For over 20 years, Pamela Lanier's Nice, France Travel Guide has been your connection to Nice's tourism community with invaluable details on local attractions, restaurants, shopping, museums, history, outdoor recreation and more.
Shopping & Restaurants
When it comes to shopping in Nice, there's plenty, and it's what you would expect and more from this incredible city. If specialty boutiques or designer stores such as Hermes, Cartier, Chanel, and Emporio Armani strike your fancy, head over to Rue Paradis, Avenue de Verdun, and rue Massena. But for those less expensive purchases you will thoroughly enjoy the shops on the harbor and the flea market at Place Robilante. Now what would a visit to Nice be like without some antique shopping? Look no further; at Les Puces de Nice there are an abundance of antique shops to choose from. But to really get a feel for shopping in Old Town (Vieux Ville), the Cours Saleya market area has all the ambiance you would expect from an open market. This delightful market has everything from antiques to flowers and wonderful spices that you will not be able to resist taking home. Before you continue on, why not stop for traditional lunch at one of the outdoor cafes, pubs or restaurants in Place Rosetti? You may want to try a local dish, such as Pan-Bagnat, filled with onions, celery, artichoke hearts, tuna, anchovies, tomatoes and lettuce, and a bowl of luscious bouillabaisse, made from fresh caught fish. Just remember to save room for ice cream; it's the best around.
When it comes to dinner the choices are limitless, with many casual cafes, bistros and restaurants to choose from that offer French, Italian, Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese and Mexican dishes. But for serious dining, the local Provencale cuisine, rustic and satisfying not dramatic and showy, is an art that chefs have cultivated and passed on for generations. Indulge in the intense seasonal tastes of cuisine Nissarde, the preferred term used by natives, distinguished by the freshest local seafood and the liberal use of olives, chickpeas and Swiss chard. Try Farcis Nicois, stuffed vegetables, or the internationally known classic, Salade Nicoise, a tomato salad with green peppers, eggs, tuna or anchovies, and olives, as a light lunch or appetizer. For an entrée, rey fried sardines, crisp and hot; or alouette sans tête à l'ancienne, a version of rolled veal scallops stuffed with ham, cheese and pork, and cooked in a strong, sweet sauce of tomatoes, carrots and wine, or the classic niçois version of gnocchi, made with Swiss chard and served with one of three sauces: gorgonzola, pistou (made from cloves of garlic, fresh basil, and olive oil) or tomato. Then for dessert, try the most common authentic local dessert, tarte aux blettes, a sweet pie based on Swiss chard.
