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NICE, FRANCE
Nice
Nice has approx. 350,000 inhabitants and
is today's capital of the Alpes-Maritimes département, Provence Alpes-Côte-d'Azur.
It is situated at the Côte d'Azur, or
French Riviera,
20 miles or 32 kilometers from the Italian border.
The History of Nice
The city was founded around the year 350 BC by the Greeks, who named
it Nikaia. The name might or might not have arrived from the
Greek term nike, meaning victory.
The Romans made Nice one of their
trading posts in the 1st century AD.
Many counts ruled over Nice throughout
the following centuries and the city ended up in the lap of the
counts of Savoy in 1388 where it remained until 1860.
To really grasp the history of Nice,
it is helpful to have a glimpse at the history of the
House of Savoy.
With the Treaty of Turin in 1860
Nice became officially French.
The Landmarks of Nice
The castle of Nice was taken apart in 1706 by
Louis XIV.
The 2.5 miles or 4 kilometers long
Promenade des Anglais was built by the English in 1822,
who liked to stretch their legs a bit between lunch and tea time.
The Promenade is an
esplanade along the shore of the Baie des Anges.
Queen Victoria
liked the city and visited it many times. While here, she resided at
the Regina Hotel, which is
located in Cimiez. Here she dines:
QUEEN VICTORIA
IN THE HOTEL'S GARDEN, NICE, 1898
The Regina Hotel, by the way, was also
the favorite address of painter Henri Matisse.
Today, and just across the street from the Regina, you can visit the
Matisse Museum.
The ancient town of
Cimiez, now
part of Nice, features the ruins of a Roman amphitheater.
More History
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