Nice has a population that nears 400,000, five
times the size of Cannes, and it boasts a plethora of ruins, museums,
boutiques, and a hearty cafe culture.
Nice's old city clusters against Colline du Chateau, a romantic cliff
fortified centuries before Christ. Cars are forbidden on the old city's
winding, cobblestone streets that are so narrow their rooftops crowd out
the sky. Cafes occupy weathered 17th- and 18th- century buildings and
outdoor markets crowd the old town's streets and Venetian-style squares.
Like most of the Riviera, Nice has a hopping nightlife and the old city
stays up latest. Its streets and alleyways offer everything from
traditional Nicois dining to jazz clubs to hip hop.
The quality of light and color of the Riviera has drawn artists to its
shores for centuries. Henri Matisse spent most of his life in Nice. The
Musie Matisse houses a collection of work by the artist that illustrates
the different stages of his career. Marc Chagall himself opened the Musie
Chagall in Nice in 1972. The city's Musie d'Art Contemporain boasts an
outstanding collection of French and international abstract art from the
late '50s onward, including pop-art-popes such as Warhol and Lichtenstein.
Above the city centre, Cimiez was occupied by the Romans 2,000 years
ago, when Nice was capital of the Roman province of Alps-Maritimae.
Remnants of the Roman town can be seen, along with vestiges of the arena.
The Musie d'Archiologie houses excavations of the Roman baths and other
ancient archaeological finds.
If you do think you can tear yourself away from Nice for a while,
trains leave from the city for destinations all along the Mediterranean
coast, making it a great base for daytrips.
