Nice, France- if hell had a beach

So maybe the title is an unfair evaluation of Nice, France. I mean, after all, if hell had a beach it can't really be hell, can it? Also, we made it to Nice after almost 17 days of straight travel through Italy, only staying in one place for 3 or 4 days, so we were exhausted. We also planned to go to Nice, France, very early in the planning process, and had not yet learned that we preferred less populated areas. Nice was a city on the go, which we were not expecting.

Nice is a major city on the Southern Coast of France, with a population of 1 million people. It's about 13km/8mi to the country of Monaco, and about an hour from the Italian border. Crossing the border into France was our first shocking experience of racism in Europe- they pulled the bus over, checked everyone's passports, and pulled two men of Middle Eastern descent from the bus. The border patrol then had each man take his gear out from storage beneath the bus and meticulously searched each of their belongings. When customs were done, they left their things scattered on the side of the road and dismissed us. We waited, trying not to stare out the windows, as the men picked up their clothing, photos, and food out of the dirt. The gentlemen next to us, who was wearing a turban, muttered "So glad I have a Canadian passport" as we pulled away from the scene.

It was devastating to realize that racism is everywhere, not just in the United States. While I feel like Americans are regularly criticized for oppression of minorities, I was shocked to realize that it was just as prevalent in Europe. I regularly felt like I had "Stupid Americano" written across my forehead, but it never led me to be treated as these men had. There was a weight on my heart as we moved into Nice.

The city reminded me of Los Angeles, or Hollywood. Palm Trees lined the main boulevard, with casinos every couple of blocks and gym rats walking along the sidewalks. There was heavy construction everywhere we went- in the city, along the beach. Old town seemed to be the only place that was spared from the endless improvement. We followed the promenade des anglais to Castle Hill, an 11th century fortress turned into a public park. It was absurdly hot after the climb to the top, where the only relief was the man-made waterfall misting over the tourist crowd. We had many people recommend that we complete our evening by checking out the clubs in Old Nice, but that is so not our scene. We went back to the airbnb and relaxed, and tried to decide what to do next.

The waterfall at Castle Hill

We picked wrong, once again. We chose to climb the hill to Haut De Cagnes. This would have been great, except for two major mistakes: I gps-ed us to the wrong address, so we climbed 3km uphill the wrong direction, and then we did not know there was a tourist bus that we could have taken which would have helped us avoid another 3km climb uphill. By the time we reached the Grimaldi Castle we were hot, sweaty, and griping at each other. The sign said the castle was closed from 1-2, but it was actually closed until 4. Waiting was fine until we were mauled by a group of Italian school children (it sounds way cuter than it actually was, trust me). The castle was strange- there was a mix of modern art and historical artifacts throughout. We later found out there was a bus that dropped you off right outside the Castle, so we didn't even need to walk that far. There was a lot of grump-ing going on after that.

The view from the Grimaldi Museum


The ornate fireplace in the Grimaldi Museum
The French Riveria looks positively gorgeous, but I would go further along the coast line, unless you're a fan of casinos and race cars. Nice was just a little too fast for my personal speed on vacation. The beach was nice though- So even hell has it's positive aspects.

If you like this, you should also check out...
Getting Lost in the Alpine Foothills- Varenna Italy
Beauty in Bellano
Travel Revelations-Venice

All words and images property of the author