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Magazine
POSTCARD FROM NICE
The flavours of the Riviera
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Slow down, relax and savour the romance and beauty of Nice at your own pace…
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Photo: AFP
The art connection: Nice’s fine arts museum.
Nice is the most popular resort on the French Riviera and is famous for its unspoilt beaches and non-extreme climate. There is just one word to describe the landing at Cote d’Azur airport — magical. The runway juts out to the Mediterranea
n Sea like a tongue sticking out to taste the sea. The city of Nice dots the blue Mediterranean, and lights from the houses on the hilly terrain gave a feeling of stars descending to converse with the sea. The curving, gaily-lit Promenade des Anglais seemed the perfect candle-lit table for the celestial conversation.
Nice can be covered in two days flat if you are a hurried traveller squeezing maximum foot prints in your holiday. But to relish the beauty and romance, you have to give it the “wine treatment” — sip, swirl and savour the flavour slowly.
The weekly flower and antique market is a huge tourist draw. Monday is the day of the antique market, where everything from books to old coins and stamps to furniture are displayed. The deals are reasonable.
Colourful contrast
The rest of the week the market doubles up as a flower market, popularly known as the Cours Saleya Flower Market. This is a fragrant and colourful contrast to the musty smelling antique market. Mornings are busy but the momentum wanes as twilight approaches and shoppers make a beeline to the sidewalk cafes.
A straight walk from Cours Saleya leads to Le Chateau. The best reason to visit the Chateau is for the panoramic view of Nice. One can take the elevator up for a nominal price or hike up the stairs for free.
The best way to see Nice is by foot — the locals are warm and eager to help. For the arty types there is the Matisse Museum that houses the work of renowned artist Henri Matisse. His paintings are showcased here. What is eye catching is the Riviera shoreline that is undoubtedly there in all the frames. Close to the Matisse Museum is the Nice Archaeology Museum and Roman Ruins, which is a bit of a disappointment considering the hype in the guides. Apart from some ancient coins, utensils and Roman baths, there is hardly anything to hold the visitor. With no guide for help, it is like walking past a line of exhibits in old government buildings.
The biggest crowd pullers are the Rue de France Pedestrian Zone and Vieux Nice or Old Nice — the former for its relaxed ambience and multitude of eateries that literally decant out of buildings and the latter for the old world charm and colourful market.
I found myself taking my mid-afternoon break at Old Nice most of the days. The quaint cafes and endless array of boutiques and trinket shops are difficult to stay away from. The sheer feeling of being in a period era, the friendly faces eager to speak English and the delicious smell of Nice delicacies kept pulling me back day after day. However, these charming streets come with its share of grey and are not advisable for a lone traveller after sunset.
Colours of the evening
The Pedestrian zone is the ideal way to end a day of sight seeing and relaxation at the beach. The best time on the zone is evening with the street artists displaying their finest performances and wooing you at your dinner table. There are musicians, jugglers and mime artists showcasing their talent, but the ones who caught my fancy were the spray painters. These artists conjured picturesque landscapes in a jiffy, using spray paint that is normally used for graffiti writing. The climax is drying the wet paint in a ball of fire without burning the canvas. Talk about magic in art!
While in Nice eat like a Nicean — but alas the choices are more Italian than French! With Italy just 20 km away, Italian gastronomy has a huge influence on Nice. It is easier to find Pizzas and Pastas than a traditional Socca or Farci. Other than a handful restaurants serving the traditional meals, all others have succumbed to dishing out Italian cuisine. The logic — it’s quick, fast, appeals to the global tourist and rakes in the money.
A traditional Nice meal is three course and needs to be eaten at leisure. Socca and Farci are the two typical Nice delicacies. Socca, made out of chickpea, is a fatter cousin of the dosa and is a meal in itself. Farci, a grilled vegetable topped with meat is more an appetizer. Of course the meal is not complete without washing it down with house wine.
The famous quote of George Bernard Shaw goes, “I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad”. Nice makes you feel otherwise.
MAYA DAS PILLAI
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