Places of Interest - France

"nice"

introduction

Nice must be the biggest tourist attraction on the French Riveira. This city of painter "Matisse" has everything a city should have; a very Mediterranean atmosphere, an old Baroque town, a wide beach, a very diverse and extensive history, lots of sun, perfect food and the Alps are within an hour from here. The most cosmopolitan city in the region has a very large diversity of inhabitants and is also close to Monaco and Italy. The biggest sights are the old town and the castle park on top of the mountain, offering a perfect panorama of the historic center, the crescent-like beach, the world-famous boulevard and of course the azure Mediterranean Sea. On the other side you can admire the harbor.

highlights

The historic city:

A walk through the old historic center is a must in this ancient French city. Beneath the mountain and the boulevard, the old center lies with its small baroque alleys, squares and peeling houses. There is a market and you can enjoy dozens of terraces, cafes and small shops selling very traditional products. In addition to the above, you can also find churches, museums and the best restaurants in this French labyrinth.

history

In the 4th century BC. the Greeks defeated the "Ligurians" and found "Nikaia" after the Goddess of victory "Nike". It was already a very busy trading place when the Romans also settled in this area just before the turn of the century. When the Roman empire went down, the entire province of "Provence" fell into the hands of the tribe "Ostrogoths". After it had fallen into French hands, Nice (like many other cities on the Mediterranean coast) joined a Genoese covenant to repell attacks from the "Saracens" (Muslims) armies. Despite this covenant, the city was often looted by these robbers coming from the sea. It was only when an alliance of French princes was forged that danger could be repelled. A new alliance with the Italian city "Pisa" was closed in 1144 so Genoa became instead of a friend an enemy. The city continued to belong to the county of Nice, in spite of the wish of the king of France and emperor who would like to incorporate the city. Because Genoa became increasingly powerful, it was decided to station a fleet in the city of Nice.

It was not until 1691 that Louis XIV took over the county of Nizza (including the city of Nice), which united the city and France. From here Napoleon began his Italian campaign in 1796 and four years later the region was briefly occupied by the Austrian troops. There was a question that the region together with Sardinia would become part of Italy but the French voted against it and were assigned to France. Meanwhile, Nice became a holiday destination especially with "rich" Englishmen. The European nobility also stayed more and more in the city, such as the English queen "Victoria" and the Russian tsar "Nicholas II". In order to serve these people at their best, more and more Italian guest workers also came to the city. During WWII the city, initially occupied by the Italians and from October 1943 by German troops, was damaged severe. The resistance grouped in the mountains above the city. In the summer of 1976 the "cracking of the century" took place in the normally very quiet Nice. A gang of thugs broke the vaults of the "Societe Generale" open and went there with 50 million French Francs then off (is now equivalent to about 7.6 million euros).

tips & advice (2013)

The train station is located within walking distance north of the center.

Near the airport you will find the "Eurolines" office (read: stand) - the office is only open a few hours a day and can be

reached from the center of Nice by bus 23 (1.50 euros). You can get a cup of coffee here for 0.50 and if you ask it very kindly, dump your bag for a few hours. No possibility of sleeping. If your bus leaves outside office hours, the bus will arrive just before the gate.

You can (if you do not want to eat too expensive) just walk to the immigrant district near the train station - here you can order Asian food from the Middle East for reasonable prices. This also applies to sitting on the terrace.

Name: Camping "Magali" (***)

Address: 1814, Route de La Baronne

Price: 15.40 euros (tent + person)

Phone nr. : +33 (0) 4.93.31.57.00 / 4.92.12.01.33

Website: www.camping-magali.com

Content:

This small family campsite is located near the main motorway between the "Cote d'Azur" and Turin (Italy) and can provide some peace and quiet. There is a small swimming pool and a large reception house with coffee and a vending machine. To my knowledge, no food and drink is served. There are some tables. Two wash blocks are present with a number of showers and toilets. In addition, there is WIFI and a bus passes (not often - the "707") that you can bring to the center of "Saint Laurent" and you can then free with your ticket to the centre of "Nice" (1.50 euro) . Walking from the campsite can be dangerous as there is no cycle or walkway. Disadvantages are the number of dogs that cause a great deal of noise on the terrain behind the fence and the cat that takes it a step further by continuing to walk along the fence. The road is fairly quiet although there is a lot of hard driving what you hear at night.