Promenade des Anglais

Nice is a large city whose population of 400,000 has carpeted the land with apartments and condominiums bounded only by the ocean and the surrounding hills. Along the waterfront, the Promenade des Anglais takes a grand sweep from the city’s western edge along the Baie des Anges and the new city to the edge of the picturesque old quarter.

The new district of Nice is a mecca for tourists with the promenade along the seashore lined with elegant hotels and casinos. Lighted at night, the promenade is a romantic place for strolling. Just off this majestic promenade is the Musée International d’Art Naïf (Avenue Val Marie), which boasts an inventory of over 6,000 paintings from all over the world. (Open all year, tel: 04.93.71.78.33.) The Musée des Beaux-Arts Jules Cheret (33, Avenue des Baumettes) focuses on a wealth of paintings from the 19th century. (Open all year, tel: 04.92.15.28.28.) A landmark of the promenade is the stately Hôtel Negresco whose terrace is a wonderful place to settle and enjoy a café or ice cream, a tradition to be equated with tea at Harrods. Just a little farther on, the Jardin Albert 1 is dressed with fountains and a bandstand that hosts numerous rock concerts. From the Jardin a mini-train departs every 20 minutes to tour the old town, the flower market, and castle gardens. The lovely Place Masséna stands proud on the promenade with its dramatic fountains and fronts the area’s principal shopping district along the Avenue Jean Médecin. Also leading off the Place Masséna, the Rue Masséna and the Rue de France are charmingly restricted to pedestrian traffic, and banked by cafés, boutiques, and restaurants.