1. Morning walk along the promenade to the  Cours Saleya. Cross the road just after the Opera House. This is the main Nice flower , fruit and vegetable market, and is always worth a visit. Take the wheeled basket if you intend to buy many vegetables.  Worth stopping for a drink at the Ponchettes Café, at the far end with red chairs. The canny Nicoise shoppers wait here around 11am-noon , as the nearby stalls reduce their prices dramatically as lunch approaches. This bar serves very substantial nibbles with evening drinks, such as pizza,olives and Quiche…
    

2. The Chateau. The hill behind the Cours Saleya no longer has a chateau, but is an excellent place for views of the port looking east, and the length of the Promenade des Anglais. Take the lift from the entrance just beyond the Cours Saleya – it’s easier to walk down!  NOTE:   The park at the top closes at 7pm- and the gates are then locked!
    

3. The Port. Nice is very proud of the newly opened extension to the Promenade, which now runs on around Rauba Capeu ( Hat in the air, in Nicoise- its breezier… ) past a newly built seating area with views, and down to the port area where the Corsica Ferries leave. Very good Vegetarian restaurant – Zucca Magica near the end of the quay.
    

4. Old Town. A fairly seedy area until recently, this area of narrow streets now has many galleries (Rue Droite) and some interesting shops along the street parallel to Ave Jean Jaures. Some excellent bars and clubs. Go to the top end at Place Garibaldi, and visit the Grand Café de Turin for very good and reasonable seafood, if you like shellfish!
    

5. Museums. Chief amongst the many are The Matisse up in Cimiez – a bus ride from Jean Jaures, (though check as some renovation in progress this year) (Bus NO 17 from Massena Zone Pietonée)  The Chagall behind the station – quite small, and mainly Chagall’s biblical paintings, and the larger Beaux Arts, about 15 minutes walk west from the apartment – Dufy, some Picasso and more general works
    

6. Shopping.  The main shopping street is Ave Jean Medecin, running back from the Place Massena.  A 5 storey Galerie Lafayette is close to Massena, and a very pleasant new centre – Nice Etoile, 2 or 3 blocks further alongon the right, with Habitat and FNAC, great for CDs, books and electronics. Other upmarket shopping on Rue Massena and Rue de la Buffa. The traffic-free Zone Pietonée begins close to the apartment and runs to Massena.
    

7. Train trips. Cannes, Villefranche, Monaco and Menton are all easily accessible by train. Trains are modern, frequent and cheap,(a surprise for the English..)  though it pays to go early as there is a lull in services mid-morning.  Buy your tickets by credit card in the machines with the clever wheel device, and don’t forget to composter votre billet at the machine as you enter the platform. A return is Aller retour. The station is about 15 minutes walk, or take a taxi from the rank outside the Meridien Hotel
    

8. Longer Walk.  A good day-long walk is around Cap Ferrat;  Take the train to Beaulieu, and walk down to the sea at Villa Kerylos. There is a good coastal path along to St Jean Cap Ferrat, around the peninsula (optional)  and then right round the end of Cap Ferrat. The path varies, is occasionally rough and not well maintained everywhere, but a path exists all the way round.

Note there is nowhere to purchase food or drink after St Jean. Views are excellent, and the path runs around the edge of some of the world’s most expensive property- which explains the variable nature of the path- not all the owners approve of the right of way.  It is easier to cross back to St Jean, rather than continue to Villefranche, and return via Beaulieu.

9. Train des Pignes.  This narrow gauge railway runs from the Gare du Sud, a little further inland than the main Nice station. Trains run to the Provencal towns high up the Var valley, and it is possible to go as far as Digne, a useful cooler destination if the heat becomes to great on the coast. After the valley of the river Var, the line goes via Villars and Puget Theniers, well up into Haute Provence and totally different to the coastal development.
    

10. Parc Floral Phoenix, at Arenas, close to the airport. Use the airport bus, or No 23 is cheaper. Large park and gardens, with a large domed house with 2500 different plants and 7 tropical climates, as well as the museum of Asiatic art,in an original and beautiful building. Tea ceremonies on Thursdays and Sundays.
     

11. Cathedrale Russe, just west of the SNCF station- Boulevard Tzarevitch, off Gambetta. Wonderful cathedral constructed for Czar Nicholas, who died in Nice in 1865.Five onion domes with a coating of glazed Nicois tiles. The interior is full of frescoes and ikons- closed , in theory,on Sunday, but go anyway for the great Russian singing! It’s like Dr Zhivago…
     

12. (Not in Nice, but too good to miss!)

The Ephrussi Museum and gardens at Cap Ferrat are stunning at any time of the year. Train to Beaulieu, then taxi or a 15 minute walk up to the pink Chateau, which dominates the Cap Ferrat peninsula. Many different gardens, including classical, Chinese, small patios, and all with views over Cap ferrat, to Villefranche and back to Beaulieu. For a really great day out, walk down to St Jean cap Ferrat port, have lunch at Le Sloop, then walk along the coastal footpath,(past David Niven’s old house) to Villa Kerylos in Beaulieu, which is an amazing recreation of a Greek Villa and really worth a visit. Beaulieu station then about 10 minutes walk, to return to Nice.