• After busing from Aix to Marseilles, we took a train to Nice.

• En route to Nice

• En route to Nice

• En route to Nice

• En route to Nice

• The train station in Nice

• Hôtel Albert 1er (Premier), our lodging in Nice for five nights

• A sign of the times: travelling during COVID

• View of the Jardin Albert 1er and the Mediterranean from the balcony of our hotel room.

• One night we had dinner at La Cucina, a small streetside cafe that caters to tourists.

• Tomato salad at La Cucina

• After some research, we learned to seek out restaurants that specialize in Nissarde cuisine, the traditional cuisine of the region which blends French and Italian influences.

• Our first experience with Nissarde cuisine was lunch at Lou Balico, a small restaurant run by the same family for three generations.

• This is a traditional salad Niçoise, always made with canned tuna, fava beans, olives, hard boiled egg, and tomatoes. Never potatoes nor string beans.

• This is Pissaladiere, caramelized onion and sardines on light, spongy bread. This was Doug's starter at Lou Balico, which was followed by Daube, braised beef served with small beef ravioli in broth. It was to die for.

• The dessert menu at Lou Balico.

• This is our dessert at Lou Balico, la Tourte de Blette Sucre, made with Swiss chard, pine nuts, and raisins. The crust is flaky and tender. We were the only non-locals in the restaurant.

• Another night we ate at Chez Acchiardo, a family-run restaurant since 1927. It is located in Vieux Nice and also specializes in Nissarde cuisine.

• At Chez Acchiardo, we started with these Panisses, made with chickpea flour, a common ingredient in Nissarde cuisine. They were delicious!

• The locals even make beer from chickpeas.

• Our final night in Nice we had pizza at Type 55, owned by a restauranteur who operates several restaurants that highlight Nissarde cuisine. We were unable to secure a table at his traditional restaurants, so we tried Type 55 that specializes in unique pizzas, like Doug's charcoal dough pizza, shown here.

• Kathy had a sun-dried tomato dough pizza.

• Place Masséna, Nice's living room, with 'Conversation in Nice' (2007), light standards designed by Catalan artist Jaume Plensa. The plaza architecture reflects Italian influences with its arches and covered passageways.

• Fontaine du Soleil at the southern terminus of Place Masséna

• Apollo - The horses on Apollo's head are a reference to the story that Apollo carries the sun across the sky each day in his chariot pulled by four horses.

• Exploring Vieux (Old) Nice

• The Palais de Justice in Vieux Nice

• Opéra de Nice

• Light fixtures of Opéra de Nice opposite the Église Saint-François-de-Paule

• Opera lamp detail

• Église Saint-François-de-Paule

• Inside Église Saint-François-de-Paule

• Cours Saleya, the main pedestrian thoroughfare in Vieux Nice

• Palais de Sardes on the Place Pierre Gautier, built in the early 1600s for the Dukes of Savoy

• Palais de Sardes

• Chez Theresa Socca Food Cart - Socca, a chickpea pancake, is a traditional Niçoise street food.

• Each morning the Cours Saleya Market vendors set up their striped awnings.

• Chapelle de la Miséricorde de Nice

• The Cours Saleya market

• Henri Matisse lived and worked in this building at the east end of Cours Saleya on Place Charles-Félix from 1921 to 1938.

• Looking to the west over the Cours Saleya market

• The Centre du Patrimoine (Cultural Heritage Center) is now housed in the former Senate

• Inside the Centre du Patrimoine (Cultural Heritage Center)

• On the left, at the corner of Rue de la Poissonnerie and Carriera Vou Gouvernou, is Loge Communale, arcades that display bits of architecture from Old Nice.

• Loge Communale, arcades that display bits of architecture from Old Nice.

• Once common, this is the only public stone wash tub left in Nice. This wash tub was located between the prison and the executioner's house. After an execution, the water would run red with blood because the executioner would use the tub to wash their hatchets after a beheading.

• Cannonball fired by the Turkish fleet in the 1543 siege of Nice in which Catherine Ségurana distinguished herself.

• Monument to Catarina Ségurana, a laundress who drove away the Turkish army during the siege of 1543.

• Monument to Catarina Ségurana, a laundress who drove away the Turkish army during the siege of 1543.

• Cathedrale Sante-Reparate (from 1049), the seat of the Diocese of Nice - The bell tower to the right was built between 1731 and 1757.

• Cathedrale Sante-Reparate restoration detail

• Cathedrale Sante-Reparate restoration

• Cathedrale Sante-Reparate restoration

• La Porte Fausse (The False Door) - Once a hidden gate that could be used to escape when the city was under siege

• La Porte Fausse from below

• La Porte Fausse from above - The murals are recent art installations.

• St Martin and St Augustin Church

• St Martin and St Augustin Church door

• Tour Saint-François (Tower Saint Francis)

• Sabine Geraudie, 'La Chaise Bleue de SAB' - 2014 - on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice at the start of our walk to Castle Hill

• Sabine Geraudie, ' La Chaise Bleue de SAB' - 2014 - A side view

• The Promenade from the Blue Chair eastward to Castle Hill is known as the Quai des États-Unis

• Along the Quai des États-Unis

• Bernar Venet, 'Neuf lignes obliques' - 2010

• Looking toward Vieux Nice from the Promenade

• A view of the Nice Opera House in Vieux Nice from the Promenade

• A portal into Vieux Nice along the Quai des États-Unis

• Climbing the stairs to the top of Castle Hill

• View of Nice from Castle Hill

• The red rooftops in the foreground are Vieux Nice

• An historic rendering of Castle Hill

• Vieux Nice from Castle Hill

• Looking east from Castle Hill toward Port Lympia, the Port of Nice

• Port Lympia

• Port Lympia

• A mosaic near the top of Castle Hill

• This mosaic and others were created in the park on Castle Hill in the 1960s in recognition of the city's Greek heritage.

• Ruins of the ancient castle atop Castle Hill

• The triangle of Vieux Nice is clearly visable from this angle. A tram line runs between Old Town and modern Nice along the tree-lined boulevard marked by the newer highrise buildings

• The hills north of Nice are the foothills of the southern end of the Alpes in France.

• In the foreground is the Cimetière du Château (Castle Cemetery)

• The Castle Hill waterfall

• Descending Castle Hill

• One of the grottos below the waterfall

• On our last day in Nice, we walked west on the Promenade des Anglais to Hotel Negresco, constructed in 1912 by a Romanian immigrant, Henri Negresco.

• We enjoyed a drink in the Versailles Bar in the Hotel Negresco.

• In the Hotel Negresco bar

• The Royal Lounge of the Hotel Negresco with its Baccarat crystal chandelier commissioned by Czar Nicholas II, who, due to the October 1917 Revolution, was unable to take delivery.

• After many years of decline, the hotel was sold to the Augier family in 1957. Madame Jeanne Augier restored the hotel with luxurious furnishings, including an outstanding art collection.

• On our last night in France, we sat on our hotel room balcony, watched the sun set over the Mediterranean, and enjoyed our last bottle of Languedoc wine from our earlier wine tasting experiences.

• Jaume Plensa's sculptures on Place Massena at night