Nice
Edited by:
Massimo Martini
Access
Nice can be reached via the motorway (Autoroute des Alpes), which runs along the coast from the Italian-French border at Ventimiglia to the junction at Aix-en-Provence. The Nice-Est junction serves the port area and the roads leading to Monaco; the Nice-Promenade des Anglais and Nice-Ouest junctions serve the city centre and the airport area. For those coming from Italy, the A10 motorway (Autostrada dei Fiori) joins the A8 at the Ventimiglia border crossing. The RN202 national road is the main route into the Alpine hinterland: heading north-west up the Var Valley (Vallée du Var), it reaches Plan-du-Var — the gateway to the Vésubia Valley — and continues towards Entrevaux, Annot and Digne-les-Bains. The RD6007 runs along the coast towards Menton to the east and Antibes to the west.
Nice-Ville station (Gare de Nice-Ville) is the department’s main railway hub, served by the SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français) network with TGV Inouï services to Paris, Marseille and Lyon, and by the TER Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur service to regional destinations. The international Nice–Tenda–Cuneo line — informally known as the Train des Merveilles (Train of Wonders), operated jointly by SNCF and Trenitalia — runs through the Roya Valley (Vallée de la Roya) via Breil-sur-Roya, Saorge and Tende, crossing the Alps at the Col de Tende before descending towards Cuneo: it is the main rail link to the inner valleys of the Maritime Alps. The narrow-gauge line of the Chemins de fer de Provence, departing from Nice Gare du Sud, serves the Varo Valley with the so-called Train des Pignes as far as Digne-les-Bains. Nice Côte d’Azur Airport (Aéroport Nice Côte d’Azur), approximately 6 km from the city centre, is France’s second-busiest airport in terms of passenger volume. Urban public transport is operated by the Lignes d’Azur network network (three tram lines and a bus network). Roads leading to the inland mountain towns may be subject to winter closures; there are no seasonal issues regarding access to the coastal area.
Introduction
Nice is the capital of the Alpes-Maritimes department (06) and the seat of the prefecture, situated in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in south-eastern France. Its geographical position, in direct contact with theAlpine arc of the Alpes-Maritimes, makes the city the main urban hub providing access to the southern part of the Alpes-Maritimes, with the Vésubia, Roia, Upper Var and Tinea valleys all reachable in less than an hour from the city centre. The municipal area stretches from the coastal strip, with the bay between Cap Nice to the east and the mouth of the Var to the west, up to the ridges of the northern hinterland, reaching a maximum altitude of 520m. Two watercourses — the Paglione (Paillon) and the Magnano (Magnan), both torrential in nature — cross the territory before flowing into the Mediterranean. The town was founded around 350 BC, when Phocaean settlers from Marseille established the settlement of Nikaia (Νίκαια); in 1388, the municipality voluntarily submitted to the House of Savoy, marking the beginning of a period of Savoyard rule that lasted until its annexation by France in 1860. The town is about 30 km from the Tenda Pass and 13 km from the Principality of Monaco.
Description
The area around Nice is divided between the coastal plain and the inland hills: the hills of Cimiez (Cimella) to the north-east — where the remains of theRoman amphitheatre and the Cemenelum, capital of the Roman province of Alpes Maritimae — and the hill of the Castle (Colline du Château) which separates the old town from the port. Human occupation of the area has been documented for around 380,000 years, as evidenced by the Terra Amata site in the eastern part of the city, which contains some of the earliest evidence of the use of fire in Europe.
The city was founded around 350 BC by Phocaean settlers from Marseille, developing as a commercial port on the Ligurian coast. Following the Roman, Lombard and medieval periods, in 1388 the municipality submitted to the House of Savoy as part of an anti-Provençal strategy, marking the start of a Savoyard connection that lasted almost five centuries, interrupted only by the Napoleonic period (1792–1814). The Treaty of Nice in 1535 ended the Franco-Imperial conflict; in 1543, the troops of Khayr al-Din Barbarossa sacked the city. Italian retained its status as the official language until the Savoy reforms of the late 18th century. With the annexation to France in 1860, ratified by the Treaty of Turin, Giuseppe Garibaldi a native of Nice, resigned as a French deputy following the failure of the irredentist uprisings of February 1871 (the Nice Vespers). The exodus of over a quarter of the population, who chose to retain their Savoyard citizenship, profoundly altered the city’s demographic composition.
The architectural heritage reflects this historical stratification: the old town (Vieux-Nice) is characterised by Genoese-Piedmontese Baroque — the Cathedral of Santa Reparata (1650–1699), Chapel of the Misericordia, Lascaris Palace — alongside the Turin-style Neoclassicism of the 19th-century centre and the Belle Époque influence along the Promenade des Anglais. In 2021, UNESCO inscribed Nice on the World Heritage List as the “winter resort town of the Riviera”. Traditional Niçard cuisine — socca (chickpea flour flatbread), salade niçoise, pan bagnat, pissaladière, Niçard ravioli — reflects the Ligurian-Italian heritage of the County of Nice. The local language, Nissart (also known as Nissart or Niçart), is a variety of the Occitan language with marked Ligurian and Piedmontese influences; its bilingual place-names are still visible on signs in the historic centre.
From a hiking perspective, Nice is the gateway to the southern part of the Maritime Alps. The Var Valley (Vallée du Var), accessible via the RN202 or the Train des Pignes to Digne-les-Bains, is the main route into theinterior: from Plan-du-Var, one can access the Vésubie Valley (Vallée de la Vésubie) — with Saint-Martin-Vésubie as the main base for the Mercantour National Park (Parc national du Mercantour) (information to be verified on inalto.org) on the French side, which borders the Maritime Alps Natural Park on the Piedmont side — whilst continuing on leads to the Tinée Valley (Tinée) with access to the Argentera area and the Park itself. The Nice–Tende–Cuneo railway line (Train des Merveilles) runs up the Roia Valley via Breil-sur-Roya, Saorge and Tende — gateway to the rock art sites of Monte Bego — before crossing the Alps at the Col de Tende and descending towards Cuneo via Limone Piemonte and Vernante: this line provides access to the innermost valleys without the need for a car. On the coast, the Sentier des Douaniers (Customs Officers’ Path) stretches from Nice towards Menton, following the coastal stretches to the east of the city.
Information
General information
Area: 71.92 km²
Altitude of the main town: 15 m
Highest point: 520 m – [to be verified]
Population: 357,737 (as of 1 January 2023, INSEE
Name in the Niçard dialect: Nissa
Name of inhabitants: Nissards
Patron saint: Saint Reparata (4 October)
Neighbouring municipalities: Aspremont – Colomars – Falicon – Gattières – La Gaude – La Trinité – Saint-André-de-la-Roche – Saint-Jeannet – Saint-Laurent-du-Var – Villefranche-sur-Mer
Department: Alpes-Maritimes
Region: Provence-Alpes-CĂ´te d'Azur
Country: France
Official website: https://www.nice.fr