The view of the sweeping Bay des Anges is possibly the most well known image of Nice and the best views are to be had from Colline du Château. The pleasant walk around the bay the from east takes you past the port and leads to the very long palm tree lined Promenade des Anglais.

Vieux Port

The old port lies on the eastern side of the bay. Port Lympia tram stop is there so it’s very accessible. The port also has a ferry terminal and handles freight too but there are also colourful fishing boats and big bastard super yachts.

The well known [and trendy] restaurant Le Plongeoir is situated to the east of the port and is an ideal place to start for a walk around the bay. The restaurant has wonderful views although we were not tempted on this occasion. The architect René Livieri created the iconic diving boards and figures in the 1940’s. Plage de Ponchettes, a public beach on the west of the port did look lovely, again we were not tempted- well it was late october!

Promenade des Anglais

The Promenade des Anglais is 7km long and was originally created in the early 19th century to link Nice Old Town to a British Colony. It had a make-over in the 1930’s which is essentially what we have now, a long and wide popular place to have a stroll [or run if you are that way inclined]. The promenade seemed to get less busy the further west we walked. The Monument aux Morts is an evocative World War 1 memorial facing the promenade. It was built in honour of the nearly 4000 citizens of Nice who died in the conflict. It’s a large structure built into Castle Hill and is lit up at night in patriotic colours.

Opposite the war memorial is a crucifix on a marble plinth with an inscription marking the end of the Franco- Prussian war in 1871 and a Jubilee in 1829. I am not sure what the jubilee is referring to and my research has not provided any answers! It looks good though.

There are other interesting sights, sculptures and monuments along the way including a little statue of Liberty, a small silver Fiat and a huge metal girder thingy.

The Statue of Liberty was unveiled in 2014 to celebrate Franco- American friendship as well to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of WW1. The bizarre silver Fiat 500 is called un Dimanche à Nice and was created by Stéphane Cipre in 2019. The large metal sculpture is called Neuf Lignes Obliques and was created by Bernar Venet in 2010 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the annexation of Nice by France.

We did enjoy the seemingly 3D large blue chair which is in fact 2D- completely flat, [see photo below]. A blue armchair is a popular iconic symbol of Nice, symbolising relaxation and the Mediterranean lifestyle. La Chaise Bleue pictured above was created in 2014 by the artist Sabine Géraudie. There are other blue chairs positioned along the walk, some you can actually sit on. Another impressive monument is the Monument du Centenaire in Nice which is just over the road in front of the Jardin Albert 1er. It marks the 100th anniversary of the reunification of Nice and surrounding area with France in 1860.

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