Advice

I would like to digress from our visit for a minute to present to you other points of interest that we could not include in our itinerary. Without getting to far from Nice, and for a complete change of scenery, you can visit the city’s Russian Church, the Saint Nicolas of Nice Cathedral. With its imposing onions domes, its mosaics and its colors, you’ll feel like you are in St Petersburg! Amongst Nice’s highlights are its impressive Art Museums. I believe you know that the French Riviera has inspired many artists. One of the most renowned museums is the Matisse Museum. Set up in a magnificent Genoese house from the 17th century, come and dive into the artist’s personal collection. We also recommand the Chagall Museum, comfortably established in lush nature. It is a trip across this painter’s universe, through some of his 800 works, which represents the world’s largest collection dedicated to him. You can also visit Antibes, only 28km away from Nice. This is where you will discover the Grimaldi Castle, overlookng the seanow home to the very interesting Picasso Museum. On the side of Cagnes-Sur-Mer, you can discover the Auguste Renoir Museum. It is also housed in a splendid mansion in which the painter lived the last 12 years of his life. Surrounded with citrus and olive trees, you will find some of Renoir’s original works, his workshop and his furniture. For a panoramic view over Nice, climb up to the “Cote d’Azur Observatory”. This astronomic observatory is on top of Mount Gros, at 375m of altitude. It was built during the 19th century by Charles Garnier. Its coupole was designed by Gustave Eiffel himself. Various guided tours are available, in order to learn more about astronomy and the various observation tools. Be sure to explore the isolated villages of the nicois backcountry. They are old fortified towns, built around a castle on top of a rocky cliff. They are now exceptional tokens of medieval heritage. One of the most famous is the small village of Eze, which overlooks perfectly the peninsula of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Picturesques lanes, an incredible tropical garden, and breathtaking views await you on this getaway. You can also visit the village of Peillon, at 376m of altitude, and only 25minutes away from Nice. You will see its Transfiguration Church, built on the site of the old castle’s keep and also some old but well-preserved oil and flour mills. Only 40 minutes away from Nice, you will find one of the most beautiful villages of France, Coarazeat 650m of altitude. Nicknamed the “city of sundials”, you will come across numerous artist workshops, designed for leatherwork, pewter, or for engraving. If you want to discover the area as far as the Mercantour Park, there is a spectacular way to do it! You have to take the Train of Wonders connecting Nice to Tende. It departs from sea level, and climbs up to over 1,000m of altitude, all of that while criss-crossing the valley as close to the mountains as possible. At set times, tourguides comment on the encountered points of interest. If you don’t have enough time to go far, a stop in Sospel is definitely worth it. A long time ago, this village was a significant stop on the salt road linking Nice to Turin. Sospel gives you a foretaste of Italy! You will find one of Europe’s last fortified bridges, as well as the beautiful baroque Saint-Michel Cathedral, housing the altarpiece of the Immaculate Virgin. Why not take a leap back in time, and visit the prehistoric cave of Lazaret, right at the foot of Mount Boron. Entrance is free, and allows you to learn more about the steps of human evolution, life in the cave, the environment and biodiversity. Well, with all this, you've got plenty of things to do if you feel like staying in the area for a while.