Cosmopolitan City on the French Riviera
South and Eastern France, France
The cosmopolitan city of Nice, located on the French Riviera in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, is a mixture of superb beaches, cultural sights and museums, and fantastic shopping and restaurants.
The city is located on the Bay of Angels and has a wonderful crescent-shaped, 5 km long beach. Running the length of the beach is the Promenade des Anglais, a long walkway built in the 1830s where most of the elegant hotels, restaurants and shops are situated. Travellers can not only enjoy the city’s main sights and museums but there are many opportunities for fishing, swimming and sailing.
Background
Roman occupation of Nice can be traced back to 14 BC, the start of the Roman Empire and it was at this time that the Romans effectively built a second town, Cemenelum, on Cimiez hill. More recently the 17th century saw the emergence of baroque art in Nice with facades painted in warm reds and yellows and doorways and window sills painted in contrasting colours of blues and greens.
The restoration of the facades over the last few decades has returned Nice to its former baroque glory. For centuries Nice was a merchant port and city before gradually becoming a tourist destination in the 18th and 19th centuries when it became the winter playground of the rich and famous. After the Second World War, mass tourism grew and the city became a summer holiday resort.