Nice, capital of the Alpes-Maritimes department on the French Riviera, sits on the pebbly shores of the Baie des Anges. Founded by the Greeks and later a retreat for 19th-century European elite, the city has also long attracted artists. Former resident Henri Matisse is honored with a career-spanning collection of paintings at Musée Matisse. Musée Marc Chagall features some of its namesake’s major religious works.
Today it has a reputation as Weston – Super- Mare on the Med. Probably unfairly: it has a steep pebble beach and no mud insight. Colourful buildings with marvellous balconies. Artistic squares. A bustling market. Sunshine. It is (quelle suprise) UNESCO listed.
Go two streets from the main thoroughfare and it’s very quiet, with locals doing what locals do. Buying pastries, drinking coffee, smoking, laundry. Traffic is quite light.
It was interesting to learn Nice was annexed to France is 1860 as part of the Treaty of Turin: something to do with a dispute involving the Duchy of Savoy. (Which has distant connections to the Savoy Hotel, named after Count Peter of Savoy in 1246 who built his palace there – then became the home of the Dukes of Lancaster who still own the land today. Glad you asked.)
Today an enjoyable rest day mooch taking in the local sights.
Tomorrow the bikes may get a wash as we cycle up into the Alpes-Maritimes. Moissac-Bellevue has a population of 300, a wee bit smaller than Nice’s 360000. It may also be a challenging rhyme.
Travelling reflections 