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Posted on Friday, 5 March 2010 |
 Originally the ancient city of Nice was packed onto the fortified hilltop that sits between Nice Promenade and Nice Port. This is where the Greeks sited it in ancient times, no doubt as a measure of protection. A very successful measure it was too as it took the King of France 6 long months of sustained cannon ball fire to raze it to the ground.
Blasting Nikaia to the ground turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened to the city not just because it brought Nice briefly under French rule, but because it allowed the city to blossom along the coast and spread its wings as far as Cimiez in the foothills and across the river Paillon.
It changed the face of the city of course but it also changed how the city developed and shaped what it was to become. The town seeped along the coast claiming the sloping beach front as it's own. The locals sent out fishing boats from the sea front while the women washed their linens in the river.
As foreign tourists poured into the city the Promenade began to take shape. The genteel English liked to take their sea air there and being seen on the French Promenade became an essential part of British society.
The promenade was built up to give the delicate ladies somewhere to walk beneath their frilled parasols. The Victorians gifted the French the tall palm trees that sway on the sea front and the area became know locally as the Promenade des Anglais. It was quite simply where the English liked to promenade.
Nice was something of a 'spa' town during the 1800's too as UK and Northern European physicians recommended the gentle climate and dry air for consumptive patients. So Nice beach and the Promenade des Anglais was not quite the fun beach holiday destination that it is today. The elite visitors of the time, shaded themselves from the bright sun as fashion dictated a pale English rose complexion and the elderly and infirm where wheeled by their nurses along the newly built Promenade.
It wasn't until after the World War and the arrival of recovering American war veterans that the fun times on Nice beach started. The Americans where not afraid of the sun and their relaxed attitude soon caught on.
Nice Promenade today is the central focus for the city of Nice. It's wide sweeping bay and startling blue waters captivate tourists, visitors and locals. Residents use the 7 kilometre stretch as their front garden as apartment living reduces the size of peoples private space. Nice Promenade is everyone front garden, children cycle, teenagers hang out, Mum's and Dads wander. People, jog, cycle and walk the length of the Promenade des Anglais. It is used to stage events, put on exhibitions and show case new projects in the city.
The Promenade is a place to get fit, sun bathe, have lunch, meet your friends, take your children or just sit in silent contemplation of the vast horizon. The atmosphere is communal and private all at the same time. Nice Promenade des Anglias is the gateway to the Mediterranean and it is the beating heart of the city of Nice. |
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