Page 306 - Lonely Planet France’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

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Promenade des Anglais
Nice personified, the Prom seductively
blends hedonism with history, pumping
beach clubs with quiet seaside gazing.
STRETCH English expats paid out-of-work citrus
farmers to build the Prom in 1822 – a
YOUR LEGS civic win-win. Don’t miss the palatial
facades of belle époque Hôtel Negresco
and art deco Palais de la Méditerranée.
NICE The Walk » Turn up av de Verdun past palms and
posh shops to place Masséna. Take in the elegant
Italian architecture, then head down the steps. Take
rue de l’Opéra, a quick walk to our next stop.
Rue St-François de Paule
Window-shop, pick up snacks or shop for
Start Hotel Negresco, gifts on this elegant street just back from
Promenade des Anglais the seaside. First stop: Moulin à Huile
d’Olive Alziari (www.alziari.com.fr; 14 rue St-
Finish Promenade des Anglais François de Paule; h8.30am-12.30pm & 2.15-7pm
Mon-Sat) for superb local olive oil, tap-
Distance 5.8km enade (olive spread) and olives. Head west
to the florid Opera House; across the
road is Henri Auer Confiserie (www.maison-
Duration 2 hours auer.com; 7 rue St-François de Paule; h9am-6pm
Tue-Sat), a film-set-perfect sweet shop;
pick up amandes enrobé (cocoa-dredged
chocolate-covered almonds).
Get to know Nice’s bustling heart
with this walk that begins with a The Walk » Continue on past soap sellers
and wine bars and into the open square. This
seaside stroll, then takes you into eventually becomes cours Saleya.
the tangled alleys of the old town, Cours Saleya
and finally up and over the city’s A top tourist destination that remains
Niçois to the core, this bustling market
soaring headland to the port. Along square does different moods according
the way shop, eat and drink with the to the hour. Greet the day with espresso
and a banter with the produce and
fun-loving Niçois. flower sellers, lunch with locals or get
rowdy after dark with the town’s cool
kids and students.
The Walk » Any of the streets running away
from the beach take you to rue de la Préfecture.
Vieux Nice
Soak in the labyrinthine streets of
Nice’s old town, stumbling upon
Take this walk on Trips Baroque gems like Cathédrale Ste-
Réparate (place Rossetti). Stop to eat
n} – book Le Bistrot d’Antoine (%04 93 85
29 57; 27 rue de la Préfecture; menus €25-43,

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