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Author: Cheryl Brooks

DISCOVER MORE GALLERIES AND ATTRACTIONS NEAR NICE

View from the coast of Antibes Old Town. Photo, Shutterstock

There are so many great attractions to explore along the Riviera, and we’ve looked at just a few of these in the last couple of blog stories.  The department of the Alpes-Maritimes is characterised by a profusion of artistic and cultural institutions—there are said to be more than 62 museums and foundations which bear witness to the attraction for so many artists during the 20th century to the light and environment of the Côte d’Azur.  Here we’ll look at a couple more outstanding art museums and sights that can be easily done as day trips from Nice.  We love to visit these when we can while in the neighbourhood, as they offer art works we enjoy in this beautiful environment.  Even getting to these is a visual delight, either along the coast or up into the hills, where you can see hilltops crowned with villages and beautiful villas.

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SOME FAVOURITE MUSEUMS, GALLERIES AND SIGHTS IN AND AROUND NICE

The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is in a stunning location overlooking the Mediterranean.

Nice has a wealth of sights and attractions, and we looked at some of them in the previous story.  The enormous number of museums, galleries and great attractions in Nice and its immediate vicinity showcase everything from art to archaeological artefacts to Provençal perched villages.  It’s a challenge to just restrict yourself to a few sights to take in during one visit, but that means there are plenty left on your list to draw you back for a future visit.  Whether you’re interested in arts and culture or history, you can find it all in and around Nice.  Even after many visits over some decades, we still discover new things to see.

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NICE – JEWEL OF THE FRENCH RIVIERA

Panoramic view of the Old Port of Nice. Photo, Shutterstock

No matter how often you visit the city of Nice on the French Riviera, there are always plenty of delights to experience and explore.  It wasn’t always the case though.  For many years, much of Nice was run-down and the area close to the docks was nothing more than a seedy sailors’ haunt.  This was certainly the case when we first visited Nice back in 1975.  In those days, Cannes was the place to go.  Today, Nice is almost unrecognisable from those days.  All that has been cleaned up, restored and revitalised and the area is full of vibrant cafes and restaurants, hotels, inviting shops, pedestrianised streets and some of the best museums in the country.

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DISCOVER THE BEAUTIFUL MUSÉE RODIN IN PARIS

The Hôtel Biron is now the Musee Rodin

Without doubt, the Musée Rodin is one of the loveliest museums in Paris.  This has as much to do with the beautiful garden as the fabulous collection itself.  We first visited this museum back in the ‘70s, and revisit it as often as we can.  It’s located in rue de Varenne, just a few minutes’ walk from the Invalides and the Eiffel Tower, in a very swanky part of the 7th arrondissement, with embassies as neighbours, and discreet mansions with high walls that shield them from the admiring gaze from passersby.

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DISCOVER RUE CLER – A CELEBRATED MARKET STREET IN PARIS

There is a great choice of the very best fresh produce available along rue Cler.

Paris is famous for its many outdoor markets, and pretty much every arrondissement has at least one and there are supposedly around 80 such markets across the city.  These are almost always temporary set-ups that operate a couple of mornings a week, and taken down by lunchtime.  However, there are a couple of pedestrianised streets in Paris that are devoted to food, fresh produce and other treats, that trade every day, all day, as permanent markets.  Rue Cler in the 7th arrondissement is one of these very special streets.

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