Nice | History, Geography, & Points of Interest | Britannica

Nice, seaport city, Mediterranean tourist centre, and capital of Alpes-Maritimes département, Provence–Alpes–Côte-d'Azur région, southeastern France. Nice TableofContents Nice Introduction FastFacts 2-MinSummary RelatedContent Media Images More MoreArticlesOnThisTopic Contributors ArticleHistory Home Geography&Travel Cities&Towns Cities&TownsM-O Nice France Actions Cite verifiedCite Whileeveryefforthasbeenmadetofollowcitationstylerules,theremaybesomediscrepancies. Pleaserefertotheappropriatestylemanualorothersourcesifyouhaveanyquestions. SelectCitationStyle MLA APA ChicagoManualofStyle CopyCitation Share Share Sharetosocialmedia Facebook Twitter URL https://www.britannica.com/place/Nice GiveFeedback ExternalWebsites Feedback Corrections?Updates?Omissions?Letusknowifyouhavesuggestionstoimprovethisarticle(requireslogin). 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Nice-StudentEncyclopedia(Ages11andup) By TheEditorsofEncyclopaediaBritannica • EditHistory TableofContents Summary Readabriefsummaryofthistopic Nice,seaportcity,Mediterraneantouristcentre,andcapitalofAlpes-Maritimesdépartement,Provence–Alpes–Côte-d’Azurrégion,southeasternFrance.ThecityislocatedontheBaie(bay)desAnges,20miles(32km)fromtheItalianborder.Shelteredbybeautifulhills,NicehasapleasantclimateandistheleadingresortcityoftheCôted’Azur,orFrenchRiviera.NiceNice,France.YoannpFoundedbythePhocaeansofMarseille(acolonyofGreekmariners)around350bce,thecitywasprobablynamedinhonourofavictory(nikēinGreek)overaneighbouringcolony.ConqueredbytheRomansduringthe1stcenturyce,itbecameabusytradingstation.ThetownwasheldbythecountsofProvenceduringthe10thcentury,andin1388passedundertheprotectionofthecountsofSavoy,whoheldituntil1860,althoughitwascapturedandoccupiedseveraltimesbytheFrenchduringthe17thand18thcenturies.NicewascededtoFrancebytheTreatyofTurin(1860),afterwhichareferendumratifiedthedecision.Nice,FranceEncyclopædiaBritannica,Inc.ThePaillonRiver,nowpartlybuiltover,separatesthenewtowntothewestfromtheoldtown,theharbour,andthecommercialdistricttotheeast.Theoldtown,withnarrowwindingstreets,standsatthewesternbaseofagranitehillknownasLeChâteau,althoughthecastlethatusedtocrownitwasdestroyedin1706.Theharbour,begunin1750andextendedafter1870,isnowusedprimarilybyferryservicestoCorsicaandbysailingcraft.ThereisalsoaregularpassengerservicetoCorsica.ThemoststrikingpartofthenewtownisthefamousPromenadedesAnglais,whichoriginatedin1822asapathalongtheshorebuiltbytheEnglishcolony.Itstretches2.5miles(4km)alongthewaterfrontandconsistsoftwowidecarriagewaysseparatedbyflowerbedsandpalmtrees.TheMuséeJulesChéretdesBeaux-ArtsandtheMuséeMassénahavecollectionsofearlyItalianpaintingsandworksby19th-centuryandcontemporaryartists.AmemorialtothepainterMarcChagallhasbeenbuilttohouseacollectionofbiblicalpaintingsdonatedbytheartistin1966.AmilenortheastofthecitycentreistheancientepiscopaltownofCimiez,whichcontainsthemajesticruinsofaRomanamphitheatre.Nearbystandsa17th-centuryvillahousinganarchaeologicalmuseumandacollectionofmorethan40paintingsanddrawingsbytheFrenchartistHenriMatisse. 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SubscribeNow Nicehasalonghistoryoftourism,bothinsummerandwinter,anditisoneofthecity’sprincipaleconomicactivities.Apartfromthebeachesandyachtingharbour,tourismisstimulatedbyNice’sculturalfacilities,shops,andarchitecturalheritage;businesstourismisalsoofconsiderableimportance,basedontheAcropolisCongressCentreandassociatedexhibitionhalls.Inaddition,numerouseventsandfestivalsareorganizedeachyear,notablytheCarnivalofNice,whichdatesfrom1873,butalsoincludingtheopentennistournament.NiceisamajorcommercialandadministrativecentreintheeastoftheProvence–Alpes–Côted’Azurregion,itsinfluenceextendingwellbeyondtheboundaryoftheAlpes-Maritimesdépartement.Numeroussmallandmedium-sizedfactoriesarelocatedatNice,particularlyintheVarPlaintothewest.MorerecenteconomicdevelopmenthasbeenincreasinglyassociatedwiththelargeneighbouringscienceparkatSophia-Antipolis.High-technologyfirmsthereoftenworkcloselywiththeUniversityofNice(established1965).beachatNiceTheMediterranean-washedpebblebeachatNiceontheFrenchRiviera.©NedraWestwater/BlackStar NewfromBritannica Despitepopularartisticrepresentation,raindoesnotfallfromtheskyshapedliketeardrops;raindropsactuallyresemblehamburgerbuns. SeeAllGoodFacts Niceislinkedtothenationalmotorwaynetworkandisservedbythehigh-speedtrain(TGV),connectingthecitytoParisandnorthernFrance.TheairportisthesecondlargestinFrance(afterParis)andhasbecomeafocusforavarietyofdistributionandserviceindustries.Pop.(1999)342,738;(2014est.)343,895.