Nice: The Heart of the French Riviera

Nice is a city painted in pastel colors. The sky is a pale blue swathed with soft clouds. The streets of the city are endless broad promenades of 17th and 18th century buildings painted in soft yellow, white and red. My hostel was a small and stuffy affair on the Rue Pertinax which is just off Jean Medecin. Jean Medicin is the main drag in Nice and leads right to the Mediterranean and the beautiful beaches of the Cote D'Azur. Nice is the heart of the Cote D'Azur, or the French Riviera, perhaps the most glamorous place on earth. 

At nearly one million people Nice is a large city. It was founded by the same Ancient Greeks who founded Marseille and Nice has enjoyed much of the same history as a center of trade. Nice's proximity to Italy has naturally made the city very Italian in character. The colors and design of much of its architecture are similar to what might see in many Italian towns. The city is ringed with large hills. The port is seperated from the beaches and old town by a large headland. On the western side of the promontory is an enormous monument to the victims of the two world wars. The eastern portion of the city is a long, gently curved crescent shaped beach lined with boardwalk. 

From Nice one can easily access some of the most famous French towns by rail. Ten miles west of Nice lie the beaches of Antibes, a city that has enjoyed a recent vogue in the game of musical chairs between the French and Italian towns of the Riviera as the most glamorous and popular with the rich and famous. Halfway between Antibes and Nice lies Cannes. Cannes is famous for two reasons. First and foremost Cannes is famous for the annual film festival held in the city which attracts the entire cinematic world. Secondly Cannes has soft white sand beaches, which contrast markedly with the large stone and gravel beaches of many other Riviera towns.