And this makes sense, Nice has spent much of its history independent from France. In fact it only became part of France after the revolution and it was decided by a vote.
The train from Paris to Nice is a scenic journey. The majority of the distance is covered by high speed travel in the first 2 hours. However once along the coast the train slows down and makes probably 5 stops before arriving in Nice. The last 3 hours of the ride are truly breathtaking views of cliffside villages overlooking the Sea. The train was comfortable, had a cafe car and honestly didn't feel that long.
Arriving in Nice, the smell of salt is in the air. The city has a unique mix of architecture classic Belle Époque buildings and quaint colorful building with shutters along tall windows with Juliet balconies. Our apartment is on the 5th floor of an old building near the train station. The large windows look out onto a boucherie (butcher) and a corner store. The street has lots of kebab and take out restaurants.
The city is quite vast however the majority of the tourism is centered around the pebble covered beaches and the old town.
Start of Old Town
On our first night in Nice we walked down the large pedestrian boulevard lined with shops and a mall. The center of the street is dedicated to tram that runs North and South. The boulevard abruptly makes a sharp turn at the old town. We followed the winding narrow streets along the old town. Live music poured from cafes and patrons from every restaurant flowed out into the sidewalks.
At night one of the most stunning sights is the illuminated basilica.
Our time in Nice has been relaxing. We have slept in and then started each morning with a trip to the boulangarie around the corner that sells traditional French breads and a few local specialities. We come back to our flat enjoying our croissants over a glass of orange juice and a nespresso. In the afternoons we take walks along the promenade Anglais (the long sidewalk along the Mediterranean) or stroll through the streets of old town peeking in at the daily afternoon flower market. We have ended several afternoons with a gelato at this amazing gelateria right by the Palais de Justice. The fruit flavored gelatos are so intense it tastes like a fruit punched you in the face (in a good way). So far we have tried peach, mango, mixed berry, sweet cream and chocolate chip. The fruit flavors are certainly the best.
One day we hiked to the top of a nearby cliff that once held the old medieval city. Nice has been inhabited since 300. There is an elevator to get to the line was so ridiculously long we decided to take the stairs. The stairs wind back and forth along the face of the cliff tracking different scenic vantage points. The top of the first cliff has the most stunning panoramic views of the beaches and promenade.
If you continue up the center of the cliff it leads you to a wide expansive park with a few concession stands, a museum, playgrounds for kids, medieval ruins, archeological sites, large swatches of grass and views of the port.
Seen from the city and beaches below there is a massive man made waterfall that cascades down part of the hill.
It turned out to be a great hike and what a wonderful feature to have in the center of the city.
Another great feature of Nice is that usually most of the museums are free and they have at least 10-12. Although this summer they have a special "summer of Matisse" exhibit so it costs 10 Euro to see 8 museums (all are normally free). We were planning to check out the Matisse museum but didn't want to get committed to spending more time in museums. Instead we plan to take the bus to nearby Antibes to the Picasso museum. Since so many of our favorite European cities boast Picasso museums. Either that guy really got around or he has similar taste in cities to us.
The food in Nice had been exquisite. The local cuisine is known for salad Nicoise (which includes hard boiled eggs, tuna, and anchovies on a salad), gnocchi and ravioli are both attributed to being invented in Nice, local seafood and Provençal meats such as rabbit, lamb, and veal.
The food is greatly influenced by Northern Italy (or vice versa) and consists of hearty main courses in broths or with vegetables, salad or antipasti to start and sweet refreshing desserts.
We have not had one bad meal since we arrived (we had one bad meal since writing this post but you can't win them all). And while tiny plates have a reputation of being European, we have not seen one tiny plate in either Paris or Nice. The portions are generous often too generous when ordering a menu with 3 courses particular because take out boxes are unheard of and sharing starters or desserts gets you sideways looks from the staff.
For complete course by course descriptions of all the best food we have had in Nice, look forward to my upcoming Restaurants in Nice post.
I have been writing this post sprawled out on a lounge chair under an umbrella on the pebble covered beach. The water here is clear, warm and an lovely aquamarine color. I think II will save the details of our beach day and our future trip to Antibes for another post.
No comments:
Post a Comment