However, in the past few decades immigration has been opened to include immigrants from all over the world particularly immigrants from other parts of the world, mainly former Northern and Western African colonies, as well as southeastern Asia. Traditions are still alive, especially in the folk music and the dances. The most famous is the farandole.
Places of interest
Religious buildings
Museums
Sports and entertainment facilities
Education
Nice is home to many preparatory schools which prepare students for entrance to the Grandes Ecoles (e.g. the Ecole Normale Supérieure).
Transport
The city is served by Côte d'Azur International Airport and has a railway station. The smaller Gare du Sud is no longer used. The Chemins de Fer de Provence is a small rail company providing a daily train service between Nice and Digne-les-Bains. The ferry companies SNCM and Corsica Ferries operate from the Nice harbour and sail to several towns on Corsica.
Public transport within the city and to neighbouring areas is provided by the Ligne d'Azur bus company. A tramway, the Tramway de Nice, is currently under construction and is expected to begin operation in 2007.
Miscellaneous
Births
Nice was the birthplace of:
Town twinning
Nice's town twins are:
See also
External links
