My partner's recollections of Nice go back further than mine, to an afternoon in 1982 when he barely dissuaded Graham Greene from ambushing Mayor Jacques Médecin in broad daylight on the Promenade des Anglais. The Great Man, about to publish his gloriously libellous pamphlet 'J'Accuse: The Dark Side of Nice', thought it might be newsworthy if he confronted the mayor face-to-face, to accuse his apparently eternal regime of living hand-in-glove with the Mafia. By the time we moved (temporarily) to Nice in 1990, Mayor Médecin had decamped to Uruguay, selling T-shirts on the beach while the French authorities sought to extradite him on various charges of corruption, and the city by the bay was attempting to live down its raffish reputation. The most newsworthy event of our first Riviera winter was the unscheduled arrival of a blast of Arctic air that closed the airport and crowned the palm trees on the promenade with pristine bonnets of snow. It seemed more like Bournemouth than Sin City; staid and rather sad and not the least bit exotic.
GETTING THERE
Flight details Flying from London you are spoilt for choice, with British Airways (0345 222111), Air France (0845 0845 111), British Midland (0870 607 0555), Debonair (0541 500300) and easyJet (0870 600 0000) all offering direct flights. Fares start at less than £200 (advance booking and a Saturday-night stay may be required).
SHOPPING
The Avenue Jean Médecin is the Oxford Street of Nice and can be missed, except for Galeries Lafayette department store at the southern end, full of treasures. Also avoid the pedestrianised, tacky Rue de France but not the Rue Paradis, which adjoins it, where most of Nice's international designer stores offer the choice and sophistication of Paris (or Milan for shoes) on a compact scale. A slip of a shop at 3 rue Longchamp – called, appropriately, 3, closed for lunch and on Monday – has lots of desirables in neutral colours, many small enough to slip into a suitcase, like Edith Mezard's cashmere mules (about £30) and her Eau de Linge in elegant bottles (about £12.50). Equinoxe, in the rue de la Buffa, sells secondhand designer clothes – Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Anna Sui – at (relatively) knockdown prices. At 19 rue de la Préfecture, Porte du Sud sells contemporary versions of the quilts or boutis that no marriageable Provençal girl would have been without, starting at about £120. For lovers of olive oil the shrine is Alziari, 14 rue Saint-François-de-Paule. You can now buy their oil in London and New York, but get it here for a third of the price, in beautiful blue patterned cans that preserve the oil better than bottles. The shop is an Ali Baba's cave that also sells tapenade and other delicacies including saffron threads and delicate orange blossom water in dark blue bottles that is reputed to send fretful babies to sleep. On the opposite side of the street Auer proudly proclaims '170 Ans de Père en Fils'. A magical pâtisserie-confiserie with a small teashop tucked in the back, it sells delicious jams.
 WHAT TO SEE
Russian Orthodox Cathedral From the Chagall and Matisse collections to a splendid Russian Orthodox Cathedral built in memory of Grand-Duke Nicolas, and the atmospheric churches of the Old Town, there is a surfeit of things to see, but Nice is still rejuvenating itself, and many of the attractions are in a state of flux.
Nice Tourist Office For up-to-date information, stop by the tourist office, 5 promenade des Anglais, (00 33 493 92 80 73; fax: 92 82 98) and pick up their excellent Nice Guide Pratique. Or, visit their website at www.nice-coteazur.org.
WHERE TO EAT
La Merenda Being immensely popular, and having no telephone, La Merenda, 4 rue de la Terrasse, is hard to get into; try lurking in the narrow street, awaiting the early-evening arrival of the shaven-headed waiter, rushing him as he clamps his bike to a lamppost and begging him for a table. The restaurant is run by Dominique le Stanc, former head chef of the Negresco's famed Chantecler of which it is the absolute antithesis: the menu chalked on a blackboard, paper cloths on 12 minuscule tables, back-breaking wooden stools to sit on and an open kitchen small enough to fit inside a camper van. The decor is rustic and the 'peasant' food shrieks authenticity: daube (a beef and vegetable stew) and stockfish are the specialities. Start with coppa, an Italian ham sliced paper-thin and intensely flavoured, or poutine, tiny fish found only between Antibes and Menton. The 'poor food' pudding – melting pastry filled with spinach, apple, pine nuts and raisins – is astonishingly good. Dinner for two, with red wine from the Var served slightly chilled, costs under £40. No cheques or credit cards accepted. Closed on Saturday and Sunday.
La Petite Maison Directly opposite the Opera House, La Petite Maison, 11 rue St-François-de-Paule (00 33 493 92 59 59; fax: 92 28 51) is fashionable and crowded but expect indolent waiters and a fearsome Madame who is given to sweeping a glass from your table and smashing it on the floor. It is supposed to be a joke but it can be alarming. Check the bill and the credit-card slips you are asked to sign. Dining with two other couples, we were overcharged by £60. Closed on Sunday
La Safari Of the Old Town bistros Le Safari, 1 Cours Saleya (00 33 493 80 18 44), is wildly popular with the young French crowd, despite (or because of) the deafening pop music. The food is authentic and good, much of it cooked on an open wood fire.
Albert's Bar Most of the restaurants in the pedestrian zone in the heart of 'new' Nice are tourist traps. One exception is Albert's Bar, 1 rue Maurice Jaubert (00 33 493 87 30 20) which is far more sophisticated than it sounds.
Auberge de la Madone For a memorable Sunday lunch, it is well worth venturing about 12 miles north of Nice to Peillon, where the Auberge de la Madone (00 33 493 79 91 17) sits atop a vertiginous 15th-century village perché, with breathtaking views of the wild Alpes-Maritimes. A four-course meal (preceded by hors d'œuvres and an amuse-gueule) cost about £25 a head, without wine. The service is attentive but leisurely. If you are flying home on Sunday evening, allow at least 45 minutes to get to the airport.
WHERE TO STAY
Le Grimaldi We stayed at Le Grimaldi, 15 rue Grimaldi (00 33 493 16 00 24; fax: 87 00 24) a bijou 23-room hotel rescued from insolvency, renamed and newly renovated by Yann and Joanna Zedde. A belle 閜oque townhouse in a quiet street, the Grimaldi has rooms freshened by bright Soule颽do fabrics and made enticing by the small touches: the thick, oversized bath towels and robes; breakfast in bed of pastries still warm from the oven, jam that is fruit and not sugar, and intensely rich hot chocolate served in porcelain cups from Limoges.
Hotel Negresco The Hotel Negresco, 37 promenade des Anglais (00 33 4 93 16 64 00; 88 35 68), is Nice's most expensive seafront hotel.
Hotel La Perouse For a more economic and stunning sea view, and breakfast under the lemon trees, try the Hotel La Perouse, 11 quai Rauba-Capea (00 33 493 62 34 63; fax: 62 59 41; e-mail: lp@hroy.com). The hotel, which is only minutes walk from the Old Town. |
