We visited Nice after a very rainy and miserable couple of days in Marseille, so we were very much ready for some better weather that might restore our faith in our idealistic British visions of the south coast of France. We’d started with a scare too – the weather in Marseille on the morning we left had suddenly become glorious, and we feared that we might be running away from the good weather just as we had done coming from Paris to Marseille. We were kept in suspense too, the train seemed to be travelling down the precise line where miserable grey clouds and clear blue skies met, and it remained impossible to tell what Nice would hold in store. Thankfully, it didn’t disappoint – lovely and sunny!

First impressions of Nice were good – although a lot of the centre is encased in roadworks and construction sites reminiscent of Marseille’s redevelopment works, it still managed to seem like a much nicer place. Atmosphere seems lighter, less hostile, perhaps reflecting an attitude one might associate with a seaside town. After finding our hotel and getting changed into more summery attire, we headed straight towards the beach, walked through a nice little promenade-style area with some palm-tree-lined gardens and a stoned area populated by skateboarders. The walk was nice – confirming our appreciation of the calm atmosphere – a much less busy, and thus more welcoming way of life, than we found in Paris or Marseille.

It was lovely to catch our first glimpses of the Mediterranean Sea – an absolutely beautiful turquoise colour. We didn’t know whether to expect pebbles or sand… we got pebbles, but needless to say that was not enough to stop us chilling out there for an hour or two. The beach is delicious; it has one of those wonderful curves to it that lets you enjoy the atmosphere of the whole beach at once from whichever single position you might be in. Calm waves, wonderfully warm-ish water, and not particular busy, considering it was the start of summer and the weather was great.

In general Nice seemed more accommodating to English/tourists. At least that was the impression given off by the restaurants which displayed English menus outside far more frequently than in Paris or Marseille, and whilst we were on the beach we also had a couple of English immigrants hand flyers out to us, advertising English-style pubs or clubs in the area. As we were budget travelling, and only in Nice for one night, we didn’t get much drinking done, though an evening walk around the centre suggested that there’s quite a vibrant nightlife in place, thanks to the resident student population. There’s also a pretty rich-looking shopping district bursting with high-class boutiques and designer outlets – lots of well-dressed women in sunglasses carrying small dogs around. You know the sort of thing.

In all, Nice seemed fantastic. Like most coastal locations, it’s going to make a huge difference whether or not you get great weather. But independent of such factors, Nice is a fantastic town, which offers a lot as a relaxing retreat, whether you’re there for the sea, the shopping or the student-driven boozing.