City Information

The medieval rabbit warren of the old town, the Italianate facades of modern Nice and the rich, exuberant, fin-de-siècle residences that made the city one of Europe's most fashionable winter retreats have all survived intact. It has also retained mementos from its ancient past, when the Romans ruled the region from here, and earlier still, when the Greeks founded the city. In addition, its bus and train connections make Nice by far the best base for visiting the rest of the Riviera.

It doesn't take long to get a feel for the layout of Nice. Shadowed by mountains that curve down to the Mediterranean east of its port, it still breaks up more or less into old and new. Vieux Nice, the old town, groups about the hill of Le Château, its limits signalled by boulevard Jean-Jaurès, built along the course of the River Paillon. Along the seafront, the celebrated promenade des Anglais runs a cool 5km until forced to curve inland by the sea-projecting runways of the airport. The central square, place Masséna, is at the bottom of the modern city's main street, avenue Jean-Médecin, while off to the north is the exclusive hillside suburb of Cimiez.