An afternoon in Nice

The centre of Nice is represented by Place Masséna, built from the 1800s onwards. The square, together with the Promenade du Paillon leading to the MAMAC (Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain) and the pharaonic Acropolis congress centre, marks the boundary between the 19th- and 20th-century city and the vieille ville. The symbol of the Belle Époque period is the Promenade des Anglais, the city's seafront. Inaugurated in 1822 as part of a programme of public works financed by an English clergyman, it was extended in 1844 and given its current name. As evidence of the avenue's past grandeur (many buildings have been demolished) there remain the Westminster and West End hotels, the Palais de la Méditerranée and above all the legendary Hôtel Negresco (1912), whose dome has become the symbol of Nice. The city is elegant and clean (at least in August) and there isn't much traffic.

I preferred to show some less touristy corners alongside the better-known ones because, even if only for a few hours, I like to live in the places I visit; here, for example, we went into a shopping centre to look at mobile phones!