Our trip finally ended in Nice at Joe and Margarets apartment which overlooks Nice harbour. Absolutely beautiful and so interesting watching all the activity happening throughout various times of the day. Nice has a long history of tourism, both in summer and winter, and it is one of the city’s principal economic activities. Apart from the beaches and yachting harbour, tourism is stimulated by Nice’s cultural facilities, shops, and architectural heritage; business tourism is also of considerable importance, based on the Acropolis Congress Centre and associated exhibition halls. Nice is linked to the national motorway network and is served by the high-speed train (TGV), connecting the city to Paris and northern France. The airport is the second largest in France (after Paris) and has become a focus for a variety of distribution and service industries. So we strolled down the Promenade des Anglais to the famous Negresco Hotel, which skirts the seacoast for over 5 km, then ends at Nice Airport. Really relaxing and a lovely way to start my few days in Nice!
Day 2 in Nice, and Mags and I decided to walk to VilleFranche-sur-Mer and on to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferat, one of my favourite places.
The Bay of Villefranche, reputed as one of the five most beautiful bays in the world, is embraced by the Cap of Nice to its west and Cap Ferrat to the east. The village of Villefranche sur Mer, perched on the bay, is located just over the hill from Nice (5 minutes away) and 10 minutes away from Monaco. The charming Old Town of Villefranche cascades down the hillside to the sea, and the bay’s sandy one-kilometer long beach offers great recreation throughout the year.
From there we walked to Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat which is an exceptional peninsula and one of the most loveliest places on the Mediterranean coast. Its tranquillity and warm climate make it a favourite holiday destination amongst European aristocracy and international millionnaires.
In order to better appreciate the beauty of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, we visited on foot by taking the coastal path. It is signposted for 14 km and divided into 3 parts : the tour of Cap Ferrat, the pine-forest and the Maurice Rouvier walk which links Saint Jean Cap Ferrat to Beaulieu. We walked past the house of the late David Niven, renowned for its lovely pink colour. A lot of famous celebrities have homes nestled on the side of the hills including members of U2!
We ended our walk in Beaulieu-sur-Mer. The seafront in Beaulieu-sur-Mer has two separate beaches, both of sand and fine gravel. The Plage des Fourmis is to the south of the centre and the smaller of the two beaches, but very picturesque with views along the east coast of Cap Ferrat. The Plage Petite Afrique is to the north of the pleasure port, larger and also more sheltered, being in a natural harbour. With the mountains as a backdrop, it is also easier to park at the Plage Petit Afrique.
We planned to cycle to Antibes on my last day in Nice so off we set on our electric bikes only to discover half way to Antibes that I had a malfunction with the bike and the battery, so we returned to Nice and decided to walk around the old town of Nice. The Old Town of Nice is made up of tall tenement houses lined up along narrow and shadowed streets. The ground floors are occupied by restaurants, shops, and the galleries of local artists. You can buy everything here, from Provencal spices to hand-made jewellery and cosmetics. We began our stroll around Old Nice from Place Masséna, which is the central square of Nice. Going towards the sea, which is visible between the buildings, we reached the green square called the Esplanade Georges Pompidou.
Then onto the main street of historical Nice, Saint-François de Paule. This leads to Nice’s main market place Cours Saleya. We passed the Opera House and Patisserie Henri Auer – a chocolate and candied fruit workshop that has been operating here since 1820. Queen Victoria of England personally bought her favourite chocolates here.
The Cours Saleya is an elongated square that, until midday, is filled with stalls of flowers and food, and which later transforms into a huge restaurant under the open sky. Every Monday there is a flea market here, which moves to the Old Port of Nice on other days.
After purchasing some rather decadent french cakes, we returned to the apartment to watch the Ireland v South Africa game in the world cup rugby. And luckily Ireland won!! It really was the luck of the Irish this night!!
Back to the UK tomorrow and next update will be from my adventures in Jordan which will be in a few weeks.
