The medieval rabbit
warren of the old town,
the Italianate facades
of modern Nice and the
rich, exuberant,
fin-de-siècle
residences that made the
city one of Europe's
most fashionable winter
retreats have all
survived intact. It has
also retained mementos
from its ancient past,
when the Romans ruled
the region from here,
and earlier still, when
the Greeks founded the
city. In addition, its
bus and train
connections make Nice by
far the best base for
visiting the rest of the
Riviera.
The City
It doesn't take long to
get a feel for the
layout of Nice. Shadowed
by mountains that curve
down to the
Mediterranean east of
its port, it still
breaks up more or less
into old and new.
Vieux Nice , the old
town, groups about the
hill of Le Château
, its limits signalled
by boulevard Jean-Jaurès
, built along the course
of the River Paillon.
Along the seafront, the
celebrated promenade
des Anglais runs a
cool 5km until forced to
curve inland by the sea-projecting
runways of the airport.
The central square,
place Masséna , is
at the bottom of the
modern city's main
street, avenue Jean-Médecin
, while off to the north
is the exclusive
hillside suburb of
Cimiez .
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