Abbreviation for Nice, France

Nice

The French Riviera is often portrayed with an image of glamor, beaches and beautiful people. Although the manufacture is correct also for Nice, Nice is more adapted to different types of travelers than cities such as Cannes and Monte Carlo. Nice has everything from backpackers who are accommodated in the city’s hostels to those who enjoy the days at one of the city’s luxury hotels.

Nice is France’s fifth largest city with approx. 340,000 inhabitants, and is the country’s second most visited city, after Paris. Nice city center is relatively compact and you can pretty much walk around the city on foot.

Nice is a fantastic city that you can travel to all year round, but it naturally attracts most tourists in the summer months, as it is warm and sunny. Nice is also a perfect starting point to experience more of southern France, like other cities along the French Riviera and Provence.

Get to know Nice

Nice is located in the south of France, on the Mediterranean coast of the Bay of Baie des Anges, a few miles from the border with Italy. Nice is a very old city. It was founded about 2350 years ago by the Greeks, who at that time already had a trading port in the nearby town of Marseille.

The Greeks named the city Nikaia in honor of the victory goddess Nike, and it soon became a well-known and busy port city. Later, Nice was incorporated into the Roman Empire, and from the 1300s it became a baseball between France and Sardinia for hundreds of years before it finally became French in 1860.

Nice has been a popular destination for tourists for centuries. The ancient Romans built their baths here two thousand years ago, and the ruins of these and of the amphitheater can still be seen in the northeastern district of Cimiez.

Nowadays, Nice’s annual jazz festival is being held at the ruins. Cimiez is a residential area for Nice’s more affluent residents, and here is also the city’s Henri Matisse Museum. Queen Victoria of England used to stay at the district’s Hotel Regina when she visited the French Riviera.

City Profile

• Abbreviation: NCE
• Country: France

Promenade des Anglais

The natural meeting place in Nice, to which all visitors immediately flow, is naturally the five-kilometer-long famous promenade Promenade des Anglais. It was named “The Englishmen’s Promenade” after wealthy Englishmen who spent the winters on the Riviera funded the construction around 1820. The town’s residents call it just the Promenade, or Prom. With Mediterranean blue waves and a wide beach on one side and beautiful luxury hotels, cafes and restaurants on the other, lined with colorful flower beds and palm trees, this is an incredibly beautiful street. It is used by both cyclists and walkers, street artists and skaters, tourists and pickpockets.

The French Riviera is known for its beautiful beaches, but be aware that the beach in Nice does not consist of sand but of pebbles and gravel. If you plan to spend time here with sun and swimming, bring sandals. But leave the valuables at the hotel, as professional and systematic thefts from bathers are taking place. There are plenty of blue beach chairs you can use, and on the private parts of the beach you can rent or get everything you need.

Old Town of Nice

The other place where you as a tourist are likely to spend a lot of time is Nice’s old town, Vieux Nice, also called Vieille Ville. It is an attraction in itself just strolling around the city’s narrow streets and alleys, with its colorful houses and many nice cafes, restaurants and small shops.

Here you will also find the city’s famous and colorful flower market, La Cours Saleya. Visit the market and feel the wonderful scents. This has been Nice’s most important marketplace for many centuries. Besides flowers, fruits and vegetables are also sold. Every Monday there is an antique market here and in the summer months there is an art market in the afternoons.

Le Château in Nice

On the hilltop next to Vieux Nice lies the park known as Le Château. The castle referred to was demolished in 1706 and there are only ruins left with the exception of the Bellanda Tower. Here you will also find the Nice Maritime Museum. From the top of the hill, 90 meters above sea level, you have a fabulous view of Nice and the Mediterranean. Here is a large and pleasant park with a waterfall, shady walks and some cafes and restaurants.

Come here early morning and have a breakfast picnic before all other tourists come after. You can either walk up the 213 stairs from Quai de Etats Unis, or you can take a lift for approx. 1 euro. Along the way, you will probably pass the Jewish cemetery, which is also worth a visit.

The port of Nice

Few tourists take the time to visit Nice’s port area, but it is actually very nice. Of course, there are several restaurants and cafes where you can relax with a refreshment overlooking the ferries to and from Corsica, Monaco and St. Tropez. Here are also some of Nice’s hottest nightclubs, and Marche des Puces, a daily flea market.

The other parts of Nice are mainly residential areas, and of limited interest to a visitor tourist.

Nice Facts

Nice is France’s fifth largest city and a real tourist favorite among cities in France.

List of Nice Acronyms

The most commonly used abbreviations about Nice is NCE which stands for Nice. In the following table, you can see all acronyms related to Nice, including abbreviations for airport, city, school, port, government, and etc.