Nice

English visitors who came to spend the winter paid for this walk in the 19th century, and the name records them. The blue folding chairs belong to the city and sitting on them costs nothing.

Flowers and vegetables fill the square from the morning until about 1pm. After that the stones are hosed down and the restaurant awnings come out. On Mondays antiques take the place of the flowers. The yellow house at the far end is where Matisse lived.

The name says castle but none stands: the king pulled it down in 1706. Over two hundred steps rise to the top, though a lift on the harbour side saves your legs. A waterfall and an old cemetery share the hill; a circuit takes an hour.

The building went up to hold twelve large biblical canvases and opened while the painter was still alive. Tuesday is its closed day, and the blue glass in the windows is his design too.

A red villa on the Cimiez hill, ringed by olive trees, so it reads as a park rather than a gallery. A Roman arena and bath ruins share the rise and go with the visit. Tuesday is the closed day here too, so pairing the two on one date wastes the trip.

The Russian imperial family paid for it and the building was finished in 1912, under six onion domes. Shoulders and knees have to be covered, and cloths wait by the entrance.

These lanes are so narrow that sun never reaches the ground, which keeps them cool in high summer. The yellow and red on the walls is a Ligurian habit that crossed the border. In the evening chairs come out and the walking width shrinks.

A pine path loops the hill east of the port with unbroken shade, but nothing is sold up there, so carry water.

Red facades and a black and white chequerboard floor wrap the square, where seven seated figures on poles change colour through the night.

The Nice shore is not sand but fist-sized stones, which makes walking barefoot into the water hard. Many go in wearing shoes, and the beach splits between paid stretches that lend a mat and stretches open to anyone. Taking pebbles home is banned.

Stone houses crowd a rock 427 metres above the sea, and the castle ruin on top now holds a cactus garden. The city bus from Nice gets there in about 30 minutes. On foot, the steep Nietzsche path takes an hour or a bit more down to the seaside station.

A fishing harbour on the deep bay just east of Nice, deep enough that big cruise ships anchor offshore. Jean Cocteau painted the walls of the little Saint-Pierre chapel on the quay. The beach starts right below the railway station.

A walled hill village packed with galleries, where Chagall is buried in the village cemetery. Below it in the woods, the Fondation Maeght sets Miro and Giacometti works out in its garden. The bus from Nice takes about an hour.

A tiny principality about 20 minutes from Nice by train. On the rock, the palace guard changes every day at 11:55. The Monte Carlo casino gaming rooms admit only those 18 and over, passport in hand.

A pink mansion that a Rothschild daughter built on the spine of Cap Ferrat, sea on two sides and nine themed gardens laid out around it. Fountains in the French garden leap in time to music. The rooms inside are full of 18th century furniture and porcelain.

The old harbour east of Castle Hill, its quays ringed by Italianate buildings painted yellow and orange. Ferries for Corsica sail from here, while small wooden fishing boats tie up further in. Seafood restaurants line the waterfront.

A long park laid over the covered Paillon river, separating Vieux Nice from the newer streets. In summer children splash in the water mirror, where mist and shallow jets rise from the paving. It runs straight on from Place Massena.

A February festival lasting just over two weeks, when giant figures on floats parade round Place Massena at night. By day the flower battle runs along the Promenade, floats throwing mimosa and blossoms into the crowd. Seats in the stands need a ticket.

A 17th century Baroque cathedral on Place Rossetti in the old town, dedicated to Reparata, the patron saint of Nice. Its glazed tile dome peeks out between the lanes. Every evening the ice cream shop across the square draws a crowd.