What a splendidly located city Nice is. Even before you land you realise the grand sweep of the place, located in the Bay of Angels on the shores of the Mediterranean and flanked by the foothills of the French Alps.

Founded by Greek traders in the 4th century BC and occupied by the Romans 300 years later, the French only took custody of Nice from its Italian rulers as late as 1860.

The Gauls were quick to capitalise on the city’s idyllic location and 300 days of sunshine a year. By the end of the 19th century Nice was one of the first cities in the world to develop its economy around tourism.

Luxury hotels were built for the whims of Russian, English and French arrivals and with the addition of casinos, villas and marinas, Nice established itself as a playground for wealthy exiles seeking winter solace from harsher climes.

Indeed, the first thing you notice upon arrival in Nice is the Promenade Des Anglais, a 5km walkway– named after its many visitors from Britain– covering the length of the city from west to east. This is Nice’s main thoroughfare, a place where everyone goes to watch the world, his wife and her French poodle go by. And with 4 million visitors a year, there are a lot of people to watch.

Watching planes coming in to land is another cheap thrill along the Promenade. The airport is perilously close to the city centre and the flight path of every plane passes right in front of the Prom at 10 minutes intervals. You’re almost close enough to see the gleeful look on people’s faces as they descend into possibly the most relaxing and laid-back of French cities.

When we arrived in late February, Nice was in the middle of a two week carnival with the Promenade the main focus of the fun. Night and day, people poured into the city to be entertained by a parade of floats, fireworks, fairground rides and a general air of joie de vivre.

When festivities closed each evening, the municipal crews arrived to sweep away the confetti and the yards of multi-coloured string squirted from hundreds of aerosol cans. As people made their way home, everybody seemed to have a garland of flowers and a large smile attached to them. It was like St. Patrick’s Day Parade without the green beer and cold weather.

One of the delights of Nice is discovering the old quarter of the city, Vieux Nice. This is a pedestrian-only district with narrow, shaded streets housing a great assortment of boutiques, craft shops, delicatessens, small art galleries, souvenir stalls and cafés. It’s easy to lose yourself (figuratively and literally) in these maze-like alleyways, but you are never far from a square or open space where you can sit back amidst the pastel-coloured buildings and baroque churches and enjoy a cool drink in inevitable sunshine.

If you want to take in a view of the entire city, a large dollop of the Mediterranean as well as the Port of Nice with its bank of million euro yachts, make for Le Chateau close to the old quarter. This hillside public park was once the centre of power of the ancient Greek city of Nikaia and later the site of the city’s first cathedral, the remains of which are visible on the top of the hill.

You can take an elevator to the Chateau, near the Hotel Suisse, but it is better to climb the stone steps at the end of rue Rossetti and admire the many dramatic panoramas on the ascent. Once you reach the summit, there’s plenty to keep you there including a cooling waterfall, café, children’s playground plus several kilometers of walks for the really energetic.

Picture: The Promenade Des Anglais. On left is one of the Nice’s fine ‘belle epoque’ apartment blocks from the early 1900s.

Nice is the ideal location for a city break and a great base for exploring the rest of the French Riviera. Only two hours flying time from Dublin with Aer Lingus operating five flights a week, you can pick up good hotel deals at www.nice-hotels.org or by emailing info@nice-hotels.org. Bon vovage!