Here are our top 10 nice things to do in Nice:
10. Eat a regional specialty like socca, a crepe made of chickpea flour. Served hot, it is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. We realized afterwards we should have spiced it up with salt and pepper.
We ate socca from Lou Pilha Leva
(Old Town, look for big green awning)
9. Shop or peruse the Cours Saleya fruit and flower markets. It is daily except Monday when it is an antique market. (Not high on our list because we prefer the Provence markets.)
Cours Saleya Fruit and Vegetable Market
8. Buy fresh fish at La Place Saint-Francois Fish Market. It is every morning except Monday.
Saint-Francois Fish Market in the Old Town
View from our apartment window
If you don't want Gull poop on your car, cover it with cardboard!
Greg's choice was moules (muscles). They are cheap, easy, and tasty!
We also bought a thick slice of thon (tuna)
Our delicious dinner
We like to walk and everything seemed nearby for us. We walked to the port twice and climbed above it twice. With its assortment of boats, Corsica ferries and cruise ships, the port has a lot to see!
Port of Nice (viewed from Castle Hill)
The port has boats of all sizes
We were fascinated watching Lady Sandals squeeze between two bigger yachts.
In case you guessed it, Lady Sandals belongs to the Sandals Resorts owner.
6. See a luxury "super" yacht
The Serene superyacht
The large luxury yachts in the port impressed us but we were blown away when we laid eyes on the Serene with a helicopter resting on its bow. Built for a Russian Vodka tycoon for a mere $330 million, the 440 foot yacht looks like a small cruise ship, and is ranked the 12th largest yacht in the world! She features two helicopter landing platforms, storage for a large submarine and a huge internal sea water pool, which can be adapted to be used for tender docking. Last summer, Bill Gates rented her (and her crew of 52) for $5 million for a week.
5. Pass through Place Messena - with its checkerboard surface, statue of Apollo, seven Plesna statues erected high above, and the city's only tram running through it - it is the city's main square. It is a crossroad that splinters into many directions: the beach, the old town, the shopping area, and a long park of fountains and playgrounds. It is a hub of activity both day and night!
Place Messena
Fontaine du Soleil in Place Messena
4. Climb up to Le Chateau, the old fort on Castle Hill. This one took us by surprise! There are tranquil paths and stairs leading every which way up to and around the top of the hill. Go here to get away from the crowds and for its stunning panoramic vistas - port on one side and Nice coastline on the other. We watched the airplanes land at Nice's airport and large boats maneuver in the port. Don't forget to see the Cascades! We read to go at sunset but preferred the view before noon. Since there was no line on our second visit, we took the elevator down.
View of Nice beaches from Castle Hill
3. Shop and eat in the narrow, colorful streets of Vieille Ville (Old Town Nice). This is where our apartment was.
Old Town Nice
The beaches of Nice are almost as good as it gets! The water's color, temperature and gentle waves are wonderful for a nice swim! The only downside is its rocky beach... they hurt! (You can call them pebbles but they are roughly the size of a small child's fist!) The beach has a steep slope dropping into the water, and mixed with the waves, the rocks are moving all over the place making for some non-sturdy, painful footing! Yes, wear shoes, but they are awkward to swim in!
At the beach in Nice
To escape all the rocks, splurge on a private beach! There are many to choose from. We saw one for 16 euros which gets you a comfy chaise lounge, umbrella, rug walkway, bathrooms, and waiters.
1. Stroll the Promenade des Anglais. The wide pathway that stretches over 4 miles along the Mediterranean is where Nice comes alive both day and night! We spent most of our time walking, sitting, people watching and even biking along it. Don't miss out on seeing Nice's famous Hotel Negresco!
Promenade des Anglais
The promenade is lined with great blue seats that invite you to relax and enjoy!
Tomorrow we leave France by train for our very last night in Milan, Italy.
Logistics:
- We felt adventurous by renting a Velo Bleu bicycle. There are stations all over the city. They are designed to get you quickly from point A to B... the first 30 minutes are free! Our 45 minute bike ride up and down the promenade cost us 1 euro each (plus 1.50 daily use fee). You set up an account online or on your cell phone. Or we found the easiest way was to use one of the very few credit card machines (no account setup necessary). See velobleu website http://www.velobleu.org/ map for stations that accept credit card (most do not). The credit card machine along the promenade was broken so we found one at Place Messena. The directions are printed on the machine in English, but the machine didn't follow what they said. Stick in your credit card, phone number, and birthdate. The screen will flash your code for a minute (it did not print it out). Write it down and take it to a locked bike. Power up the screen and type in the code for the bike to unlock.
Velo Bleu bike station
-Pizza Pili (Old Town) sells every type of yummy pizza for only 7 euros each.
