Nice: Laid-Back Italian Vibes on the French Riviera

Explore Nice on foot and every step will remind visitors of Nice’s Italian past.
Nice: Laid-Back Italian Vibes on the French Riviera
Walk the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, to admire the azure Mediterranean and watch Europeans at play. Rick Steves, Rick Steves' Europe
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A hundred years ago, bigwigs from London to Moscow began flocking south to the French Riviera and the sun-drenched city of Nice. They came to socialize, gamble, and escape the dreary weather at home, and ended up creating Europe’s first tourist boom. Today, this classy resort town is a popular fun-in-the-sun destination that caters to everyone.

Those early English visitors wanted a place to stroll and admire Nice’s perfect crescent bay without getting their shoes dirty. So they built the seaside Promenade des Anglais (“Walkway of the English”) and studded it with palm trees. Today, this iconic pathway is a fun people scene, where the chicest of the chic and the cheapest of the cheap scramble for a spot in the sun.

Rick Steves
Rick Steves
Author
Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European guidebooks, hosts travel shows on public TV and radio, and organizes European tours. This article was adapted from his new book, For the Love of Europe. You can email Rick at [email protected] and follow his blog on Facebook. ©2022 Rick Steves. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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