Nice

In order for you to discover all the different areas of Nice, we offer you an overview of the main areas of the city. To do this, simply click on the area of interest so that you can familiarize yourself with the environment that is best suited for you to either live or invest in Nice.

A brief historical note ...

Nice, one of the jewels of the French Riviera, is the capital of the Alpes Maritimes, but also the fifth town in France for population, with about 350,000 inhabitants and nearly 4 million visitors per year. Located thirty kilometers from the Italian border, it is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the south and joins the North by the succession of hills, known as the Mercantour.

Formerly known as the NIKAIA, probably of Greek origin, the city has successively belonged to Provence, the House of Savoy and the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia before becoming French in 1860, during the annexation of the County of Nice to France.

At the turn of the century, Nice as one of the major European tourist destinationsf, never wavered as the city grew with marvelous architectural development. It is from this period that the great palaces of Cimiez, as the Excelsior Regina Donohoe, the Alhambra or the Hermitage, the majestic hotels of the Promenade, such as the West End, Westminster and of course, Negresco by Edward Niermans, as well as some architectural greats like the Chateau de l’Anglais or the Château de la Tour. The Belle Epoque was followed by Art Deco style in the 1920’s with the Palais de la Mediterranee as the best example, with a period of intense urbanization coinciding with the population growth of the capital city of the French Riviera.

Today, Nice is twinned with several cities including Cuneo in Italy, Hangzhou, China, Laval, Canada, Miami United States or Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

It’s good to live in Nice ...

With 2694 hours of sunshine, more than 300 days per year, Nice has undoubtedly an exceptional climate. With an average annual temperature of 20 ° C, the city offers distinct seasons and a typical Mediterranean climate, with mild winters and hot, dry summers, autumns and relatively rainy spring weather ... definitely spring.

An exceptional environment

Located in the heart of the Côte d'Azur, Nice offers quick access to a variety of natural sites and urban centers. Let's start with the coast, which, in just one hour, joining the sandy beaches of Saint-Tropez, or the seaside resorts of San Remo and Bordighera, Italy, through the Bay of Cannes, Juan les Pins, Antibes, fabulous coves of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, Cap d'Ail, the bay of Villefranche sur Mer, and of course Monaco. Its 35 beaches, public or private (Castel, Bamboo, Lido, Neptune, among others) compete in beauty and offer enchanting views, not to mention the wealth of the seabed, which delights diving enthusiasts.

The back country of Nice is meanwhile a delight to hikers with numerous trails accessible to amateurs and experts. Canyoning, Via Ferrata, climbing, rafting, horseback rides, snowshoeing and mountain biking are also waiting for you in less than an hour drive from Nice.

Finally, do not forget the ski area of the pre-Alps, with the famous resorts of Valberg, Isola 2000 or Auron. You will enjoy the winter with their miles of trails, Snowpark or the Aquavalée multi-sports center. In summer, you can enjoy many activities such as climbing, acrobatics ropes course, paintball, mini golf and leisure activities such as swimming and yoga.

A leading tourism infrastructure

With 200 hotels in all categories and a large area of furnished rentals, Nice is a tourist destination by excellence. The Negresco, Le Palais de la Mediterranee, Le Meridien or Exedra are some of the prestigious hotels in the center of Nice.

Nice has the third busiest airport in France after Paris. Connected to 103 destinations, including 20 European capitals, Nice hosts more than 10 million passengers per year.

Under the motorway, rail and maritime infrastructure, the city of Nice has adapted to difficult terrain and has an organized network worthy of a regional capital. Its port provides mainly services to Corsica, and became the second French port for continental cruises with over 467,000 passengers per year.

In the city itself, the transport - bus and tram - allow easy movement in all aspects. A new tram line will also be created to ensure the East-West link in Nice. The station, meanwhile, is being redeveloped and should, by 2020, become a true multimodal transportation hub that will accommodate 11 million passengers per year.

The Velo Bleus (blue bicycles) municipal service bicycle loan, are now available throughout the city center. It is the same for the Autos Bleues (blue Cars) self-service electric cars, that you can choose according to your needs: city or utility.
The intelligent parking with contactless payment has also been established so that motorists know instantly what parking spaces are available. Resident parking, which facilitates parking close to home for residents of the city center is also seeing growth.

For longer periods, you can also rent vehicles or urban utilities in following providers: Europcar and Hertz or prestige vehicles or sports in Riviera VIP and VIP Just 4. Nice independent taxis are available at the following number: 04.93.88.25.82.



A cultural heritage that has no shortage of attractions!

Let us now turn to culture. Music, theater and cinema, museums, historical and architectural heritage: you will find enough in Nice to fill your days ...

For lovers of flora and fauna, the Phoenix Park, Botanical Garden, Cimiez Arenas and the Jardin Albert I, will be sure meet all your expectations.

The Opera, the Nice Jazz Festival, the Crazy Week, musical nights in Nice or the MANCA festival always attracts music lovers.

But that's not all! The famous Nice Carnival and traditional battle of flowers and the Book Festival annually delight the young and old.

The Museum of Fine Arts to the Museum of Modern Art to the museums of Matisse, Chagall and Massena, the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St Nicolas to the Notre-Dame Basilica and of course not forgetting the hill of the Chateau, attractions abound.

Many events also signify the typical Nicois life. We can cite, among others, the Italian Film Festival, the Nice Fair and castle celebration. But sporting events are also significant with the Iron Man Triathlon, International Figure Skating, the Europétanques and the Prom'Classic.

Nice’s rich cultural heritage is also an architectural point of view. The city of Nice is indeed characterized by two different styles: the left side of the Paillon tunnel with its ancient urbanism close to Turin style. The right bank, meanwhile, has a much Haussmann style of architecture.
The old town is representative of the urbanism of an Italian walled city in modern times, with its narrow winding streets and buildings in warm colors (tan or red).

An extensive and efficient education network

157 schools are available for your children at a young age. The city of Nice educates 28,000 students in kindergarten or elementary school and also offers a special school for the blind or visually impaired or who have certain health problems children. 71 Child care centers are offered by public kindergartens. Municipal nurseries are also in place in Nice and babysitting services such as nannies and Family Service Sphere.

Four international schools also offer educational courses from kindergarten to the university:
• ABC School (bilingual private school for children from 2 to 10 years);
• La Fayette (private college from the 6th to the 3rd) International College;
• International Bilingual School "Pain d’Epice" for children 2 to 11 years.
• International School of Nice (International Private for children 4 to 18 years school);


29 junior highs and 22 high schools of general education, technological or private are also located in the city. It is also important to note that Nice is part of Zone B with respect to the vacation schedules.

For higher education, it is possible to integrate the preparatory classes at the high schools Eucalyptus and Massena.

Business courses are also offered at EDHEC Business School, EDHEC, IPAG and SKEMA Business School.

IAE or the ISEFAC offer management training, management, communication and marketing.

Engineers, scientists and researchers, meanwhile, find their happiness at Polytech Nice Sophia Antipolis, MINES ParisTech, Eurécom as well as INRIA.

The computer enthusiasts are turning to SUPINFO EPITECH while ESRA meets the expectations of audio-visual enthusiasts.

Finally, other opportunities are offered at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, school speech therapy at IEHEI, the STAPS or at the Villa Arson, the National College of Art .

Where to go

Feel like shopping? Shoppping malls such as Lingostière Nice, Nice Etoile or Nice TNL offer a rich and varied shopping experience. Many famous brands are represented at Galeries Lafayette on the Place Massena. Not far away you will also find shops like Hermes, Chanel, Hugo Boss, Longchamp, Sonia Rykiel and Louis Vuitton. It is also nice to travel around Avenue Jean Doctor, the main commercial artery of the city, along the Rue Massena, in the pedestrian zone.

Gaming enthusiasts will be delighted by the Casino du Palais de la Méditerranée and the Casino Ruhl, open 365 days a year.

For nighttime festivities, The High Club, The Pearl Ensign or the Vox are great nightclubs for students. Young people also appreciate the Nice Party Bus.
In another genre, Pure (lounge bar), the Havana (Latin salsa bar) or the Shapko (jazz bar) are also very popular.

The city of Nice is also full of bars such as Check Point, the Master Home, Wayne's, Ma Nolan's, King's Pub, Six or the Akathor. In a more trendy style, Bubbles, Cave 35, the Radisson Blu Hotel and Meridian guarantee a friendly atmosphere.

You can also wander through the numerous markets in Nice: Nice Flower Market Cours Saleya, the fruit and vegetable markets, fish market, the market for paintings and craftsmen, the book market old and used, the evening craft market and exhibitions of paintings, one for old postcards, the flea market, not to mention the Christmas market.

Finally, for sports, infrastructure and quality associations are available in Nice such as Charles-Ehrmann Stadium, the Espace Magnan, numerous pools, the municipal stadium of Ray, the equestrian club Nice, Tennis Squash Vauban Golf Country Club, OGC Nice Fencing, World Gym Center or the diving school Poseidon Centre.

The media of Nice

Television channels were created to showcase the fashion of Nice life. Nice Riviera includes TV, SportS Nice (dedicated to sports and news Nice football), Nice cultures and Rendezvous Point (outings, concerts related to the city).

Local radio stations such as Agora FM, France Bleu Azur, Nice Radio (music for public radio "young"), Kiss FM (general music radio) frequency K (general music radio and local information) and TSF Coast d'Azur (jazz radio) and Riviera Radio (English language radio).

Finally, the local press consists mainly of Nice-Matin, Metro Direct Nice Patriot Riviera and 20 minutes.

The Nice infrastructure

The city of Nice has several hospitals such as the Hospital Saint-Roch, the Pasteur Hospital, Children's Hospital Lenval, Archet Hospital and Cimiez. There are also private clinics such as St. George and St. Anthony clinic that offer services.

Nice has a great infrastructure that of metropolitan cities: include Acropolis (conventions and exhibitions) as well as Sophia Antipolis (French Silicon Valley).

Gastronomy

The Nicois specialties are essentially Mediterranean, but there are Provencal, Liguria and Piedmont influences. Typical dishes of the city are Bagna cauda, fried zucchini flowers, Niçoise stew, gnocchi, the Nicois stuffed olives, the Pan Bagnats, Panisses, Pissaladière, Polenta, Poutine, Ratatouille, Niçoise salad, Mesclun salad, Socca, the Nicois stockfish soup with pesto, tapenade, Tourte de Blettes and the Tourte de Feves. AOC Bellet wine is also a major local product.

To satisfy your taste buds, we offer a small selection of starred restaurants in Nice
• Flaveur: modern cuisine, creative, culinary and Mediterranean
• Le Bistrot Gourmand: traditional cuisine
• Aphrodite, Keisuke Matsushima, The Aromatic: modern and creative cuisine
• The Univers-Christian Plumail: Provencal cuisine
• Chantecler: modern creative cuisine and gourmet

But also highly highly recommended restaurants by the Nicois :
• Little House (Nicole) and gourmet Mediterranean cuisine
• La Voglia: Italian original
• La Villa: Corsican cuisine and Provençal
• Terre de Truffe: world specialists in truffle cuisine