UNPUBLISHED - NICE
Think of Nice. Think of the glittering French Riviera, turquoise sea and azure skies. Think of Grace Kelly, Brigitte Bardot and the Belle Epoque. Think of Olive groves, wine cellars and morning croissants watching the fashionistas on parade. Think of Nice - think of kids?
Well, actually it's not such a crazy idea: it's warm, small enough to walk around, has a huge beach, several parks and the best ice-cream outside Italy . Still not sure? Then let me convince you.
We went for a week in the October half term, which is a lovely time of year to go: the high summer temperatures and crowds are gone, but it's still warm enough for T-shirts. Travelling with us were our daughters Emily, 5 and Phoebe, 3, and baby Charlie, 4 months.
The first great thing about travelling to Nice is that the airport is practically in the town, so once you land you're there. The kids loved the 10-minute ride into the centre as it takes you right along the spectacular seafront, with palm trees and a beautiful pebbly beach.
To get a real feel for the vibrancy and life of Nice we decided to rent an apartment and go self-catering. Apartments can be found on the web (see details) and many have been fully refurbished and modernised.
Staying as centrally as possible is a good idea with young children, as it allows you to pop home any time they need a rest, or to nip out quickly for emergency supplies. We stayed on Rue de la Liberte, a stone's throw from the main shopping area, and 5 minutes from the old town and the beach. Staying in the city's Old Town (Vieux Nice) is great fun, but it can get quite noisy at night with many restaurants and bars staying open late, and the markets setting up at the crack of dawn.
The second great thing about Nice is its size: due to the amazing geographic location (it's hemmed in by the Mediterranean to the South and the Alps to the North) Nice has been forced to remain fairly compact, which is always good news for small legs. We decided to head straight out to explore Vieux Nice but first we needed breakfast.
While hotel breakfasts can be very good, in Nice the only way to eat breakfast is by visiting one of the hundreds of boulangeries and trying to choose from the staggering array of freshly bakes goodies: whatever they try to tell us over here, croissants in England just don't compare to their French originals! For the kids this morning ritual is a great way to practice a sentence or two (ours fully mastered "deux pains au chocolat et une baguette s'il vous plait" by the end of our stay.
The short walk took us through Nice's largest public square, Place Massena. The neo-classical arcaded buildings are painted deep ochre and red, and they house the famous Galleries Lafayette department store. (The food hall downstairs is worth a look). At the Western end is Jardin Albert 1er, a lovely place to play in the shade - most of the local kids (and Phoebe) like to try and scale the huge sculpture called Arc 115 ° 5, commemorating the centenary of the Cote d'Azure. There's also a superb old-fashioned merry-go-round open from 10am until 8pm.
At the Eastern end of Place Massena is the Espace Massena. Our kids loved playing around the huge fountains and ornamental gardens, and the rollerblading dome was always packed with local kids showing off their skills. One of the best times to come hear is in the evening when the fountains are lit up.
Getting to the old town in the morning means catching the markets in Cours Saleya. Running the length of Nice's old town, this is where the flower, fruit and vegetable markets are set up every Tuesday to Saturday from 7am till 1pm. The daily visit to the market for fresh produce is a huge ritual for many Nicois and it's great fun: the children filled huge metal bowls with whatever they fancied. It's amazing how much good, fresh food they'll eat if they've chosen it themselves!
The market is also the best place to get fresh meat and fish, and, of course, olives! Tiny black ones, enormous yellow ones, olives marinated in lemon, chilli, garlic or herbs- even our olive-phobic children found ones they liked.
Once you're in the vibrant old town it's hard to leave -narrow streets wind their way between beautiful church squares, balconies overhead drip with flowers and laundry, and the Nicois take coffee and look beautiful. It's best not to have a plan here at all -just wander around soaking up the atmosphere and enjoy getting slightly lost for a while. Let the children decide where to go and what to stop and look at: the old town is so small you'll soon find yourselves on the beaten track again.
Like most cities now, the main street (Rue de la Boucherie) is very touristy, with most shops only selling Provencal souvenirs. To get away from the throngs just turn down any side street: here you'll find lots of excellent art and photography galleries, designer clothes shops, bakeries and corner shops all jostling for position. A word of warning though: any stylish Nicoise lady worth her Louis Vuitton handbag has a tiny dog to go in it. Unfortunately there's nowhere for these canine accessories to poo so keep your eyes peeled!
By mid-morning we decided to do as the French do, and stop for coffee. We found a great, child-friendly café on place *******. The owner's sister runs a gorgeous toy shop next door, so there are toys to keep the kids amused (and a resident guinea pig) while you indulge in the national past-time: people-watching. Coffee here comes tiny and very strong - ask for "Café Americain" for something more familiar.
From here we were perfectly placed to walk up the next great thing about Nice: the "Colline due Chateau", or Castle Hill. There is a lift running from rue des Ponchettes, (9am to 7.30pm in summer) but much more fun and scenic is to take the winding (and sometimes confusing) montee Lesage past the stunning Jewish Cemetery and up to the fountain and castle ruins at the top. (This road is prime dog-walking territory so be extra careful where you step!) The views are superb: the beach and Promenade in front, the mountains behind and a bustling harbour to the East. It's a great place to cool down in the summer and there's a good playground, a café, toilets (for which you always need money), and, at weekends, amusements for children. Open-air concerts are held here on summer evenings.
After all this exercise a hearty lunch was called for, and our favourite place was ***** on the corner of *** and ***. Full of locals (always a good sign), it offers huge portions of exquisitely cooked local food, from Salade Nicoise (the definitive article!)to roast chicken and chips. You must try a Pissaladiere while you're in Nice - like a square pizza topped with sweet, slowly fried onions, it is delicious.
After lunch and a rest it was time to get to the beach. It's worth preparing kids for the fact that there's no sand here, but the smooth, round, grey pebbles are gorgeous and I defy anyone to go home without taking a few! The sea wasn't quite warm enough to swim in any more, but we had a brilliant time dodging the waves and throwing stones into the sea. One of the nicest past-times in Nice is walking along the famous Promenade des Anglais. This mile-long strip runs the whole length of the Bay of Nice and it's always crammed with rollerbladers, joggers and street performers (If you're a runner like me then take your trainers - it's one of the best runs you could ask for and there's always lots of company). The façade of the Art Deco Palais de la Mediterrannee (at the West end) is worth a look, as is the amazing Hotel Negresco with its outrageous pink dome.
Dinner happens late here (most restaurants don't get going until after 8pm), but to tie you over try an ice-cream from ****** in Vieux Nice. The choice of flavours is mind-blowing -from tiramisu to bubble-gum, black pepper to champagne. Phoebe stuck resolutely to chocolate (the best I've ever had) and Emily discovered a new favourite: pistacio. The sorbets are also fantastic.
As evening arrives the city really comes alive. The castle hill is magnificently lit and the lights along the Promenade add to the magical atmosphere. Many of the restaurants in the central, pedestrian zone (rue Massena, place Magenta etc) are fairly tacky and overpriced and a better option is to try the old town. Cours Saleya has some good seafood, and most of the restaurants in the smaller side-streets have excellent local food and friendlier staff. Our favourite became **********on place Rosetti, though this was partly due to the fact that Emily and Phoebe could play by the fountain in the square while we enjoyed our aperitifs. It's usual for kids to stay up late here, so they won't be considered a nuisance at all - another bonus.
With one more ice-cream to enjoy as we wandered along the peaceful seafront, a perfect day in Nice drew to a close.
If you're only in Nice for a couple of days and fancy some culture, then head to the Matisse Museum. It houses a great collection of well known Matisses and as it's set in the Parc des Arenes (a large expanse of grass, olive trees and ruined Roman arenas) it's also a good place for kids to run around and play.
If entertaining the kids is more a priority then you must visit the Parc Floral Phoenix, next to the airport. This 7-hectare park has the largest greenhouse in Europe , 1500 plant species, a small lake, a zoo and a superb playground. Typical of the region it may not be, but our kids were in Heaven all day long, all were thoroughly exhausted at the end - now that's a success in my book!
It's worth considering a day at one of the beaches along the coast. While it's tempting to see Cap Ferrat for its list of celebrity inhabitants (including Sir Elton John) the beach is disappointing and the multi-million-pound villas are all hidden from view. Much better is to visit the tiny port village of Villefranche-sur-Mer with its picturesque harbour and quiet shingle beach. Just the other side of the Cap Ferrat Peninsula is upmarket Beaulieu-sur-Mer where rich aristocrats flocked during the belle époque . The Grand Casino is still operating and the beach is quiet and shallow. We really enjoyed the 2.5km walk along a quiet lane lined with laurier roses (but lots of dog poo again!) to the beach at Cap Ferrat where there's a small beach playground and plenty of sailing boats and windsurfers for children to watch.
The great thing about Nice is how well placed it is. If you go for a week or more there are loads of options: how about a flutter with the seriously glamorous in Monte Carlo ? Or pop to Italy for a quick pizza in Ventimiglia. Catch some fresh Alpine air in the perfect village of St Martin Vesubie , or go star-spotting in Cannes . All of these are within an hour or so of Nice, and the are many, many more places to visit in the region.
Nice is not just nice, it's fantastic. And from our experience your children will think so too. Now you can't ask for more than that, can you?
SHOPPING:
Nice has a fantastic selection of designer clothing shops all in a conveniently small area. Here's a selection:
Kids fashion:
Catimini: 24 ave Jean Medecin
Petit Bateau: 13 rue Massena
Sergent Major: 12 rue de la Liberte
Bonpoint: 5 rue du Paradis
Women's fashion:
AgnesB: 17 rue Ponchettes
Rue du Paradis includes Sonia Rykiel, Louis Vuitton, Emporio Armani, and Hermes
Georges Rech: 9 Alphonse Karr
Zara: 25 ave Jean Medecin
Lafayette de Paris: 6 ave Jean Medecin