Travel & Holidays in later life
HAVE A NICE HOLIDAY
It was the Greeks who first put Nice on the map, and in
the running for tourism. The city was founded 350 BC as a depot by Greek traders, and they
called it Nike, meaning Victory.
Then came the Romans, who settled two miles inland on a hilltop site, today called Cimiez.
They made it capital of the Maritime Alps province, and lived in luxury with swimming
pools, central heating and a 4000-seat arena.
Later the port again became the focus of Nice, dominated by a fortress. Across the
centuries, the city swung back and forth between Italian and French influence, but has
been totally French since 1860, when Nizzia became Nice.
But much earlier the wealthy English aristocracy had colonised Nice - mainly up in Cimiez
- as a winter-warmth destination.
Travel Facts

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breaks and travel options pages
TRAVEL FACTS
Access by train is now faster - only 6 hours from Paris to Nice - since recent
opening of another TGV high-speed link from Paris to Marseilles. It's only the final
Riviera section which slows down, with several stops along the coast.
Nice offers huge choice of self-catering and hotel accommodation. An official
listing offers choice of 200 hotels of all grades and prices, from the ultra-luxury
seafront Negresco to simple one-star properties.
The French Riviera Museum Pass gives unlimited
entry to 65 museums and monuments throughout the region. Available for three or seven days.
More information: French Government Tourist Office, Lincoln House, 300 High Holborn, London WC1V 7JH. Tel:
09068-244123 (60p a minute).

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Lavish villas and great Victorian hotels were built,
especially after the rail network reached Nice. Queen Victoria often stayed there, and is
remembered with a statue. Her son, Prince Leopold, regrettably slipped and died on the
marble floor of the Casino.
Around 1830, the British colony financed the building of the coastal promenade which is
today's broad three-mile Promenade des Anglais, now lined with oleanders, palm-trees,
hotels, restaurants and ultra-modern apartments.
Another reminder of the English connection is the firing of a 12 o'clock midday gun. The
idea stemmed from a grandee who was so upset by the irregularity of mealtimes that he
presented the city with a cannon and paid for it to be fired every day. The gun was sited
on Castle Hill, so that everyone knew 12 noon was time for lunch.
But mealtimes in Nice today are much more flexible. Within earshot of the noon
cannon are the narrow streets of Old Nice, with shuttered windows, and balconies festooned
with laundry.
This former Italian lowlife area is now very trendy, packed with
restaurants, bars and nightspots where you can eat and drink round the clock, many with
live music. Everywhere is the rich colour that has inspired 20th-century painters by the
dozen.
This being France, eating is certainly no problem. The local tourist office publishes a
booklet listing about 250 restaurants with their basic details but no advertising.
Just wander through the open market of Cours Saleya - the broad focal-point of Old Nice.
Luscious displays of fruit and veg will set your appetite working for all the
eating-places clustered around, offering a happy mix of French and Italian cuisines.
Nice is a highly favoured retirement haven for French pensioners, who rent or buy an
apartment and parade along the promenade every day with their pet poodles.
Nice is a superb touring base to explore the 26 resorts dotted along the 70 miles of
Riviera between La Napoule and Cannes to Menton on the Italian border.
Even without a car, touring is easy with frequent bus and train services. It's worth
making advance plans with a good guide-book, such as Michelin's "Green Guide",
which is packed with ideas on where to explore.
In contrast to Victorian times, today's peak season is June till September, when every
strip of sand is a topless beach, and the coastal road is one long sweltering traffic jam.
Dodge the peak season - any time between September and May - and it's possible to
recapture the idyllic atmosphere that first attracted the Victorians to the glorious
Riviera coastline.
Of course, there's a year-round programme of concerts, exhibitions and traditional
festivities. The winter highlight is a three-week pre-Lent Carnival, with Alpine ski
slopes within an hour or two's drive.
The Roman arena and adjoining gardens in Cimiez
are still in use for annual festivals. Right alongside is the Matisse Museum, displaying
works that he left to the city when he died in 1954. For several postwar years he lived in
the old hotel which Queen Victoria had favoured. Elsewhere in town are several other art
museums, including one for Chagall.
As a prosperous city of 400,000 blending commerce and industry (crystallized fruits,
perfume and olive oil) with its world-famed reputation as a tourist centre and
winter-warmth destination, Nice offers shopping in all price ranges.
A popular excursion to Grasse - past olive groves and fields of jasmine and roses -
includes a visit to a perfume factory, for buying at so-called factory prices.
Scenically, the great highlights are the three parallel Corniche roads leading to Monte Carlo, 13 miles from Nice. The coastal road passes
through Villefranche (with its magnificent natural harbour). The Middle Corniche is an
awesome spectacular, built prewar specially for tourism. The cliffside views are
unforgettable.
The Upper Corniche road was built by Napoleon along the old Roman highway, the Via Julia
Augusta. It's good training-ground for the Monte-Carlo Rally. Along the road is the
reconstructed Trophy of the Alps at La Turbie, erected by the Romans to mark their victory
over the local tribes.
A Nice holiday gives you splendour and history everywhere you go, with the bonus of a
friendly climate for the over-50s, relaxed atmosphere and good food.
Where else to go in France
ANNECY - French coach touring
by TGV train
BRITTANY COAST
- St Malo and the Emerald Coast
BURGUNDY - Go
cruising by luxury barge
CHAMPAGNE TRAIL
starting at Troyes
LOIRE VALLEY - The Garden of
France
MENTON - where
lemon trees bloom year-round
PARIS - Open season
for loving
PARIS - See it
dressed up for Christmas
"Books to read - click on cover pictures" or
click on the links below
"French
Riviera Insight Pocket Guide" Excellent itineraries and cultural details of the
coastline easily reached from Menton.
"French
Riviera Insight Guide" - a more detailed heavyweight version of the pocket
version listed above, in a new edition.
"AA
Essential French Riviera" - by Teresa Fisher - Another handy pocket guidebook,
with Top Ten site listings and star ratings of other attractions.
"Artists
and their Museums on the Riviera" - by Barbara F. Freed and Alan Halpern - An
art-lover's guide to the 28 museum collections of works by the Riviera's famous
20th-century artists.
"Michelin Green
Guide: French Riviera" - Packed with essential guidebook information
in the handy Michelin format. Good town maps, and background features.
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