Visit one of the Promenade’s many excellent restaurants in the evening for a meal while enjoying the sunset - and some great people-watching.
Nice has been popular with the English as a summer retreat since the latter half of the 18th century. Most of the houses at this time were on higher ground, with the beaches largely deserted. In 1820, the construction of a large walkway was proposed - partly to give work to the local population, and partly to avoid beggars - and the Camin deis Anglés (its Nissart name later turned French, after the annexation of Nice in 1860) was born. It reached its current paved form in 1931.
Today, the Prom is an important social centre for the city: runners, seaside strollers, and families on an evening walk all congregate to enjoy the Mediterranean blue of the Baie des Anges and the chic of Belle Époque architecture. The walkway has become popular with inline skaters, and you can rent bikes, rollerblades, scooters and even Segways for a fun day out by the bay.
There are a number of magnificent hotels including the Negresco, with its famous pink cupolas, and the art-deco bling of the Palais de la Méditerranée. The hotels have their own private beach areas, complete with deck chairs and parasols; other parts of the stony shore are accessible to everyone.
If you fancy a sit down go for the sea-blue chairs so evocative of mid-century Riviera glamour, the chaises bleues de la Promenade. First designed in the 1950s, they have become a symbol of the Promenade, and in 2014 a vast two-dimensional sculpture by artist SAB immortalised them in iconic form on the seafront.
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