Scenic landscapes, azure seas, world-class art, wonderful food and incredible historical heritage — everything on offer in Provence and the Côte d'Azur exceeds expectations. We pick up where we left off two years ago (see June, 2013) exploring Southern France for a month then onto England for three weeks.
With its unusual mix of real-city grit, old-world opulence, year-round sunshine and exceptional location, Nice's appeal is universal. Everyone from backpackers to romance-seeking couples and families will love sitting at a café on cours Saleya in Vieux Nice or a bench on the legendary Promenade des Anglais for an epic sunset. Eating options are some of the best you'll find in France, the nightlife is buzzing and the art scene thriving. You could happily spend a week here and still be hungry for more.
We kick things off with a taste of one of the local specialties, socca. It's a savory, griddle-fried pancake made from chickpea flour and olive oil, sprinkled with a liberal dose of black pepper.
The Cathédrale Ste-Réparate, honouring the city's patron saint, is a Baroque architectural gem.
On a rocky outcrop towering over Vieux Nice, the Parc du Château offers a cinematic panorama of Nice and the Baie des Anges on one side, with the port on the other. The 12th century castle was razed by Louis XIV in 1706; only the 16th century Tour Bellanda remains.
To get here you can ride the Château Lift under the Tour Bellanda but we choose to hike up the staircases to try to wear off the calories of too many buttery French pastries.
“Whew, made it half-way. That's gotta be good for another three pain au chocolats."
The air is filled with the sweet, intoxicating smell of jasmine, seducing us at every turn.
Everything in France is beautiful.
The lemon tree reigns supreme here, laden with ripe fruit ready for la tarte au citron.
Palm-lined Promenade des Anglais, paid for by Nice's English colony in 1822, is a fine stage for a stroll. It's particularly atmospheric in the evening, with Niçois milling about and epic sunsets over the sea.
“Appy hour" as they say in France, done right, sur la plage.
The pebble beaches here aren't the most comfortable but no-one seems to mind.
A must-see is the magnificent façade of the Hôtel Negresco, built in 1912 for Romanian innkeeper Henri Negresco.
The inside ain't bad either.
The beautiful Musée Masséna, housed in a marvellous Italianate neoclassical villa, retraces Nice and the Riviera's history from the late 18th century to WWII.
Oranges are in abundance on trees too making fresh-squeezed orange juice a breakfast staple and a fraction of the cost we pay in Canada.
The Musée Matisse houses a fascinating assortment of works by Matisse, documenting the artist's stylistic evolution. It's collection is displayed in a red-ochre 17th century Genoese villa overlooking an olive tree-studded park in the leafy quarter of Cimiez, about 2km north of the city center.
Two thousand years ago, the Romans, who knew a thing or two about conquering, arrived in Nice. The South of France seemed a good place to do some empire building. At Cimiez, next to the Musée Matisse, the Roman occupation left behind a fine amphitheatre which is the site of music festivals as well as archeological digs.
Cut through rock in the 1920s, the Moyenne Corniche takes drivers from Nice past the Col de Villefrance, Èze and Beausoleil (the French town bordering Monaco's Monte Carlo).
The rocky, little village of Èze perched on an impossible peak is the jewel in the Riviera crown.
The best views are from the Jardin d'Èze, a cactus garden at the top of the village. It's also where you'll find the old castle ruins.
Few places on earth offer such a panorama.
The main attraction is the medieval village itself, with small higgledy-piggledy stone houses, winding lanes (and plenty of galleries and shops), and the mesmerizing views of the coast.
Lunch time. Tomato mozzarella salad and orange pressé for Tim, lemon crepe and café au lait for Sandi. Très French.
At the bottom of the hill in Èze, is the factory of well-known perfumery Fragonard which takes us through every stage of perfume production, from extraction and distillation to the work of the ‘nose'.
Tim's nose tries to find his signature scent.
On the way back to Nice we stop in Cap Ferrat for a walk along the edge of the cape which offers a wonderful coastline, magnificent views and the occasional octopus fisherman.
Snacking à la Niçoise means trying some of Nice's many specialties. Here at iconic Chez Pipo we start with pissaladière (a traditional onion tart topped with black olives and anchovies). Rosé washes it down nicely.
More socca.
And to finish up, tourte de blettes, a sweet swiss chard tart.
As we head east to Menton we stop to see the hilltop village of Peillon which has to be one of the most spectacularly-perched villages in France. The remote location has long been prized by local populations for its defensive characteristics: the first houses date back to the 10th century.
What draws visitors from far and wide, however, is not so much the village (which is very small and low-key) as the village inn, The Auberge de la Madone.
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