Vieux Nice / Castle Hill

The most attractive and most original location of Nice is Vieux Nice, the historic district of the city. Those who live there call it vièia vila, which also means “old city” in the dialect of Nice. Additionally, it used to be called babazouk, which is a local adaption of the Arabic phrase “the door to Souk, i.e. to the Bazaar”.

This part of Nice meets almost every cliché that you can imagine with regard to a city in the Provence in particular and the more southern regions of European in general: winding, narrow alleyways invite visitors to wander and explore, while hidden courtyards shadowed by pine trees invite them to stay and rest; houses with facades of pastel or earth-like colours, and ochre colours respectively, and baroque churches make you stop in awe, and the numerous small shops offer a chance to go shopping and explore (fashion boutiques, souvenir stores and art galleries)...

Vieux-Nice is also the capital of nightly parties on the Cote d’Azur; its narrow alleyways are populated by visitors of restaurants, bars, pubs and discotheques. At night, this is a go-to place for tourists and Nice’s residents alike. The morning after, the city returns to normality and its residents do their shopping at the market at Cours Saleya or in one of the numerous, typical stores (olives and spices, local vegetables or flowers from the region). This part of the city also includes different administrative buildings such as the City Hall or the Palace of Justice. The Opera house of Nice is also located there.

Our recommendation: Leave the map in your pocket and simply let yourself drift a bit through the labyrinth of alleyways – you will automatically come to the most important sights. Do as the locals do and get your morning coffee in one of the nice little cafés, hide from the midday’s heat in the cool maze of alleyways, and enjoy the evening with local specialities in one of the many restaurants, some of which offer special dishes such as “tourte de blette” (chard cake), grilled meat dishes with lavender or fish specialties with various spices.

ARCHITECTURAL PARTICULARITY

This district has a special, natural climate-control. Nice’s architects and bricklayers have made use of the natural flow of air masses and the sea breeze to control the climate in the historic district. In terms of the meteorological mechanism, it presents the principle that, when two places in close proximity have different temperatures, the air begins to circulate to adjust the thermal balance. In the summer, the sun overheats the roofs. A few meters below, the narrows always are much cooler in contrast. Just a few degrees cooler makes a difference and the air begins to circulate. It is drawn upwards and any clothes hanging outside the windows dry very quickly. This phenomenon occurs in any city that has a network of narrow streets and alleyways.

Vieux-Nice, however, takes this phenomenon to new heights with some architectural particularities. The Clairoirs, these barred openings above the house entrance doors in the historic district, which are part of the local charm with their style and diversity, are not merely decorative elements. Combined with other architectural elements, they actively help to ensure that the air in the narrow alleyways and inside the houses becomes bearable, particularly during the scorching heat of the summer. The Clairoirs generate a source of air, as do the typical Nicean window shutters with their flaps not fully closed towards the alleyway. The incoming air can be absorbed into the hallway and the living rooms, and then move upwards into the houses’ interior courtyards. This flow of air in a house is expelled through a glass cover lying on the roof of the house. The glass cover helps increase the effect of a heat outlet.

CASTLE HILL

The Colline du Château, the “Castle Hill” located between Vieux-Nice and the port, is what used to be the settlement of Nice. The remnants of the fortress and the cathedral are all that remains at the strategically favourable location on this hill overlooking the sea – but visitors can expect to have a fantastic view across the historic district of Nice that spreads out at the foot of the hill. Particularly in the evenings, when the sun slowly sinks into the sea, the beautiful old houses glow with their red tiled roofs under the spotlights and the streetlights magically turn the Promenade des Anglais into a sea of light, and Nice shows off its soft, romantic side…