Nice

Nice is the capital of the Côte d'Azur and is about 25-30 minutes from where we live. It's where the airport is and Carnaval in February. It's most famous for the Promenade des Anglaise, which was built in the early 1800's to attract wealthy British people. It is a several kilometer long beach/pathway/street that runs right along the coast. But before that, Nice was first occupied by Ligurians back in 1000 B.C. That's a long time ago. In 600 B.C. the coast was colonized by the Greeks who founded Masilia, better known today as Marseille. This expanded into the settlements that eventually became Nice, Antibes and St. Tropez. The Greeks founded a colony called Nikaia, named after the god of victory, Nike, to commemorate a victory over a local town. The Romans came along and took over the place in 125 B.C. and called it Provincia Romana. That his how the area got the name Provence.

In 1388 the Nice area became part of the House of Savoy, whose dukes ruled most of what has become France, with the rest of Provence joining the kingdom in 1482, where it stayed until Napoleon III entered the scene. In 1860 he entered into an agreement with the Savoy's to chase the Austrians out of Northern Italy. In exchange, France took over Nice and much of the surrounding area. So this area has only been part of France for less than 150 years.

In the 19th century the area was discovered by wealthy English, American, and Russians. That started the area off on it's current path of being a play area for the rich and famous. The natural beauty and climate of the area attracted many wealthy tourists. The intensity of the light in this area attracted many top artists, including Cézanne, Van Gogh, Matisse, and Picasso. Today there are many museums displaying their work in Nice and Antibes. This, plus the advent of affordable traveling, all lead to the area being developed as a major tourist destination.

Today, Nice has a medieval part of town, the Promenade, and some old Roman ruins and a château on the top of a hill at the Eastern part of the city. Here are some pictures.

Here is a picture of Patti blading and the boys riding down the Promenade.

Here we have two pictures from the old part of Nice, which remains much as it looked in the 1700's. It is a very nice place to walk around with many outdoor cafes, restaurants, and shops. A favorite place to take visitors.

At the far Eastern part of Nice is a fairly good sized hill. At the top is the remains of a château built in the 12th century but knocked down by King Louis XIV in 1706. Now it is a park with stunning views of Nice and the Côte d'Azur. In the first picture you can see the old village in the foreground with some of the more beautiful bell towers and domes from this part of the city. The Med is in the background and the Promenade des Anglaise.

Here is a picture from when Eloise and Danny visited us. It is another wonderful view of Nice from the park. You can get a better view of the Sea and the Promenade, which is the road and the red path next to it. This is also the stretch of road where the Carnaval parades occur every February.

Up at the very top of the hill is a rather large man-made water fall. It is an absolute pleasure when walking up that steep hill in the hot summer sun. It is merely wonderful during cooler days. You can see people at the top of the falls looking over.

Downtown Nice, in the more modern part, is a very large open public area called the Place Mássena. The Place has some very large fountains and statues in it. Here is Papa and Jeffrey catching a cool misty spray on a hot summer day.

So, our little adventure finally comes to an end. We had 30 days to pack up and move back to the US. The last 2 nights we stayed at the Hotel Negresco, perhaps the best hotel on the Riviera. It was certainly spectacular, and since Lucent paid, well worth it. Here are some photos.

Last updated Sunday, Apr 27, 2003, 23:46 PST