I hadn’t been to Nice for about twenty years. On my way to a river cruise starting in Lyons, I thought that Nice was a good place to spend a couple of days and knock my jet lag on its head.
There is no easy way to adjust from a twenty-four-hour-plus journey from Melbourne, Australia, to Europe, but I find that a combination of fresh air and walking helps.
After showering and changing, I walked towards the Mediterranean Sea. I immediately noticed the beautiful greenery everywhere, as well as the gorgeous architecture, particularly the Art Deco and Belle Époque buildings.
Remembering the Promenade des Anglais – a beautiful, seven-kilometre (just over four miles) walking path beside the sea, I wandered there for a couple of hours in my zombie-like state and had my first French meal of my trip – pasta.
I realized over the next couple of days that there is a huge Italian influence in this area. After all, Italy is a mere thirty kilometres (nineteen miles) away.
After a good night’s sleep, I hit French food gold for breakfast – an insanely buttery pain au chocolat and croissant.
Marvellous Menton
Walking to Nice Centre Ville train station, a grand Belle Époque building, I bought a ticket east to Menton. I sat on the double-decker train for about forty-five minutes as it transported me along the gorgeous coast.
Under gloomy and threatening skies, Menton was still pretty as a picture. Visiting in mid-May, the beach clubs and beach restaurants were being set up. This town must pump in the summer.
The buildings in Menton are shades of pink to rust. Again, the Italian influence is strong. I saw my first few superyachts in and around the marina, but I was to see more than a few more.
Vibrant Villefranche-sur-Mer
From the beautiful town of Menton, I took the train to Villefranche-sur-Mer. A couple of small cruise ships were in port, so the restaurants on the water were buzzing. I walked up to the sixteenth-century Citadel and took in the views.
With the gloomy skies not looking any worse, I decided to walk an hour and a half or so back to Nice along the coastal road. There is a pedestrian path and a bike lane the whole way and the views are to die for.
The skies decided to unload on me mid-walk, but the views were worth getting soaked.
Amazing Antibes
The next day, I took the train west from Nice to Antibes. Exiting the train station, I arrived at the marina, Port Vauban. OMG – this was superyacht nirvana!
It was market day in Antibes. I happily meandered through a produce market and a brocante market. Brocante in French literally means flea market, but brocante markets are more like vintage markets, selling antiques and bric-a-brac.
Punctuated by alleys decorated with petunia-filled hanging baskets, Antibes is a very pretty town. This time, I had a “proper” French lunch of confit duck sitting outside in Place Nationale, watching the world go by and listening to the roaming buskers playing the piano accordion. It was divine.
Walking Tour Lessons
I finished off my time in Nice with a walking tour. Natalie from Walkative Tours is a native New Yorker who has relocated to Nice. She told the group that Nice has 300 days of sunshine a year.
I always learn something on a walking tour, but the standout for me on this tour was that it was the aristocratic English class who popularised Nice in the eighteenth century as a winter resort town. They visited on doctors’ orders, seeking sun.
The English first developed the Promenade des Anglais, the cafés, the hotels and the Opera House. Queen Victoria herself wintered in Nice each year from 1895 to 1899.
In 2021, UNESCO added part of Nice to the World Heritage List as a ‘Winter Resort Town of the Riviera.’
Natalie also pointed out the Trompe l’œil (French for “deceiving the eye”) murals on some of the buildings. This is a style of art that creates an illusion of three dimensions on a two-dimensional surface, fooling the viewer into thinking the image is real.
In the eighteenth century, there was a property tax based on the number of windows you had. To minimize tax, windows were bricked up – the saying “daylight robbery” stems from this. Trompe l’œil murals were also created to mimic the look of windows while avoiding the tax.
If it wasn’t for Natalie’s tour, I may not have stumbled on Vieux Nice (Old Nice). Filled with windy alleys and reddish-hued buildings, I felt the Italian influence again.
Sadly, it was time for me to move on to Lyon. There is much more of Nice I didn’t see – from Roman ruins to the Matisse Museum. There are also many more nearby beach towns to explore – from the famous Cannes and Monaco to lesser-known towns like Eze.
I only scratched the surface of this beautiful area, but I did start my French food journey and I did cure my jet lag. As for Nice, it will not be another twenty years before I return.
Nice, much more than just nice.
Hot Tips
- Avoid queues at ticket machines by downloading the SNCF app and booking train tickets through the app. No need for Google Translate – you can select English.
- Walking tours are best done at the start of your time in a city so that you have time to visit the places the guide mentions. I was a bit too fuzzy from jet lag to plan properly. The GuruWalk app is a great way to choose between and book walking tours.
- If you visit in May, take a rain jacket and some covered shoes.
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Author Bio: Leonie Jarrett lives in Melbourne, Australia. She has travelled to all 7 Continents and to over 60 countries. She has cruised 15 times…and counting! Avid traveller Leonie loves writing about her travels and her experiences.
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