Diano Marina – Nice – Monaco – San Remo (Part 2)
The second stop on our 4 day trip was Nice, a city in southern France between Marseille and Genoa. It’s the leading resort on the French Riviera (Côte d’Azur) and one of europe’s most fashionable winter retreats. We visited the famous Promenade des Anglais, the flower market and had a relaxing time at the beach.
Nice / Nizza
On the following picture you can see the Port of Nice with the speed ferry to Corsica and in the back the Monument aux morts and the famous La Prom. Click on the picture for a larger version.
Although I’m not that history interested I think it is still good to know some cornerstones when you travel. It helps to build a better understanding of the culture, the food, the architecture and of course the language. For example was Nice founded by the Greeks of Massilia (Marseille) about 350 BC and has it’s name in honor of a victory over the neighbouring Ligurians (Nike is the Greek goddess of vicory). 200 years later the Romans took control. The popularity of the city grew during the Victorian period when the Englishmen made it their main winter retreat.
The La Promenade des Anglais (“Walk of the English”) was proposed by rich Englishmen in the 18th century. At that time the coast was just borded by a deserted band of beach covered by large pebbles. Houses were well away from the sea. The promenade was first called the Camin dei Anglès (the English Way) by the Niçois in their native dialect Nissart. After the annexation of Nice by France in 1860 it was rechristened La Promenade des Anglais, replacing it’s former Nissart name with it’s french translation (source: Wikipedia).
Nice Trip Details
Related posts:
- Diano Marina – Nice – Monaco – San Remo (Part 1)
- Diano Marina – Nice – Monaco – San Remo (Part 3)
- Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
