The Fountain of the Sun (Fontaine du Soleil) is undoubtedly one of the most iconic landmarks in Nice. Located at the heart of Massena Square, the fountain is a popular tourist spot and a must-visit for anyone who finds themselves in the vicinity.

This impressive fountain features a magnificent statue of Apollo, the god of the sun, who stands tall and proud at the center of the sculpture. The statue of Apollo is completely naked, symbolizing the strength and beauty of the sun. The statue of Apollo was originally installed in 1956, the same year that the fountain was inaugurated. It was removed in 1970, but has since been restored and can be seen in its entirety today.

The fountain also features five bronze statues that represent planets - Earth, Mars, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn. These statues were created by French sculptor Alfred Janniot and are positioned around the statue of Apollo in a circular formation, symbolizing the solar system.

The Fountain of the Sun is a truly breathtaking work of art, and its location in Massena Square only adds to its beauty. The square is a bustling hub of activity, with street performers, vendors, and locals all coming together to create a lively and vibrant atmosphere.

Masséna Square, named in the honour of André Masséna, a Marshal of France during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, was designed by Joseph Vernier in 1844. It is spacious and bordered by ochre-coloured Italianate buildings, palm trees, and stone pines.

It is a popular venue for concerts, public events, and festivals. The Carnival Parade, Bastille Day celebrations, and other traditional festivities are often held here. One of the square’s most distinctive features is the Open Sky Museum — seven sculpted Buddhist figures perched on high stilts above the square. At night, they glow in shifting colours, adding a dreamlike atmosphere.

The Open Sky Museum also includes a display of blue-green “fairy” lights arranged in a kind of poetic Morse code. Opposite the lights stands “Nine Oblique Lines”, a monumental sculpture created to mark the 150th anniversary of Nice’s annexation to France. Nearby, in the Sun Fountain, the god Apollo stands proudly, watching over the city — and the city, in turn, seems to watch him.

Beside the square lies the Paillon Promenade, a lush green park lined with palms and flowering shrubs. Its Mirror Fountain features jets of water that spray in rhythmic bursts from the ground, creating reflections on a polished stone base. Children — and often adults — delight in running through the misty water clouds.

Facing the Paillon Promenade is the Albert I Garden, a public park dating back to the 1880s. Stretching from Masséna Square toward the English Promenade and Old Nice, it hosts summer festivals, including the renowned Nice Jazz Festival. With its fountains, exotic flowers, and shaded paths, it offers a calm, green retreat.

If you want to get in a leisurely stroll through one of the most popular streets of Nice, you will want to take a walk along the famous Avenue Jean Medicin. This famous part of town was named for one of the former city mayors. He was the head of the town for over 50 years. There has been a lot of care in the overall design, and the tour of the famous promenade is simply marvelous.

The best shopping in town can be found here, but be prepared to spend a little money in these shops. The streets are great for pedestrians, and have a lot of room for walking. The stores are also designed for people to be able to just pop in and out for a visit.

The Basilique Notre Dame is not very far away, so you will want to go while there. The whole trip down the famous avenue will take you around 30 minutes from the furthest end (which is by the train station or the Place Massena, depending on which end you start at.) If you need a rest along the way, stop in the famous Nice Etoile Mall. It has some of the best shopping along the way also.

The Notre Dame Church of Nice is the largest of the churches located in the city. It is also one of the main Old Town attractions, representing the first of the churches built in the area in a more modern architectural style. You can find the building on Avenue Jean Medecin, in the very heart of that part of Nice.

By far, most of the religious buildings in Nice have been designed in an Italian Baroque manner. So, in 1848, when the Basiliquee Notre-Dame was built, its very Gothic style represented something totally new. The design was created by the well known architect C. Lenormand. The style lends an old and majestic kind of look to this house of worship that transcends the building's actual age.

The Avenue Jean Medecin is a very busy street in old Nice; therefore, it shouldn't be too difficult for anyone to find things to do along its whole length, making a stop at the famous church a must-do for your trip.

Why You Should Visit:
The architecture is impressive, especially when the exterior is lit up at night and reflects in the glass windows next door and across the street. Serene, with beautiful rose windows and stained glass on the inside, it offers a peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle of downtown Nice.

The Cathedrale Saint-Nicolas, an Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Nice, is a possession of the Russian Federation. Nevertheless, it is also a national monument of France. It is in the Moscow Patriarchate and it's the largest Eastern Orthodox church in Western Europe. In 1864 Tsar Alexander II took the first train to Nice and fell in love with the climate.

Since the visit of Alexander II the Riviera has been very popular with the Russians. The Cathedral was consecrated in 1912 in memory of Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich, who had died in Nice. Funding for the Cathedral was provided by Tsar Nicholas II of unhappy memory. In 2013 the Court of Cassation ruled the building and land to be Russian.

Although the Cathedral is located in Nice, one glance at the exterior would give it away. It is Russian, inside and out. No other architecture in Nice approaches it. It makes one think of a Fabrage egg. The onion-shaped domes and bright colors, the vast collection of icons leave no doubt.

Admission to sightseers is free but no photographs inside are allowed and telephones should be turned off. There is a dress code for those who wish to go inside. Men must not wear shorts. Women may not show bare shoulders and heads should be covered.

The Cemenelum Amphitheatre is a fascinating piece of history located in the city of Nice. The Roman city of Cemenelum was established in the 1st century AD, serving as a staging point for Roman troops in the Alpes Maritime region before later becoming the regional capital. In 14 BC, Augustus selected Cemenelum as the principal seat of the province of Alpes Maritimae due to its favorable location. However, as time went on, the Romans began to settle further inland, on the opposite side of the river Paillon. Despite this, remnants of the town on the Hill of Cimiez date back to the 3rd century AD.

At the northern end of the site, visitors will find the Cemenelum Amphitheatre. Initially built with wood seating for only 500-600 individuals, the amphitheater was later reconstructed with stone during the Severan dynasty (AD 193-217) and expanded to accommodate up to 5000 people. While not as grand as those found in other Roman cities like Arles or Nimes, the vaulted remains at Nice-Cimiez bear similarity to other small amphitheaters in garrison towns across the Roman Empire.

The amphitheater seating reflected the class distinctions between officers and enlisted men, with the structure at Nice-Cimiez divided into two sections that could be reached through separate entrances. While not as well-preserved as other amphitheaters, the Cemenelum Amphitheatre remains an impressive piece of history that helps visitors to better understand the ancient Roman world.

This very old church is the home of one of the smallest parishes in Nice. You can visit the location on Don Bosco road, and it is located near the high school there. It has a fair bit of historical significance though, as it represents the very first church built in the country by the Salesian religious order. The group was organized by Don Bosco in 1859 in Turin.

The designer of the church was Jules Lefebvre. It was also worked on by Marius Deporta. It is noted in the some of the historical documents surrounding the construction of the building that the designers wanted to make it look a lot like Notre Dame Raincy Church of Auguste Perrett.

The architecture is can be classified as art deco. In looking at the outside of the building, one might think that they were visiting a villa of France. Once you get inside, though, you will find one of the largest sanctuaries of any church in the city. The painting of the Way of the Cross that was done on the inside was the inspiration of Eugene Doucet. It took over ten years to paint. You will also want to take note of the beautiful and colorful ceiling of the church. It has a blue and gold colored cross painted across a total surface area of over 2600 feet. It is quite breathtaking.

Place Garibaldi, designed by architect Antoine Spinelli and completed in 1773, is one of the oldest and most distinguished squares in Nice. Conceived while the city was still under Sardinian rule, it served as the royal gateway along the route connecting Nice to Turin. Its harmonious proportions and classical layout make it a fine example of 18th-century urban design on the French Riviera.

The square is framed by elegant Baroque-style buildings, three storeys high, painted in warm shades of ochre and terracotta. Their graceful arcades and trompe-l’œil frescoes evoke both the Mediterranean light and the Italian influence of the House of Savoy. At its centre rises the monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi, the celebrated general and native of Nice, who played a defining role in the unification of Italy. The statue, installed in 1891, shows Garibaldi standing proudly atop a pedestal adorned with coats of arms and lions.

Place Garibaldi is intersected by Jean Jaurès Boulevard, Republic Avenue, and Cassini Street, placing it at a crossroads between the old town and the modern city. Around the square stand several landmarks, including the Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher, the historic Turin Café, and the National Theater of Nice, each adding to the square’s rich architectural and cultural landscape.

Beneath the southern end of the square lie traces of Nice’s layered past. An archaeological crypt, accessible from Jean Jaurès Boulevard, reveals remnants of the 16th-century fortifications — including sections of the Pairoliere Tower, the Saint Sebastian Bastion, and the Augustins Suburb. These remains remind visitors that this elegant square once stood at the heart of the city’s defensive walls.

There are several kinds of marche des puces (flea markets) in Nice, found in some of the most interesting parts of the city, where you can walk around and look for second-hand bargains for hours.

But if you are pressed for time, just head straight for Puce de Nice. Perched right near the Old Port with picturesque views of the yachts on Quai Lunel, shaded by the Chateau/Castle Hill, this professional flea market represents a cluster of (30!) little storefronts and open-air antique stalls, grouped together under the same name and crammed to the brim with attic treasures, unique oddities, and one of a kind finds. Here you can find practically anything, from genuine antiques (e.g. jugs and plates from a bygone era) to Asterix annuals to vintage clothing and costume jewellery, and more – all of good quality. "Vide grenier" ("empty the attic"), they say.

Market fans love this place and usually come away with more than they can fit in their suitcase. Antiques are openly displayed, and the owners are always friendly. You can join the hunt and ask for discount on several items, or have a coffee and watch the hunters go by.

Being a cemetery does not make it a less interesting place to visit. Castle Cemetery sits on top of the hill at Cimiez, and has one of the most beautiful views of the city. So, visiting the cemetery is certainly not very depressing.

The cemetery was founded in 1783. Most of the graves are very ornate and there are many small chapel style gravesites made in white marble. The works of art kind of reflect the love of art that the locals have for all aspects of life. Here art is life.

Most people visit this place, though, for two famous people who are buried here. It is the final resting place of Raoul Dufy, the famous French Fauvist painter. This is also the burial spot for the internationally renowned French painter Henri Matisse, whose works are adored by millions of art lovers worldwide. You will have to look a bit for the burying site of Dufy, as it is a very simple plot to say the least. It located near the Monastery garden gate. Matisse’s grave, on the other hand, is easier to spot.

The Castle Cemetery used to also be the citadel for the city in the 16th Century. There are, in total, more than 2800 people buried here. Besides the two people already mentioned, you can find the final resting places of other famous people like Gaston Leroux, a French journalist and author of detective fiction, and Emil Jellinek-Mercedes, an entrepreneur and industrialist who commissioned the first modern automobile, the Mercedes 35 HP.

The Vieux Nice, also known as the Old Town, is in many respects the most colorful area in the whole city. There are lots of small streets that can be wondered for a very long time, most of which end in a shop, or a great place to eat, or an art exhibit. There are lots of pastels that have been used in the paint. Just to make things even more romantic in design, the locals still hang their laundry out across the street on long clotheslines.

Part of the allure of the area comes from the fact that this once was a very poor part of town, so you really get to see a piece of the real city here. There are two main attractions you will also want to check out: the Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate (named after the saint of the town) and the famous Fenocchio ice-cream parlor.

You may also want to visit the Chapelle del’Annonciation, home of a famous local museum that has been built inside an exquisite old 17th-century space. Along the whole way, you will find many good cafés and coffee shops, along with places to buy lots of souvenirs. The southern end of the Old Town is home to the Cours Saleya, which is a marketplace well known for its flowers, fish and produce.

Why You Should Visit:
Almost all aspects of this historic and characterful Old Town are just superb!
Not only is it classically French but also has some unique and/or idiosyncratic features such as in Place Garribaldi.
You can spend more than a few days strolling around and visiting whichever bars take your fancy…

Tip:
It's highly likely that you'll have to book in your preferred choice(s) as the bars and restaurants throughout the area are busy during most of the evening.
Otherwise, do not plan a lot or any of it! Just immerse yourself and indulge.

A trip to Nice absolutely must include a stroll around the Cours Saleya Markets. This lively stretch once served as the city’s main square, but today it’s an open-air market bursting with colour, fragrance, and energy. The sights, sounds, smells, and friendly bustle make it one of the highlights of any visit.

Every Monday morning, the area transforms into an antique market where you can hunt for the perfect piece of Art Deco design or a one-of-a-kind souvenir. From Tuesday through Sunday, the market is devoted to flowers and seasonal produce. The selection changes with the time of year, but everything sold here is fresh and full of Mediterranean flavour.

If your accommodation includes a kitchen, don’t miss the fresh fish stalls — the taste of fish caught just hours before is incomparable, especially when paired with local herbs, bread, and wine.

During summer evenings, the Cours Saleya becomes a craft market. You can shop for flowers, fruit, cheese, olives, and bread in the morning, then return after sunset to browse handmade jewellery, art, and souvenirs. The surrounding cafés and restaurants make it easy to linger — the perfect way to spend a summer day in Nice.

For early birds, this market is a delight. Bring reusable bags for your purchases, along with small bills and coins — the vendors are busy and often prefer quick transactions.

Tip: Be there around noon. You’ll hear the daily cannon fired — a long-standing tradition that began with the Duke of Nizza, who used it as a reminder for his shop-loving wife to come home for lunch.

On a sunny day in Nice, the calm of a leisurely stroll might suddenly be broken by the traditional boom of a cannon. Almost as if in response, the forecourt of the Nice Opera House comes alive with an informal burst of live music — turning the interruption into a charming reminder of Nice’s lively spirit.

The Nice Opera House is an esteemed venue for opera, housed in a massive late-19th-century theatre. It regularly presents operas, ballets and classical concerts — a rich variety of performances that trace back to the site’s earliest theatrical use. Indeed, the original wooden theatre on the location opened in 1776.

The building you see today was reconstructed under the direction of architect François Aune, a disciple of Charles Garnier, architect of Paris’s famed opera house, after a catastrophic fire in 1881. Its style has been described variously as Belle Époque or Baroque Revival, and its grandeur is balanced by surprising intimacy.

The theatre’s layout contributes to that effect: it features multiple tiers of boxes and galleries. Visitors today are greeted by congenial tour guides and can explore a historic space that invites a happy evening out.

In the late 1700s, English aristocrats developed a fondness for the city of Nice, spending their winters along the shore. During the harsh winter of 1820, English visitors found themselves surrounded by a wave of beggars. The solution? Build a walkway along the seashore—funded by the Anglican Church. A brilliant idea that benefited everyone.

The city leaders took the plan further, greatly expanding its scope. After Nice was annexed by France in 1860, the “Promenade Path” became known as the English Promenade. Today, locals simply call it La Prom, and it remains a favourite spot for walkers, families, skateboarders, and cyclists.

The Promenade stretches for about four miles around the Bay of Angels”. On the seaside, private and public beaches stand side by side, often crowded during summer months. Don’t be surprised if you have to share your patch of sand. Above the coastline, in the hills of Nice, former aristocratic villas have been transformed into grand hotels and museums.

Tip:
Restaurants along the seafront tend to be more expensive. For a more authentic experience, try the traditional eateries a little farther inland. One of the most vibrant stretches lies between Boulevard Gambetta and the Old Town, where you’ll find the grand Belle Époque hotels, elegant residences, and plenty to explore.