Most of our outdoor activities have involved walks, hikes, and biking. We’ve walked most of the coastal “sentier” trails along the Cote d’Azure, which I covered here and here and here. Once we had done those we started hiking up into the hills, which I covered here and here and here. When we were done with that we started biking, first along the coast and then up into the hills, which I covered here and here and here and here . And there are just so many great hilltop villages to visit, such as St. Paul de Vence, Gourdon, Eze, St. Agnes and so many more. In the winter (when we were in Europe) we went skiing in Auron or Valberg. Although we’ve done a lot, we’ve really just barely touched upon all that there is to do in and around Nice.
After six years of living in Nice for close to six months of each year, our time is coming to an end. We’ve very much enjoyed the Cote d’Azur, and are not ruling out that we could be back sometime down the line as Nice just has so much to offer. The weather may be the best in Europe. The location, just next to Italy, with the Med in front and the foothills of the French Alps behind, is exceptional. There’s Old Town, the port, and amazing markets such as Saleya. Restaurants are wonderful and plentiful. The transportation system with the buses and trams works very well. The airport has more connections to the outside world, (136 direct-by-air destinations, at usually great rates, to places throughout Europe and elsewhere), except for perhaps Paris. The promenade is superb, as is the Pavillon park that runs through the middle of the city.
As our time was coming to an end, we had just started traveling outside of the Cote d’Azur by car, into Italy and Provence, short trips that that only took a few hours, and which I covered here and here and here and here.
We’ll miss our daily swims in the Med from late spring until early fall. Will definitely miss the fresh food markets and the many wonderful events held annually, such as the Nice Jazz Festival, Monaco Boat Show or Grand Prix.
But there’s a lot going on in Lisbon and we look forward to discovering all there is to do there. More of that to come…