A city for everyone - Nice

Nice is a city located in the south of France and on the Mediterranean coast. It is said that Nice is a city for everyone, both the old and young. You can always find something offered for you. The beautiful landscape gains the city a name “Nice la Belle” which means the beautiful Nice. This amazing place was first appreciated by the English upper classes in the second half of the 18th century. The city’s major promenade was even named “Promenade des Anglais” (‘the Walkway of the English’) in honor of the earliest tourism visitors. Another inspiring fact is that until today Nice is the second most visited city in France after Paris. Therefore, it is no wonder that a lot of Western culture’s prominent painters such as Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Niki de Saint Phalle and Arman came to Nice frequently to find inspirations. Their masterpiece can be found in museums such as Musée Marc Chagall, Musée Matisse and Musée des Beaux-Arts Jules Chéret.

The city’s charm partly owes to its pleasant climate. Because of its location, Nice enjoys a Mediterranean climate with mild temperature all over the year. In summer, the weather of the city is warm, dry and sunny. The temperature fluctuated from 20°C to 30°C. However, rainfall is fairly rare during this time. Weather in winters is comparatively variable. Besides, snowfall is so rare in the city and thus when there is snowfall; people will get very excited and regard it as a special event.

The first human appearance in the Nice can date back to 400,000 years ago. The city of Nice was probably founded in 350 BC by the Greeks of Massilia and was named after a military victory over its neighbour. Very soon, Nice became an important trade port.

When it comes to the Middle Ages, Nice was involved into the wars. It allied with Pisa and naturally became the enemy of Genoa. Besides, the king of France and the Emperor tried hard to conquer the city. During most of time between 13th and 14th century, the Counts of Provence controlled the city. Therefore, Nice decided to put itself under the protection of the Counts of Savoy. In this way, Nice directly or indirectly participated in the history of Savoy. In 1561, Duke of Savoy established Italian language as the official language instead of Latin. In 1543, as a result of the Siege of Nice, the city was forced to surrender to the united Franco-Ottoman forces of Francis I and Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha.

In 1600, Nice was taken by the duke of Guise which brought prosperity of the port as Nice was required to open the ports to all of the nations. Then, Nice was restored to Savoy but kept being attacked by the French.

Today, Nice has switched its role from being the port city to a tourist destination and its economy was mainly stimulated by tourism and construction.

Hiring a car will allow you great freedom to explore this second most visited city among France. Car rental companies such as Avis, Sixt, Opodo, Enterprises, Europcar, Hertz, Holiday Autos, Carhiremarket, Carhire 3000, AutoEurope, ebookers, MyCarHire, and Expedia will take care of your need.

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