the little lanes and look at some shops, we will show you the beach, the open market Cours

Saleya and bring you on a walking tour through the old town. We will be spending three days

in Nice, because there is so much to see in the city and also in the nearby towns along

the Côte d'Azur. Here we are arriving in Nice now.

During the program will be sharing with you detailed tips on how to get the most out of

your visit. Great station, it's a more of an old-fashioned

station and so you'll probably have to carry your suitcases down the staircase and then

you walk through the underground corridor, but fortunately there's an escalator that

will bring you up into the main station area. And it's on the north edge of the city so

get a taxi. In our case will be staying at a hotel down by the seaside at the Beau Rivages,

ideally located near the old town, the water and the new town.

The first thing we want to do is head down to the waterfront to the beautiful beach and

take some pictures. It's a lovely long and broad beach and we've

got a sunny day in November to enjoy it. The beach itself is lined with hotels and apartment

buildings for about 2 miles. It's not exactly a fine sand beach it's more of a pebble beach.

And the water is quite clean, you see they're fishing out there. Nobody is swimming in November,

nobody's even sunbathing, but just enjoying the sunshine and the sights around it.

One of the greatest waterfront strolls to be found anywhere is this Promenade des Anglais.

It's a broad, pedestrian, paved area running right alongside the beach with beautiful views

out to the blue sea on one side and the grand old buildings lining the street on the other.

It's been the main center of attraction in Nice for the past 150 years ever since visitors

have been streaming in. You see the Negresco Hotel in the background,

one of the great five-star institutions of the city.

Here's the Opera Nice Côte d'Azur. The first opera here opened in 1776 and this building

was created a century later. The south coast of France along the sunny

Mediterranean Sea is one of the world’s most beautiful destinations dotted with colorful

seaside towns and inland villages. You'll find that Nice makes the perfect home base

from which you can easily reach those other destinations like Cannes and Monaco. Nice

has got the biggest collection of hotels, it's got a wonderful old town, a very attractive

new town, great transportation with the tram and the major train station and just a beautiful

place to be. At the East End the Promenade changes name

to Quai des Etats Unis, the United States of America, and there's a lovely memorial

in Greek revival style there to thank the United States back in 1918 for their help

in ending World War I. At this end you'll find the Cours Saleya,

just behind that memorial a block inland from the water, one of the great outdoor food markets

and picturesque spots of Europe. One of the great street markets of France

is located here in the wide Cours Saleya. This plaza features fresh produce and flowers

throughout the day and many the stalls are open right into the early evening, except

on Mondays when it becomes an antique market and some other used goods peddled by colorful

vendors. They've got a whole variety of furniture,

there's clothing, jewelry, the usual, the bric-a-brac, the old books, antiques, electrical

items, you've got old cameras. Well when I travel I am just a sucker for

antique markets. I rarely ever buy anything and am really not there to shop, to purchase,

it's just to look around to enjoy the people, to look at the other shops nearby have a look

at all of these hundreds and thousands of items on sale. Inevitably there are going

to be some cafés near the open market as well, so you can stop for a break if you like

or just take a walk on by and check it out for later. Back into the market, you might

even find something here that you want to purchase - it could be something authentic

from the region. The flower shops are one of the most interesting

features of Nice – bouquets composed of the most exquisite flowers of every size and

description from tiny buttonholed sprays to masses of blossoms 2 feet in diameter.

Flowers are so important to Provence, not just for decoration for your table at home,

but even more important because of the perfume industry. Grasse is the capital of that, we

will show you that as part of our series on Provence as well..

Chocolate lovers should look for the famous store Maison Auer in it's landmark Belle Epoque

building at the West End. The most famous artist who lived in Nice,

Henri Matisse, lived right here at the Cours in the yellow building at the far end of the

plaza. He had a great view out his window which he depicted in many paintings. He moved

to a larger mansion now converted to the Matisse Museum.

Matisse lived in and around Nice for his last 37 years about which he said "I couldn't believe

how lucky I was." And then there is socca. This is one of the

great foods of the South of France and Chez Therese is the place to go. Here I am with

Teresa herself, that was a treat. Socca is like a crepe, a flatbread, and it's

quite unique because it's made from chickpea flour, and it’s especially found in the

Ligurian area, anywhere from Nice around the coastline into Italy and down to Pisa.

Well of course it's a food market so there are lots of other eating options here at the

Cours. You'll find bread and cheese and of course always lots of fresh fruits, ingredients

for an instant picnic. It's nice to take a little time to sit down

and relax at a café for a drink and a rest and some people-watching. Instead of being

in a constant rush while you're traveling stop and take a look at the passing scene.

The church facing the Cours is the Chapel of the Misericordia, or the Chapel of Mercy.

It's built in the Italian Baroque style constructed between 1750 and 1770 by some architects from

Torino nearby. It has a very elaborate Baroque interior.

You can even buy some original paintings directly from the artist depicting the scenes all around

you that will go nicely with the photographs that you’re taking.

Of course olives are essential to the cuisine of Provence so it's only natural you're going

to find a shop selling olives and olive oil and balsamic vinegars of all kinds - a great

variety here. Just inland from the Cours Saleya you'll find

the Old Town of Nice. For many visitors it will be the highlight of the city, wandering

through these narrow pedestrian lanes lined with historic buildings and shops, lots of

restaurants, bars, town squares with fountains and statues, a church here and there. It's

just a great spot to explore and hang out. Called the "Vieux Nice," the old town is home

to art galleries little shops small restaurants bars and cafés making it the perfect spot

for strolling. The old town maze of narrow lanes occupies

a triangular slice about 300 yards long on each side.

We're going to walk you through it day and night.

So this old town is not a huge area that you're going get lost in but you'd be amazed at how

big it seems as you're walking around because of all the little lanes and alleys that somehow

connect and interconnect, so you might end up walking around in circles a little bit,

which makes it seem much bigger than it really is.

In the off-season the character of view niece is quite peaceful with not many people and

no cars but in the summer it gets very crowded. There's a map of the old town with a suggested

easy route that'll take you right through and around the heart of the old town. You

could do this in one hour if that's all the time you got, or you could spend one day.

As you enter the old town from the end of the Cours Saleya one of the first streets

you'll come to is the very atmospheric Rue de la Poissonnerie. And this has got more

of the shops and restaurants that you'll find throughout the old town.

The Old Town of Nice has a special charm you just do not find in the rest of the modern

city, so you really want to focus a lot of time in this fascinating pedestrian zone on

the east end of the waterfront We will point out a nice way to navigate through

this labyrinth to get you in and around show you the main highlights. There are a couple

of main lanes there is Rue Droite that will take you right through the center of the old

town, and then you take a left and walk along Rue de la Boucherie and that'll bring you

down to the Place de Palais and then back to Cours Saleya. So it's kind of a round-trip

right through the town and feel free to wander up these little side lanes.

The old town consists of narrow labyrinths, not really streets, more of a maze with blocks

of shops of every kind along these narrow twisting lanes.

If you come in the summer time it will be a lot busier, so you take your pick.

We suggest that you might visit during the off-season instead to avoid the crowds and

enjoy the cooler weather. Europeans crave that brief summer sunshine, so work around

their schedule and come between November and April when the weather is still wonderful.

You will be wandering this way and that is your meander through the Old Town but you'll

always come back to Rue Droite which goes like a straight line through the middle of

the old town. It's a good axis to get your bearings, to go out to the left, go to the

right and then come back to this central spine. The old town of Nice is something very special

- not so much because of historic monuments or great churches or important single buildings

that are inside the old town, but just the total atmosphere, the environment, the simple

walking lanes, the shops and the people. There are actual locals living here, there are kids

out playing, the residents are upstairs looking down from their windows and you really get

a feeling of community here, of authenticity, especially in the off-season when it's not

too crowded with tourists walking through the lanes - that helps quite a bit.

There's a typical example of a staircase street: it branches off from Rue Droite, this is Rue

Molinaro and there are several of the side lanes that go up the hill. They are regular

streets down on the flatland, and then go up so there's no cars, well a few scooters

perhaps, motorcycles and bicycles, but largely we’re entering a pedestrian zone, a typical

residential neighborhood. It's interesting to see here the working population at home

- comfortable affordable housing in the middle of the city. Another steep lane, Rue du Château,

and there are several. These lanes are some of the most picturesque streets in town but

don't worry, you don't have to climb them. And if you don't feel like walking you can

take this little tourist train on a route that will bring you through the old town and

then up onto the hill for a view. Most of the shops in the old town are independent

and unique. You've got boutiques, you've got crafts, you've got all kinds of great browsing

to do – so different than modern shopping malls.

You'll find souvenir shops with the typical Provençal items especially the colorful fabrics

and the pottery. There's also lots of food in the stores, go for the cookies maybe. We’re

just rolling along together, this is part of our visit to the south of France a small

group of us traveling together and sharing in the sites.

We especially enjoyed the local cuisine of this casual restaurant. They specialize in

crepes and socca and salads and that's really all you need for a very nice lunch. Creperie

Breton. And the friendly couple running the place

really made us feel welcome. They are the owners – the cook, waitress and the food

was delicious. You might be surprised at the variety of crêpes on offer and that socca.

And then we continue wandering about through this endlessly fascinating maze of lanes.

The Palais Lascarais is the largest civil Baroque building in the old town and the region.

It perpetuates the reputation of Charles Emmanuel the second, who was Duke of Savoy, considered

one of the principal families of the Nice nobility of the 17th century. The palace was

influenced by the Genoese Baroque and unites a set of 17th-century embellishments and some

changes from the 18th century. The building encloses two small courtyards

on which arched bays open up a monumental staircase. This lobby is free and open to

the public. Rue Rosetti is another one of these picturesque,

steep planes coming up from the old town. Notice the sidewalks are staircases - in this

case there is a little road one lane road down the middle and local folks hanging out.

Rue Rossetti is just a few blocks long but it changes character several times along the

way from the hills, swooping down and then it leads into Place Rossetti, kind of an Italian

style architecture as you find throughout the old town, and this is a great gathering

spot. We will show you more of this Place in the evening

You can see on the map how Rue and Place Rossetti are right in the middle of the old town, very

easy to find. Another major gathering point in the old town.

You'll find here bars and restaurants, little shops, there is a fountain and cafés in this

Italianate architecture of the old pastel colored buildings around the Place.

Because of its central location with so many roads going through you'll probably return

here a few times during your visit. The Cathedral of Nice is located on this square.

It's Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate, and this is something that could be in northern Italy.

It's beautiful with these colors in the Baroque styles. It was built during the second half

of the 17th century, a time when this area was more Italian than French.

The interior of the church has 10 chapels with a floor plan in the Latin cross that

was based somewhat on the church of Santa Susana in Rome. Typical of the Italian Baroque,

it's highly decorated – many paintings and architectural flourishes.

At twilight the beauty of the building is at its best. In fact anywhere you go at twilight