Sights in Nice
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Parc du Château
From this 92m hilltop park the glittering views of Vieux Nice spires and the Baie des Anges are mesmerising. The shaded hill and park, at the eastern end of quai des États-Unis, are named after a 12th-century château that was razed by Louis XIV in a fit of pique in 1706 and never rebuilt.
The château after which the hill and park are named was established in the 12th century but was razed by Louis XIV in 1706. In the one remaining tower, the 16th-century Tour Bellanda, is the Musée Naval. The cemetery where Garibaldi is buried covers the northwest of the park.
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Jardin du Monastère
Surrounding the Monastère Notre Dame de Cimiez is Jardin du Monastère, filled with cypress trees and an abundance of sweet-smelling roses, and offering a sweeping panorama of the Baie des Anges.
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Musée des Beaux-Arts
In a resplendent 1878 belle époque villa, the Musée des Beaux-Arts displays works by Fragonard, Monet, Sisley and Rodin, as well as an excellent collection of Dufy works.
Fauvist appreciators will relish a roomful of Raoul Dufy's works. Also impressive are sculptures by Rodin, and some late impressionist pieces by Bonnard, Monet and Sisley. Local lads Jules Chéret (1836-1932), the 'Father of the Poster', and Alexis Mossa (1844-1926), who painted truly hideous symbolist works, also feature. The latter is more famous for adding wildly decorated floats to the Nice Carnival than for his watercolours. From the bus station, take bus 38 to the Musée Chéret stop outside.
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Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain (Mamac)
Designed by Yves Bayard and Henri Vidal, Mamac is worth a visit for its stunning architecture alone, but it also houses some fantastic avant-garde art from the 1960s to the present. Exhibits include iconic pop art from Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol’s 1965 Campbell’s Soup Can. The marbled towers’ glass walkways lead to highlights like Niki de St-Phalle’s papier-mâché sculptures and a shopping trolley wrapped by Christo. An awesome panorama of Vieux Nice unfolds from the rooftop garden/gallery, which features works by Nice-born Yves Klein (1928–62).
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Musée Masséna
Housed in a marvellous Italianate neoclassical villa (1898), this museum explores the city and Riviera’s history from the early 19th century to WWII. It’s a fascinating journey, with a roll call of monarchs, a succession of nationalities (British, Russians, Americans), the advent of tourism, the prominence of the carnival and much more. History is told through an excellent mix of furniture, objects, art deco posters, early photographs and paintings and the lovely setting – the city of Nice still uses the ground floor rooms for official occasions.
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Plage Publique des Ponchettes
If you don't like sand between your toes, Nice's beaches - covered with smooth, round pebbles - are for you. Free public sections of beach with lifeguards, first-aid posts and cold showers alternate with 15 private beaches equipped with restaurants, comfy sun-lounges (obligatory; at a fee) parasols (optional, at a fee), warm showers and changing rooms.
Plage Publique des Ponchettes, opposite Vieux Nice, is the busiest beach with oiled bodies either baking in the sun or punching a ball on the beach-volleyball court.
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Anatole Jakovsky International Naive Art Museum
Over 1000 works of naive art are gathered at the Anatole Jakovsky International Naive Art Museum, inside 19th-century Château Ste-Hélène, 2km west of the centre. Romanian art critic Anatole Jakovsky (1909-83), who moved to southern France in 1932, kick-started the museum by donating his vast collection. Pieces date from the 18th century to the present day. Take bus 8, 10, 11 or 12 from the bus station to the Fabron stop, from where it's a 500m walk, or take bus 34 to the Musée Art Naïf stop.
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Église du Gesù
Jutting above the rooflines are the spires of some historic churches including the baroque Cathédrale Ste-Réparate and its stunning glazed terracotta dome, built around 1650; the blue-grey and yellow Église du Gesù, close to rue Rossetti, whose baroque ornamentation also dates from the mid-17th century; and the mid-18th- century Chapelle de la Miséricorde, next to place Pierre Gautier.
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Parc National du Mercantour Headquarters
Deeply isolated and breathtakingly beautiful, the Parc National du Mercantour is one of the last bastions of true wilderness in France. Spread across six valleys (Roya-Béréva, Vésubie, Tinée, Haut Var, Haut Verdon and Ubaye) and 685 sq km along the Italian border, it mixes Alpine snowy peaks with Mediterranean warmth. Parc National du Mercantour Headquarters is the headquarters of the Mercantour National Park.
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Château de l'Anglais
From Nice's port, glance up at Mont Boron, home to celebrities such as Elton John. The pink confection you see is Château de l'Anglais, built in 1859 for an English engineer called Robert Smith, renowned at the time as being the only foreigner to live in Nice year-round. Locals quickly dubbed his castle 'Smith's folly'. The historical monument has since been split into private apartments.
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La Tête Carrée de Sosno
Outside the Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art, the red concrete Jardin Maréchal Juin hugs MAMAC's eastern side and, more spectacularly, frames the giant square head of La Tête Carrée de Sosno.The massive 30m-tall sculpture designed by Sacha Sosno - a 14m-square concrete head sitting on a pair of shoulders - is, in fact, a building.
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Musée des Arts Asiatiques
Ornamental treasures from Cambodia, China, India and Japan are showcased in the striking white-marble Musée des Arts Asiatiques , designed by a Japanese architect, near the airport. Participating in a Sunday afternoon traditional Chinese or Japanese tea ceremony including museum visit; advance reservations essential)is a highlight.
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place Garibaldi
At the northeastern corner of Nice's old town lies arcade-lined place Garibaldi, built during the late 18th century and named after Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-82). Born in Nice to a fishing family, Garibaldi went on to become a sailor, merchant captain, guerrilla fighter, leader of the Red Shirts and popular hero of Italian unification.
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Jardin Albert 1er
The western end av Jean Médecin is dominated by the 19th-century Jardin Albert 1er. The giant arc languishing on the lawn was designed by sculptor Bernard Venet to commemorate the centenary of the appellation 'Côte d'Azur', dreamt up by French poet Stéphane Liégeard (1830-1925).
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Centre National d'Art Contemporain
Sensational temporary photographic and contemporary art exhibitions are displayed at the Centre National d'Art Contemporain, inside 18th-century Villa Arson, 1km north of the town centre. Take bus 36 to the Villa Arson stop, or bus 4, 7 or 26 to the Fanny stop on blvd de Cessole.
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Cathédrale Orthodoxe Russe St-Nicolas
Crowned by six multicoloured onion domes, the Cathédrale Orthodoxe Russe St-Nicolas is the largest cathedral outside Russia. It was built between 1902 and 1912 for Nice’s growing Russian community. Shorts, miniskirts and sleeveless shirts are forbidden.
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Quai des États-Unis
East towards Vieux Nice, promenade des Anglais becomes quai des États-Unis, named after the United States in honour of President Wilson's decision in 1917 to join WWI. Contemporary art exhibitions are hosted by two former fish halls here.
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Palais Lascaris
Baroque Palais Lascaris was owned by the Lascaris-Ventimiglia family in the 17th century and is a frescoed orgy of Flemish tapestries, faïence and gloomy religious paintings. On the ground floor is an 18th-century pharmacy.
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Jardin Maréchal Juin
Outside the Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art, the red concrete Jardin Maréchal Juin hugs MAMAC's eastern side and - more spectacularly - frames the giant square head of La Tête Carrée de Sosno (2002).
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Galerie des Ponchettes
Galerie des Ponchettes, a 19th-century vaulted building which was used as a public lavoir (wash house) in the 1840s, then as a fish market until Matisse persuaded the council to revamp it in 1950.
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Rue Benoît Bunico
Parallel to Palais Lascaris, notorius rue Bénoît Bunico served as Nice's old Jewish ghetto after a 1430 law ordered Jews to be locked in by gates at each end of the street from sunset to dawn.
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Palais de la Préfecture
Rue Bénoît Bunico runs into rue de la Préfecture, the old city's main artery, dominated by the imposing Palais de la Préfecture, the 17th-century home of the princes of Savoy.
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Place Masséna
At the southern end of av Jean Médecin, Nice's main commercial street, sits place Masséna, with early-19th-century, neoclassical arcaded buildings painted in shades of ochre and red.
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Cathédrale Ste-Réparate
Jutting above the rooflines of Vieux Nice are the spires of some historic churches, including the baroque Cathédrale Ste-Réparate and its stunning glazed terracotta dome, built around 1650.
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Cascade Donjon
Parc du Château is fabulous for picnics. Attractions include Cascade Donjon, an 18th-century artificial waterfall crowned with a viewing platform; and open-air concerts in summer.
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