Another post card arrived on my Cote D'Azur journey!
Nice is the seventh most populous city in France, second-largest city on the Mediterranean coast and second-largest city in the region. With an airport a mere 4mi (7km) from the city centre, Nice is the gateway to the French Riviera.
It has a plethora of museums, festivals, a hilltop park with uninterrupted views of the sea, several squares surrounded by buildings in red ochre, a 4mi (7km) beach alongside the main promenade and the old port. So many options, where to begin?
Starting with the festivals, Nice is host to an annual jazz festival and the Carnaval. The first Jazz Festival opened in 1948 with the likes of Louis Armstrong, Velma Middleton and Earl Hines in attendance. The Nice Carnaval is one of the major international carnival events alongside the ones in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Venice, Italy. The very first Carnaval took place in 1873 - although records indicate one as early as 1294 – with a parade of masquerades, floats and competitions. The event has a special theme chosen each year where artists create floats and figures made out of papier-mâché. They parade down the street interspersed with street performers and musicians. One of the highlights that is unique to Nice's carnival is the costumed actresses atop floral floats showering the audiences with flowers. This Flower Battle as it's called was started in 1876 as a way to exchange flowers and entertain tourists but today it represents and honours the work of local producers.
Nice has long drawn artists to its shores with the likes of Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall and sculptor Sacha Sosno. Both Matisse and Chagall have museums dedicated to their works. Matisse was known as the "King of Colour". Bedridden due to illness he was forever on a quest to induce more and more colour into his paintings making them as bright as possible. Loving birds and flowers, they are found throughout his works. When he could no longer paint, he took to cut-out collages arranging them into varying compositions creating murals and large scale works. His greatest achievement was the stained glass windows on the Rosaire Chapel which he gifted to his friend Monique, who was his nurse for a period of time later becoming a nun.
In the heart of Nice located amongst century-old buildings is the highly modern Contemporary Art Museum and within its perfectly manicured garden sits Sosno's unique square head sculpture. The cube-shaped sculpture with a chin is titled "Thinking Inside the Box" and at 85ft (26m) tall it houses a library over three floors. Sosno believed his art needed to leave a lot to the viewer's imagination by creating works that were either having a void, imagine a torso sculpture with a rectangular section missing from the centre of it, or the opposite filled with "obstructive addition" such as the square head. In his words: "I only do 50% of the work; other people have to finish creating the sculpture".
To the east of the city up on a hill is the historic Castle Hill park. Once home to a citadel that was demolished in the 18th century, it now boasts panoramic views of Angels Bay, the old port and the city skyline. Taking a stroll through the forested canopy I reached the 18th century historic cemetery adjacent to the Jewish cemetery and Holocaust memorial built atop the fortress' remains. Notable figures such as Alfred Van Cleef jewellery and luxury watches designer; Emil Jellinek creator of Mercedes trademark; and Gaston Leroux the author of the famous Phantom of the Opera are buried here. Just below the top viewing platform is a manmade waterfall and pond. Reaching the top I am afforded the quintessential view of the beach, the azure sea, the promenade and the dense city alongside it.
Descending from the park and rounding it at the base, I came across a massive monument built into the rocky hillside commemorating the 4,000 locals killed in WWI. Built in the mid-1920s the memorial is 105ft (32m) tall. The large urn in the centre holds the names of the 3,665 Niçois soldiers who died in the war.
Now to stroll into the old port, find an outdoor seat at a café with a view of the ocean and time to settle in with the tuna based Salade Niçoise because it was invented here paired with a glass of Provencal Rosé with its pretty salmon colour and crisp and refreshing taste. Bon appétit.
