C I TY LI F E NICE
Historically a place where monarchs and aristocrats would escape the winter in favour of warm Mediterranean climes, this southern French city is at its best in the off season
WORDS: K ARLINA VAL E I KO PHOTOGR APHS: ANTHONY LANNERE TONNE
Think of Nice and hot, languid summers spent lounging on a beach are likely to spring to mind — along with luxury yachts, fi ve-star hotels and elegant movie stars. But come to this eastern corner of the Côte d’Azur outside the summer months, and gone is the heat, ushered out by the salty breeze, along with the cosmopolitan crowds that typically fi ll the streets of the old town. Not long ago, the off season was considered
the best time to go. Long before the city’s fame as a summer destination, it thrived as a villégiature d’hiver (winter resort), off ering aristocratic and upper-class families a chance to escape the bitter, gloomy winters of northern Europe and bask in its mild, coastal Mediterranean climate. The European elites of the 1800s turned Nice into what’s now recognised by UNESCO as the ‘Winter Resort Town of the Riviera’. In the fi rst part of the 19th century, it was
mostly the British upper classes who would retreat here. A few decades later, they were joined by wealthy Russians, Germans and Austrians, among others, who brought with them their near-limitless funds and own ideas about how they wanted their winter homes to look — creating the eclectic mix of baroque, belle époque and art deco architecture seen in the city of Nice today.
These winter visitors, or hivernants, helped
make Nice into what’s now the fi fth-largest city in France, framed by the Provence Alps to the north and the palm-fringed Bay of Angels to the south. But despite its size, there’s little to suggest it’s changed signifi cantly since the days of those early visitors — there’s hardly a glass-and-steel structure in sight, and life retains the same slow, casual rhythm. Nice off ers the same it always has. That
includes the works of artists, such as Matisse, Picasso and Chagall, who all had a personal connection to the city, which are on display in many of the city’s museums. There are also relics of the past like the Hôtel Régina, built for Queen Victoria, who regularly wintered here — and even reminisced about it on her deathbed. Then there is the opulent Opéra de Nice, which hosts operas, ballets and concerts throughout the year for as little as €10 (£8.50). While, for most, spending the entire winter
in Nice is not viable anymore, just a short off - season break is enough to relax and revitalise. It’s best to take it slow: get lost in a painting at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nice; wander the villa-lined streets of Cimiez imagining the lives of those who lived here in its heyday; sip a crisp glass of local rosé at Place Charles Félix and people-watch. There’s no denying that even out of season, Nice is a tonic for the soul.
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