Budget · 3-hour walk · Nice
Vieux Nice and Castle Hill in three hours
The flower market, the baroque church and palace of the old town, and the hill above it with the best view of the bay.
Nice belonged to the House of Savoy until 1860, and its old town still looks Italian: tall ochre houses, washing over the lanes, and churches that would be at home in Genoa. Do it in the morning, when the Cours Saleya market is on, and finish on Castle Hill, where there is no castle but there is the view every postcard of the Baie des Anges is taken from.
The route, stop by stop
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Cours Saleya
The market street of the old town: flowers and produce every morning except Monday, when it is antiques. Socca, the chickpea pancake, is sold hot from the stalls.
30 min here Walk here → -
Palais Lascaris
A 17th-century nobleman's palace with painted ceilings and a collection of historic musical instruments.
30 min here Walk here → -
Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate
The baroque cathedral on Place Rossetti, named after a young martyr whose body, the story goes, was carried into the bay in a boat guided by angels.
15 min here Walk here → -
Place Garibaldi
The arcaded square at the top of the old town, named after the hero of Italian unification, who was born in Nice in 1807.
15 min here Walk here → -
Colline du Château
Castle Hill, a park where the castle stood until Louis XIV had it pulled down in 1706. Paths climb from the old town, and a free lift runs up from the seafront end. The waterfall at the top is artificial.
45 min here Walk here →
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