Nice

Nice sits at the foot of the Maritime Alps on a curved bay of the Mediterranean, and it has been attracting visitors since the 18th century, when English and Russian aristocrats decided the winter light here was worth the journey. The Promenade des Anglais — named after the English tourists who funded its construction — runs for seven kilometres along the seafront, and walking it at any time of day gives a clear sense of why the city became the template for the idea of a resort town. The bay is framed by hills on either side; the water is a shade of blue that the French call azur and gave the region its name. The Riviera's reputation is earned.

The city itself is more interesting than its resort image suggests. The Vieux-Nice — the old town — is a dense grid of Baroque architecture in ochre and terracotta, built when Nice was still part of the Kingdom of Sardinia and culturally closer to Genoa than to Paris. The Cours Saleya market runs six mornings a week and sells flowers, produce, and socca — the thin chickpea pancake that is Nice's defining street food. The Musée Matisse holds the largest collection of Matisse's work in the world; he spent the last 17 years of his life in Nice and said the light was the reason. Halal restaurants are available in the city, concentrated around the commercial centre and the western neighbourhoods; the options are serviceable if not extensive.

Nice works well as both a standalone destination and a base for the broader Côte d'Azur. Monaco is 20 minutes by train; Cannes is 40 minutes; Antibes and its Picasso Museum are 30 minutes. The Corniche roads that run above the coastline between Nice and Monaco are among the most scenic drives in Europe and manageable in a half day. Two to three nights in Nice gives you the old town, the seafront, and enough time for at least one day trip along the coast — which is the right way to use this part of France.