Nice Home Sweet Home

Nice - home away from home

by scarsinface

"Lazy days at the riviera"

Been visiting Nice about 7-8 times now, and still 2 more trips to go this year. Most of the time I am in the Nice area the whole time, but sometimes I use it as a "base" for either visiting the Formula 1 race in Monaco and Magny Cours. Always spending a whole lot of time in the apartments terrace, and of course spending the evenings in the old town, specially found of Thor Pub or The Blue Whale. Always nice people (in every way) at Thor.

Nice - Warts and all - The alternative view

by drgrcook

"Not so NIce"

See my wife's VT guide and her website for the good news.

Welcome to Nice, home of dog poo, graffiti, beggars, parking offences, unsilenced motorcycles and poor service.

Don't get me wrong, I love Nice, so much so that my wife and I own a studio there and visit as often as possible.

I hope that my comments can help to improve which in the past was one of (if not the) finest tourist locations in the world.

DOGS

The scourge of the pedestrian is covered in my local customs.

GRAFFITI

A terrible scar on every building although recently there has been a civic effort to correct the disfigurement. An army of workers, armed with crude brushes and buckets of paint to match the wall that they are painting, can now be seen attempting to cover the vandals mess as soon as it appears. The initial results are most promising but appear to be restricted to the more upmarket, or tourist areas. Unfortunately, only the walls are painted and doorways and other embellishments are left.

This is not just a Nice problem and I was horrified to see the ancient woodwork of the Rialto Bridge in Venice disfigured by graffiti. The woodwork is deeply engrained with natural grooves caused by the shrinkage of the wood over several hundred years and the paint is almost impossible to remove.

Similarly in the old town of Nice the 400 year old stone where it is unrendered is often indelibly marked.

I suggest that the perpetrators of this damage should be tattooed acroos the forehead with copies of their work as a punishment.

BEGGARS

I have already mentioned one modus operandi, the dog, another being more obvious, a baby. It is sickening to see a mother and infant on the pavement, often all day long, the mother holding out her hand and supplicating with a pained expression. Either the State is ignoring the problem, which is shameful or they are being exploited by others.

The convenient gap between beggars and the occasional sight of money being given to strong looking young men makes me suspicious. Those suspicions were fortified recently when there was an altercation which looked as if the beggar (a youth of about 19) argued with his minder and received a good kicking.

Another irritation is shaking a tin of money in ones face, I wonder what would happen if I took it and said 'merci'

PARKING

Cars are a major problem and I sympathise with the residents who need or want a car. However, the total disregard for the law and the risk to pedestrians is inexcusable.

Double parking is accepted but leads to long blasts on the horn at any time of the day or night when a car owner is trapped on the inside.

Cars are left on the pavement and on crossings and often it is impossible to manoeuver a trolly or push chair across the road. I have never tried a wheelchair and have never seen one being used, presumably there are no disabled residents in Nice. The access for the disabled is non existent either on the streets or in the shops or restaurants. The beaches are reached by steps only and if I were a wheelchair user I would not visit Nice!

Take care when crossing the road , drivers appear to regard traffic signals as optional, including lane markings and bus-ways, one-way signs, speed limits and those pretty red lights. Parking tickets are an excuse to add to the daily litterfest.

Gambling on property

by NiceLife

An unusual side to Nice life is shown in this property agency window.

The property advertised for sale is occupied by a very elderly person whose sex and age is prominently indicated, along with the rental income.In this one its an 82 year old lady.. The one next to it is occupied by an 87 and 91 year old couple, and there are many others.The properties are in excellent locations and the price of the apartment in each case heavily discounted.

The tenant could all live to a hundred or you could find yourself the owner of a very desirable property quite soon, very cheaply.

But remember, with good climate and excellent French healthcare, people can live a long long time!.

Commemorating the hero's that fell

by Pavlik_NL

Pressed against the rocks of the castle hill, looking over the harbour where the poor souls no doubt left, a huge monument commemorates the hero's of France that were involved in the Great War (forst world war). No less then 4000 inhabitants of Nice were lost in this most horrible of all wars ever. The "monument des morts" (monument of the dead) was created by Alfred Janniot's as a statue inside the rock.

The easygoing beach resort of Juan le Pins

by NiceLife

Famous for its annual jazz festival, Juan le Pins offers an easy-going day at the seaside without the frenetic posing and pouting of Cannes or St Tropez. The beach is purest sand, and the venue has a wide open vista over the Golfe Juan. The town has been favoured by American visitors over the years, and within its small tourist area are lots of nightclubs and cocktail bars.

The beach restaurants have taken over large swathes of the area, and you will pay through the nose for sunlounger and shade, and the right to have grossly overpriced drinks served to you at your sunlounger. Still for some people thats their holiday treat.

Nevertheless there are still sizeable areas of public beach, where you can sit with a knotted hanky on your head for shade, and wriggle your toes in the same warm waters of the Med as the wealthy diners next door.

A simple thirty minute journey by train from Nice Ville (around eight euro return), or the hour and fifteen minute bus no. 200 - warning: sometimes a journey from hell - for only one euro.