Places to go
La Promenade des Anglais
At the beginning of the 19th century, more that 100 wealthy British families moved to Nice, attracted by an exceptional climate, described by the British writer Tobias Smollet in his travel accounts back in 1763.
The British created a sort of parallel society and even brought their own Church of England along with them. The locals welcomed them because the riches and fame they created were good for the economy of Nice and the whole French Riviera.
In 1822 Reverend Lewis Way decided it was about time to smooth the bumpy path along Nice's coast, on behalf of his wealthy parishioners. He collected their money and built "lou camin deï Angles" using cheap and unemployed local labourers: La promenade des Anglais was born. Their great fascination for this city made Alexandre Dumas say that Nice was a British city where one could even meet some Niçois!
Today La promenade des Anglais is a pole of attraction for a myriad of tourists all over the world. With beautiful palm trees, luxury buildings like the Hotel Negresco and the Palais de la Mediterannée, trendy cafés, large spaces for strolling, jogging, celebrating, playing music, dancing, it is much more than a mere promenade!
