A comfortable, quiet and well-situated apartment with all the necessary mod cons and a delightful terrace as the icing on the cake. This was our two-bed apartment in central Nice from which we could easily venture out and find ourselves in minutes close to good local food shops, local restaurants, and the efficient and frequent tram service which carries passengers down the boulevard to the town centre and on to the magnificent Place Massena with its vast black-and-white tiled piazza surrounded by historic dark pink
buildings which dazzle the eye.
Nice is full of delightful surprises: six days a week there is a huge food market in the town centre. If you like to cook and eat good food, that is the place to visit. The fish and seafood stalls are very well stocked and that was our first stop. All the in-season fruit and vegetables one could wish to eat can be found on the other stalls, along with different meats and local specialities.
Near the market is good-sized agreeable park offering shade and rest to some, and fun water-play in an unusual form to the children. The park is one of several beautiful parks in the city which attract people of all ages. There are also museums: go to Villa Massena to see Napoleon's death mask, for example, and other items of historic importance, including many which detail the growth of Nice since the 19th century, or to the Palais Lascaris, a small marvel tucked away in the old town. There are Roman ruins to be visited in Cimiez, as well as the Matisse museum, for the area is closely linked to the visits and work of many famous artists, Matisse and Picasso being but two examples.
Nice is full of beautiful buildings, some tucked away in quiet streets, some in plain sight: large, imposing, architecturally interesting, and generally built in the 19th century as the
city attracted wealthy visitors from different parts of the world.
The air is good, the climate bright and sunny, the landscape is green and tree-filled; for those who wish to shop, there are plenty of choices. The old town is a fascinating mix of narrow streets opening out into squares generally occupied by numerous hungry and thirsty tourists, restaurants and and shops, and it leads to unexpected surprising places. One of these, a vast cemetery,rises above the old town requiring the wanderer to climb a number of steps to get there. The view of Nice below is fantastic.
And don't forget the Promenade des Anglais at the other side of the old town!