Nice, France (2121)

Nice’s iconic palm-lined boulevard, Promenade des Anglais (Promenade of the English), stretches for several miles along the pebbly shores of the Baie des Anges, France

Nice, capital of the Alpes-Maritimes department on the French Riviera, sits on the pebbly shores of the Baie des Anges.  Founded by the Greeks and later a retreat for 19th-century European elite, the city has also long attracted artists.  Former resident Henri Matisse is honored with a career-spanning collection of paintings at Musée Matisse.  Musée Marc Chagall features some of its namesake’s major religious works.

Just dubbed the “Winter Resort Town of the Riviera,” by UNESCO, Nice became the vacation destination for English and Russian aristocrats at the beginning of the 19th century and has remained a favorite French Mediterranean city ever since.  With its Belle Époque architecture, landmark hotels, world- class museums, open-air markets, perfect climate, and the famous beachfront promenade, Nissa la Bella (Nice the Beautiful) is much more than the gateway to the French Riviera’s iconic cities such as Monaco, Cannes, and Saint-Tropez.   UNESCO’s inscription will ensure the Promenade des Anglais and Old Town will remain protected from urban development and its heritage will stay well preserved.

The swimmers in the Baie des Anges are completing one of three sports (swimming, biking, running) for a full international Iron Man competition that took place the morning we walked the Promenade des Anglais (Promenade of the English) along the pebbly shores of the Baie, Nice, France

An iconic Nice, France, residential building on the promenade alongside the Port of Nice (where we were docked)

Nice’s Vieille Ville (Old Town) has the feel of a medieval village with narrow winding streets, old red-tiled-rooftops, and historical sites, France

The entrance to Cours Saleya (central food market) and the Marché Aux Fleurs (fresh flower market) in Vieille Ville (Old Town), Nice, France

Fresh produce for sale at one of the stalls in Cours Saleya (central food market), Nice, France

We had a nice local luncheon at La Tapenade, which served Niçoises spécialtiés, near Cours Saleya (central food market), Nice, France

Stunning cakes in the window of a bakery in Vieille Ville (Old Town), Nice, France

A typical residential street in Nice, France, with Belle Époque architecture

Promenade du Paillon is a green space with diverse plants and trees, plus fountains, a play area for kids and a reflecting pool in central Nice, France, just north of the Baie shoreline

Another example of the residential Belle Époque architecture in Nice, France

A delicious luncheon starter of ravioli filled with fresh seafood at a really excellent neighborhood bistro, Le Bistrot Gourmand, near Place Masséna in Nice, France

A delicious luncheon starter of beef carpaccio at Le Bistrot Gourmand, Nice, France

An excellent luncheon main course (that we had the kitchen share for us) of fettuccine with langoustines at Le Bistrot Gourmand, Nice, France

Apollo statue at Place Masséna, Nice, France

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Museo Nazionale Marc Chagall (Marc Chagall National Museum), Nice, France

A small section of the museum building and the gardens, Museo Nazionale Marc Chagall (Marc Chagall National Museum), Nice, France

 

“Museo Nazionale Marc Chagall (Marc Chagall National Museum) was inaugurated on 7 July 1973 in the presence of artist Marc Chagall (1887-1985) who celebrated his 86^th birthday on the same day. It was the first time a national museum had been devoted to an artist in his lifetime. The building was designed in consultation with the architect Andre Hermant (1908-1978) to house an outstanding collection of works donated to the French State by Marc Chagall and his wife Valentina in 1996 and 1972. Inspired by the Bible, “the greatest source of poetry of all time” according to the artist, the donated works guided the building’s architectural design. Since the museum opened, the seventeen Biblical Message paintings have been displayed in the rooms according to the artist’s original installation plan. The works therefore interact closely with the elements in the surrounding space, such as the stained glass windows created especially for the auditorium, or the mosaic reflected in the pond.

“Chagall wanted it to be a house, rather than a museum. He remained faithful to the museum until his death in 1985. The pure, sleek lines of the building are surrounded by a garden of Mediterranean plants and trees.” — Museo Nazionale Marc Chagall

 

The Creation of Man, Marc Chagall 1956-1958, oil on canvas, Museo Nazionale Marc Chagall (Marc Chagall National Museum), Nice, France

 

“The Creation of Man, Marc Chagall 1956-1958, oil on canvas. The bottom section of this painting depicts a scene from the Book of Genesis, while the top section features several different biblical episodes. The lower section is painted in a vibrant blue embellished with depictions of vegetation and animals. A winged creature moves to the fore, holding Adam’s body and Eve holding an apple in the loser right-hand section are references to the original sin. In the upper section, Chagall has painted a turning sun. Its colorful rays house a crowd of different characters: biblical protagonists, the Jewish people, hybrid creatures, and more. Christ on the cross is also shown here. His hips are encircled by the prayer shawl that Jewish men wear in the synagogue. Chagall meant this figure to represent the martyrdom of the Jewish people in World War II. Above and beyond the creation of Man, Chagall infuses this painting with a broader vision of the history of humanity.” — Museo Nazionale Marc Chagall

 

Paradise, Marc Chagall 1961, oil on canvas, Museo Nazionale Marc Chagall (Marc Chagall National Museum), Nice, France

 

“Paradise, Marc Chagall 1961, oil on canvas. The painting represents two scenes, one set in Paradise and one on Earth. To the left, the creation of Eve, and to the right, the Temptation. These two scenes take place in a garden bathed in blue and green light, animated by warm, vibrant flecks of color. Animals, winged beings and hybrid creatures fly around Adam and Eve in a harmonious communion. To the left, Eve emerges from a cloud. The first woman was fashioned from the rib of the first man, as symbolized by Adam’s raised arm. To the right, Adam and Eve are intertwined, forming a single being with just two arms and three legs. They are on the brink of sharing the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge, which they believed would make them God’s equals.” — Museo Nazionale Marc Chagall

 

Le Cantique de Cantiques, Marc Chagall 1960, oil on red paper on canvas, Museo Nazionale Marc Chagall (Marc Chagall National Museum), Nice, France

 

Elijah on a chariot, Marc Chagall 1961, mosaic installed on a wall outside the installation of the Biblical Message paintings, Museo Nazionale Marc Chagall (Marc Chagall National Museum), Nice, France

 

L’Atelier, Marc Chagall 1910, oil on canvas, Museo Nazionale Marc Chagall (Marc Chagall National Museum), Nice, France

 

Nice, France

The eastern end of Plage Promenade des Anglais (English Promenade Beach) under Parc de la Colline du Chateau (Castle Hill Park) with a car-passenger ferry heading for Sardinia or Corsica; Nice, France

 

Inspiration for artists and writers, playground for European royalty since Victorian times, Nice, remains the charming capital of the French Riviera.  The Promenade des Anglais runs for several kilometers along the beachfront (and was the scene of the horrific truck terrorist attack earlier in the summer of 2016; there are flower memorials that are poignant reminders of that event).  It is lined with hotels and restaurants and shops.  The city is home to several excellent small art museums – the Chagall Musuem [see an upcoming post], the Museee Matisse and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. From Nice we explored the Cap Ferrat peninsula [see an upcoming post] and Mougins (where Picasso and other artists lived in the foothills above Nice) [see an upcoming post] and Grasse (the capital of French perfume) [see an upcoming post].

 

Sun bathing on Plage Promenade des Anglais (English Promenade Beach) – note that the composition of the beach is pebbles and stones, not sand; Nice, France

 

The Promenade along the waterfront (Mediterranean Sea) is full of public and private boardwalks that access the “beach” (pebbles and stones, not sand), Nice, France

 

The main waterfront street, Promenade de Anglais, is lined with hotels, Nice, France

 

Hotel Cresp (on the left) and its neighbor building are typical of the French-style architecture (with wrought iron balconies), Nice, France

 

Palais de Justice (Court House), Nice, France

 

Fresh, local olive oil for sale at one of the leading vendors, A L‘Olivier, on the Promenade des Anglais, overlooking the waterfront, Nice, France

 

The ultra-modern Biblioteque (library) in Nice, France