Nice Old Town is a characterful district in the south of the city. It forms a triangle, hemmed in by the port to the east and Castle Hill to the west, where the Promenade des Anglais runs out. The glittering water of the Mediterranean lines its southern edge. To the north is the Promenade du Paillon. Once, this was a river, but a series of floods led successive city governments to order that it should be covered up. Today, it’s a beautiful park.

Tightly packed tenements line the narrow streets. Their ground floors are full of shops, restaurants, bars, museums and galleries. Above are residential apartments adorned with wrought iron balconies and brightly painted wooden shutters. You could argue that those living in the Vieille Ville, as it’s known, boast the best address in Nice. With neighbourhoods as charming as this, it certainly isn’t hard to see why many refer to the city as Nice La Belle (Nissa La Bella according to the local Niçois) – ‘Nice the Beautiful’.