What I love most about France is that if you don’t speak French you can communicate in your own language (Bulgarian, Thai, Arabic, you name it) and the result will be the same as if you were speaking in English – the locals will always reply in French. It doesn’t matter that you happen to be in a top touristic destination, visited by millions of people yearly from all over the world.
That’s one of the main reasons France is never in my bucket list. I mean, I can understand good part of what they say because I’m super smart but, come on, showing a little respect to the people who spend their money in your country couldn’t be such a bad idea, right?
However, since there are some charming places near the border with Italy, I sporadically leave all my prejudices at home and hit the road to the French Riviera. This time we went to Nice and Saint Tropez (more on the latter in the next post).
I have always visited in winter so it was nice to see how is life during summer. I have to admit that the absence of the strong and cold mistral wind makes everything far more enjoyable.
Here are some pics from our days in Nice, also known as La Belle. Considering that it’s France’s fifth largest city is has a pretty cozy atmoshpere, don’t you think? So, yes, Nice is nice.
P.S. If you want to experience the authentic local cuisine try Chez Palmyre in the old town. It is always packed (there are around 20 seats) so you’d better make a reservation in advance.
The first private beach we visited – Hi Beach with good wi-fi – 19 euros per person during weekdays or 22 in the weekend
Most people arrive after 2 pm. If you want to be in first row, escpecially on Sat/Sun it is better to book it in advance
All the areas in between the private beaches are public. There is no sand, but only large stones brought by the rivers for centuries. It is possible to bring sand and make everything far more walking-friendly but the locals don’t even want to hear about it.
How often can you see a bus with this caption?
All blue
The most famous hotel in Nice -Negresco- it was built by a Romanian who left his country at the age of 15 in search of better luck. As you can see he found it in the French Riviera.
French condo
Book shops and vintage stores
French clichè
The street of the boutiques
The pedestrian area
Place Massena – the biggest one and one of the most beautiful
Promenade de Paillon – where all the kids in town come to play
Exploring the old town which was packed with bars and restaurants
The best thing about Nice are the many international restaurants. We saw tunisian, afghan, indian, thai, cambodian, vietnamese, italian, romanina, russian and kazakh.
Good view
Bulgarian yogurt – Frenchs know which are the best products 😉
Not the usual tastes
Fenocchio – the most popular ice cream parlor in town
Place Massena by night with its seven statues that represent the seven continents.
Fake windows and everything
Many small streets end like this
The flower market which also features fruit, vegetables and street food
I regret that I wasn’t able to try these amazingly looking tomatoes
and the radishes too
Art
Lavender was present at almost every booth
Purple garlic – I guess he wanted to match the lavender plants
A look at the menu in one of the restaurants at Cours Saleya – where the market is
La Promenade in the early morning, with a little bit of smog on the horizon (thanks to the airport i guess)
The view from our room
Le Voilier Plage (good wi-fi as well)
The treatments
My view
20 euros per person on first row or 16 on the others
Gabi – our cruise ship is docking in the Nice area at the end of August – we have one day to spend either in Nice, St Tropez, Monaco or Monte Carlo – we have two young kids – what would you recommend – love the pix
Thank you, Shahab 🙂 I would recommend staying in Nice, it is very spacious and the kids won’t get bored for sure (they could throw stones in the water, run along the large promenade, have the time of their life (or at least of their holiday) playing at promenade du paillon while you comfortably sit on a bench). I will post about Saint Tropez later today which is a very nice town but maybe less kids friendly, also the distance is not so short, and the traffic in August can only get worse. Monte Carlo is nice as well, but spending a whole day there is too much.
These photos are killing me! It’s also nice to know that Nice isn’t just pretty, but it’s also genuinely nice 🙂
~Sophia
http://plaidismyfavouritecolour.blogspot.com/
Yeah, it’s nice but not in an exagerate way, let’s say French nice ?
Nice looks and sounds incredible! Your photographs are so charming as well. <33
Thank you so much for such a positive feedback! I’m happy that you liked it ?
This clears everything up 😀 Can’t wait to cross this one out on my bucketlist. 🙂
http://www.maerodc.wordpress.com
Ahaha I’m glad I was able to clarify ?
Gabi – our cruise ship is docking in the Nice area at the end of August – we have one day to spend either in Nice, St Tropez, Monaco or Monte Carlo – we have two young kids – what would you recommend – love the pix
Thank you, Shahab 🙂 I would recommend staying in Nice, it is very spacious and the kids won’t get bored for sure (they could throw stones in the water, run along the large promenade, have the time of their life (or at least of their holiday) playing at promenade du paillon while you comfortably sit on a bench). I will post about Saint Tropez later today which is a very nice town but maybe less kids friendly, also the distance is not so short, and the traffic in August can only get worse. Monte Carlo is nice as well, but spending a whole day there is too much.