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Nice

City in FranceAlong the Bay of Angels on the Mediterranean, Nice sits on the French Riviera in the south-east of France, at the foot of the Alps. Monaco is about 13 km away and the Italian border about 30 km.

What it's known for

Nice is a seaside resort city and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department. Wealthy English visitors began spending their winters here in the 1700s, and in 2021 UNESCO listed it as 'Nice, Winter Resort Town of the Riviera'. Its clear air and soft light drew painters such as Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall.

Fun facts

  1. Greeks from Marseille founded the town around 350 BC and named it Nikaia, after Nike, the goddess of victory.
  2. Locals first called the seaside Promenade des Anglais the 'English Way', and it got its French name, meaning 'Walkway of the English', in 1823.
  3. Nice became part of France for good only in 1860, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, a hero of Italian unification, was born here in 1807.

Finding it on the globe

Follow France's Mediterranean coast east to the last big city before Monaco and Italy: that is Nice, in the country's south-eastern corner.

Sources: Wikipedia: Nice