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The summer of '99 we drove 2000 km
south, to the capital of the Riviera, Nice.
With a population around 400.000, makes
Nice the fifth largest town in France.
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Nice has many pleasant places for walks.
The most famous is the palm-lined, Promenade des Anglais,
that follows the beachfront from the city centre to the airport,
six km to the west, provides a fine stage for a stroll along
the beach.
The promenade was established by Nice's English colony in 1822
as a shoreside walking path. |
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Other walks include:
Jardin Albert 1er, Espace Masséna, a public square
enlivened by fountains.
Place Masséna whose early 19th-century, neoclassical
arcaded buildings are painted in various shades of ochre and
red.
Ave Jean Médecin, Nice's main commercial street. |
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Viex Nice is an area of narrow, winding streets between
Blvd Jean Jaurès, Quai des Ètats-Unis and to
the east - the hill known as Le Château.
Located at the north-eastern tip of
Viex Nice is the arcade-lined Place Garibaldi is named
after Giuseppe Garibaldi, one of the heroes of Italian unification,
who was born in Nice, was
built in the end of the 18th century.
Interesting churches in Vieux Nice
include Chathédrale Saine Réparate,
Elise Saint Jacques le Majeur,
Chapelle de la Miséricorde.
At Cours Saleya there is a Flower market 6.00-17.30
except Monday and Sunday afternoon, and an Antique
and Flea market Monday from 7.30-18.00, except on public holidays.
On top of the 92-metre-high hill, at the eastern end of Quai
des États-Unis, is the shady public park, Parc Château.
It's a great place to escape the heat on a summer afternoon.
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The beach in Nice is covered with smooth little rocks. Private
and public sections alternate. At the private beaches you can
rent chairs, beach umbrellas and mattress. They also offer showers
and changing rooms. Along the beach you can hire paddleboats,
jetskis, take a parachute ride, go waterskiing or parasailing.
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Museums in Nice:
Musée d'Art et d'Histoire
History of Nice and its surroundings from the 6th
to the 19th century: Religious art, weapons, jewellery...
Musée des Beaux-Arts
Large collection of Italian painting 17th and 18th
C. along with 19th C. Impressionist and Romantic works: Degas, Boudin,
Sisley...
Musée d'Art moderne
et d'Art Contemporain
More than 100 works of European and American avant-garde
art, from the sixties to the present.
Musée Matisse
In a17th C., Genoese-style villa, the personal collection
of the artist who lived in Nice 1917-1954: paintings, drawings and
engravings.
More about Museums>>
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