THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505050089
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines
NICE (pronounced Nees), a city of about 400,000 (perhaps twice that in the summer tourist season), is the ``capital'' of the French Riviera on the Mediterranean coast. The coastal region is often called La Cote d'Azur. From Nice it is less than a hour's drive (east) to the Principality of Monaco and to Italy and (north) to the beginning of the Alps.
Getting there: I flew to Nice on Air France, the country's international carrier, via Paris, the airline's principal hub from which connections are available to nearly 100 points in France and elsewhere in Europe. Air France has daily non-stop service to Paris from Washington (on a wide-body A340), Newark (747), New York-JFK (Concorde and 747); Newark flights go to Paris-Orly, all others to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, where a new rail station provides walking-distance access between Air France arrivals, RER trails to central Paris and TGV high-speed trains to various French cities. It is a seven-hour trip by TGV from Paris to Nice (three trains daily June-September, two daily October-May). Air France info: a local travel agent or (800) 237-2747.
Special deals: Keeping in mind that summer midweek round-trip airfare between New York and Paris will run about $800, consider these packages:
Jet Vacations offers a brochure that enables you to custom-design your own midweek, peak season (June 16-Sept. 7) trip from these basic prices - round-trip Air France airfare to Paris $640 from Newark, $680 from JFK, $700 from Washington; Paris-Nice round-trip Air France airfare $140; hotel and continental breakfast in Nice from $33 (standard) per person double occupancy. If you prefer a pre-packaged holiday, Jet Vacations offers a seven-day Paris and Nice air-land package beginning at $1,059 pp/do. Info: A local travel agent or (800) JET-0999.
New Frontiers offers nine days, seven nights in Nice, including airfare from New York, accommodations, continental breakfast, Hertz economy car for 8 days with unlimited mileage, two dinners, museum visits and a boat excursion; $1,299 pp/do, June 24-Sept. 3. Info: a local travel agent or (212) 779-0600.
Body clock adjustment: 6 hours. When it is noon on the U.S. east coast, it is 6 p.m. on the Riviera.
Getting around: Large as Nice is, most sites you'd want to see - the Promenade des Anglais, the old quarter with its narrow, twisting streets, flower market, old harbor, chateau promontory and Russian Orthodox church - are walkable. Cabs are plentiful and necessary for the trip to the hilltop suburb of Cimiez, site of the Roman ruins, and the Matisse, Chagall and archaeology museums. Many hotels offer information on guided tours of the city and the region. There is regular bus service every 30 minutes from the airport to the town center. Car hire companies have counters in the airport lobby; finding a parking spot in Nice can be very difficult.
Food and shelter: Nice can be as expensive as you want it to be. High-season rates at the five-star Negresco begin at about $325 (sea view $410), continental breakfast about $25; at the four-star Beau Rivage rooms begin at about $280 for two, continental breakfast $20. However, you can have a pleasant dinner (seafood, naturally, is a specialty) for about $16-22, without wine. Locals eat street food much cheaper than that and you can too if you shop around. At that well-known house of boeuf, Le Restaurant du Whopper, you can get a Whopper and a Coke for a little over $6, or for about the same money a pint of Haagen-Dazs sorbet. A one-star hotel room for two, with shower and toilet, can be had for about $30-40.
Special events: The two-week-long, pre-Lent Carnival and Battle of the Flowers, with numerous day and night parades and fireworks, claims to rival New Orleans and Rio. The Festival de Jazz (early July) is considered one of the best in the world. There are more Battle of the Flowers events in July and August for those who may have missed Carnival.
The beaches: Pebbles, not sand; you've been warned.
France Guide: For a free, 112-page France Discovery Guide, write the French Government Tourist Office, P.O. Box 2658, Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y. 11777, or through France on Call at 1-900-990-0040 (50 cents a minute). The guide's 1995 theme is France: A World of Museums; it focuses on travel beyond Paris. Also featured is Great Values Throughout France, with ideas on saving money. The France on Call service is well worth the small cost. You speak to a specialist who can give advice and help you plan your trip. Most calls can be completed in about three minutes.
Nice direct: If you want to contact Nice Tourism officials directly, write Visitors Bureau, 1 Esplanade Kennedy, BP 79, 06302 Nice Cedex 04, France; or call 011 (international access code) + 33 (code for France) + 93-92-82-82.
- Stephen Harriman by CNB