Our Trip to Nice – Day One

The Beach Day One

The morning after the fête national we left our hotel in Paris at 4:30 AM to catch our 7 o’clock flight to Nice. It was my first experience navigating the Paris RER subway, and in my early morning sluggish state it was a little bewildering. We did arrive on time at the airport, and landed in Nice before the sun had even hit the yardarm.

The first thing we did, after a quick breakfast, was head to the Cours Saleya. It’s the Nice flower market, everything from local produce and gourmet delectibles to crafts and local wares are sold over the course of the day.

Cours Saleya

We also spent a good hour or so on the beach before taking the tram up to our hotel. We booked a place outside of the city centre on the hillside. It was quite a hike up, since the tram dropped us off at the base, but I think it was really worth it. The view from our room was amazing. The steep cliffs that frame the city were what I was most excited to see.

The View from our hotel

We then returned to the old city centre to climb up to the Chateau de Nice. A pedestrian pathway winds its way up to the top of this small mountain (limestone rock outcropping) where there are the remains of an old cathedral currently undergoing excavation, restaurants and boutiques, park space, man made waterfalls, and mosaics honouring the travels of Odysseus from the Odyssey written by Homer.

Left: Cathedral Excavations

Below: The view from halfway up

We brought a small picnic to hold us over until the French dinnertime. It was an incredibly hot day; the night was a welcome break from the heat. After a nice dinner we decided to head back to the hotel and make it an early night since we had been up since 4am!