With only 24 hours to spend in Nice, in the south of France I wanted to make the most of it. This doesn’t sound like a lot of time but you can definitely cram a lot of exploring in! Arriving in the evening meant checking in at the hotel and heading straight out to explore the nightlife. With the airport located conveniently close to the town it didn’t take too long to find ourselves in the old town in a very cool bar with a beer in hand. Wayne’s bar was rammed with locals, and with live music playing it was definitely the right choice of venue. Although, we enjoyed it a little too much and ended up staying out slightly longer than planned. This meant sore heads all round in the morning and slightly more money spent than had been intended! None the less we dragged ourselves up early, ravenous for a typical French breakfast. Coffee and croissants in a lovely café was the perfect antidote. All perked up and ready for the day ahead we strolled to the train station, the plan was to spend the day in Monte Carlo. I was really looking forward to the train journey along the coastline, but once at the station we discovered there had been a landslide and no trains were running! Feeling a little disappointed we went back to the town centre and decided having only explored Nice’s nightlife that the rest of this lovely Mediterranean area was waiting to be uncovered. Strolling along the bustling Promenade des Anglais, with the sea shimmering and the sun shining we headed towards the cliffs near the harbour. Climbing the steps up to the clifftop revealed fantastic views over the coastline, old town and the port on the opposite side. You could even see snow-capped mountains further inland. Known as Parc du Château this cliff top park has a man-made waterfall called Cascade Donjon and lovely gardens, perfect for a picnic with beautiful views of the ocean. Next stop was a visit to the food and flower market in the old town. It’s a great place to pick up fresh bread, meats and cheeses. The Corsican cheese I bought was a particular favourite. There were also lots of lavender products, soaps and oils to purchase. After checking out the market, it was time to get lost in the tiny side streets. This is one of my favourite things to do in European cities; the buildings and beautiful architecture were a real highlight of the trip for me. Continuing further we stumbled across a wonderful bakery and bought some scrummy fresh pastries. With a huge variety of restaurants to choose from for lunch and being in France I felt it was only right to go for Moules – frites with a glass of white wine. After lunch it was time for a bike ride, Velo Bleu rental bicycles can be found all over the town and from €1 a day you can help yourself to one of these beauties. We cycled along the promenade stopping for ice cream along the way. A quick coffee outside in the sun along with a bit of people watching ended our glorious day in France. Back at the airport I bought a bottle of red wine as a souvenir of a perfect 24 hours on the French Riviera. Cheers!
