Nice - 23 to 25 July

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Seeing the bay for the first time makes you go, "Oh my god" - the colour is amazing. Then you see the main shopping streets with all the designer shops and the quay with the massive yaghts moored there and you go, "wow, this is what its like to be rich and famous!"

Vieux Nice - the old town is a tangle of tiny 18th century pedestrian passages and laneways with brightly coloured buildings. There are lots of specialist shops but also a lot selling junky stuff like beachware and tacky souvenirs.
Cours Saleya is the venue for a massive antiques market on Mondays (when I was there).

Parc du Chateau - up the top of the hill are fantastic views of the sea and the city (its worth the climb to see it). Also has an artificial waterfall and ruines of a 12th centuary chateau (though really just looks like some rubble). On the other side you can look down at the boats and yaughts that are moored in the quay.

Beach - the beaches in Nice are all little pebbles, but despite this there are people baking themselves on towels on the stones. Some are too brown, some are too white and you can see the lobster-like patches of red spreading on them like some kind of disease.. The shore is divided into free sections and private ones. In the private ones you have to pay for an umbrella, a sun lounge, a towel etc, etc. but despite this you still only get pebbles! There is also a segment specifically set aside for sports, where operators organise paragliding, jet skiing, sail boats etc.
The colour of the water is beautiful azure (hence Cote d'Azur) which glitters in the sun.
The "Promenade des Anglais" follows the beachfront around to the quay. There are strollers, show ponies, rollerbladers, cyclists and ice-cream vans all vying for space.

City Centre - the modern city centre includes pedestrianised shopping streets with all the big names represented. The place really has an atmosphere of dripping money and a real celebrity playground, though I haven't seen anyone famous yet. There are the usual tourist traps, such as horse-drawn carriages and a little train that does a circle of the main sites.

Though the universal cost comparison is traditionally measured by a beer, I don't drink it so I'll use 300ml bottle of coke in. Used to cost 2 euros take away, now costs up to 3.50 euros.

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