Nice
Matisse's light, EUR 3 socca on the market, pebble beaches with transparent water, and the best base on the Riviera

About Nice
Nice is the city where the Alps meet the Mediterranean and the light is so good that Matisse moved here and never left. The Promenade des Anglais is the famous seafront walk, 7 km of blue chairs facing the Baie des Anges, and it is genuinely beautiful even if you have seen it on a thousand postcards. The beaches are pebble, not sand (bring a cushion or rent a mattress for EUR 15-20), and the water is the kind of transparent blue that makes you understand why the Cote d'Azur is named after a colour.
Old Nice (Vieux-Nice) is the reason to stay more than a day. The narrow streets between the Cours Saleya market and the Colline du Chateau are painted in ochre, terracotta, and faded pink, with laundry strung between buildings and the smell of socca (chickpea flatbread, EUR 3 a portion, cooked on a massive copper pan, eaten hot with black pepper) drifting from Chez Theresa's stall in the market. The Cours Saleya flower and food market runs every morning except Monday (when it becomes an antique market), and a morning here with a coffee and a socca is the best EUR 5 you will spend on the Riviera.
The art museums are world-class and mostly ignored by beach tourists. Musee Matisse (EUR 10, in a 17th-century Genoese villa in Cimiez, the later paper cut-outs are the highlight) and Musee Marc Chagall (EUR 10, the Biblical Message paintings are enormous and luminous) are both worth a morning. The hilltop park of Cimiez also has Roman ruins and the Monastery garden with views over the city. Nice is also the gateway to Monaco (20 minutes by train, EUR 4), Eze (a medieval hilltop village), Antibes, and Cannes, all reachable by the TER coastal train for under EUR 10.
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From the blog
Practical bits, answered
Socca is a thin, unleavened flatbread made from chickpea flour, cooked on a massive copper pan over a wood fire. It is specific to Nice and the Ligurian coast. Order it at Chez Theresa's stall at Cours Saleya market (EUR 3 a portion, served in rough pieces wrapped in paper), or at Chez Rene Socca at 2 Rue Miralheti (a proper restaurant, larger portions, also excellent). Eat it immediately while hot, with black pepper and nothing else. The texture should be crispy on the edges and soft in the centre. Anything served in a restaurant with tablecloths is probably not the authentic version.
The beaches are pebble (round white stones), not sand. The water is transparent Mediterranean blue and genuinely beautiful. Bring water shoes if your feet are sensitive, and a thin cushion or towel with some padding. Private beach clubs (EUR 15-25 for a mattress, umbrella, and shower access) are comfortable. The free public beaches at Quai des Etats-Unis and Plage Carras are perfectly good. July and August are crowded. May, June, September, and October are the best balance of warm water and manageable crowds.
Monaco: 20 minutes, EUR 4 return (the cheapest ticket to a principality in Europe). Eze village: 25 minutes by bus 83 from Nice, free to enter the village. Antibes: 25 minutes by TER, EUR 5.70. Cannes: 35 minutes, EUR 7. Menton (French Riviera's easternmost town before the Italian border): 40 minutes, EUR 6.50. All trains leave from Nice-Ville station. Validate your ticket before boarding.
Two days covers the essentials: one day for Cours Saleya, Old Nice, Colline du Chateau, and the Promenade; one day for the Matisse and Chagall museums in Cimiez. A third day is best used for a day trip (Monaco is the most rewarding). Nice has an excellent airport (15 minutes from the centre by tram 2, EUR 1.50) making it easy to use as a base for the whole Riviera.
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