Nice, capital of the County of Nice and the French Riviera, is situated in a vast hilly cirque open to the Mediterranean, at the foot of the Alps, and is the natural outlet to the sea thanks to the valleys of the Var, its tributaries and the Paillon. This situation has always made it a strategic and political hub, disputed by many states.
Protected from the excesses of the climate by the Esterel to the west, the Mercantour to the north and the Ligurian Apennines to the east, the city is divided between a dense urban centre, with a historic core rich in a Baroque and Belle Epoque heritage unique in France, and gentle hills ideal for the joys of nature.
Founded in the 5th century BC by Phocaean Greeks already established in Marseille. Nikaïa was then colonised by the Romans in the 1st century. Christianised in the 3rd century by Saint-Pons and Sainte-Réparate, it became a possession of the Counts of Provence in the 10th century. Following a civil war in Provence, it came under the protection of the Counts of Savoy in 1388. It remained under the government of the Savoys, who became dukes in 1416 and then kings of Piedmont-Sardinia in 1720 until 1860. Threatened and occupied several times by French armies from the 16th century onwards, Nice was finally ceded to Napoleon III in 1860 by Victor-Emmanuel II, King of Piedmont-Sardinia, in exchange for France's support for Italian unity and at the end of a plebiscite.
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Office de Tourisme de Nice
Office de Tourisme Métropolitain Nice Côte d'Azur