Description of the attraction
The Promenade des Anglais is a symbol of Nice, the main and most glamorous artery of the city, the most famous French boulevard outside Paris.
The six-kilometer promenade stretches from the airport to the Eta-Uni embankment, repeating the bend of the bay with the charming name of the Bay of Angels. According to one legend, the bay is named so because of the "sea angels" - flat-bodied sharks with fins like wings. According to the other, the angels pointed out to Adam and Eve, expelled from paradise, the local coast, so similar to Eden.
In the 18th century, this piece of paradise was especially loved by wealthy Englishmen - they spent winters here. One particularly harsh winter drove many beggars from the north to warm Nice, and the British gave them work to build a walk along the sea. This is how the embankment arose, which the city expanded and enlarged. After the annexation of Nice by France in 1860, the embankment was named English.
Locals call it "Promenade" or in short - "Prom". The Promoux is strolled both during the day and in the evening, under the light of lanterns, which at the same time serve as a reference point for planes flying up to Nice airport. You can ride along the embankment on a small white tourist train, you can rent a bicycle, but it is best to walk slowly along the main street of the resort town - as members of the Russian imperial family once walked here, Anton Chekhov, Scott Fitzgerald or Friedrich Nietzsche. Past the Art Deco Mediterranean Palace (a recently restored former casino - now a hotel in this building, but there is also a casino); past the Historical Museum in the Palais Massena; past the pinkish dome of the luxurious Negresco Hotel (among the many celebrities who have stayed there are Ernest Hemingway, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel) …
If a tourist wants to swim, it's easy to do: a narrow pebble beach begins just behind the embankment. True, on its free sites there are no amenities - no changing cabins, no shower, no toilet. All this and more sun loungers, umbrellas, waiters with snacks and drinks, and in some places even sand instead of stones can be obtained on paid (not cheap) sections of the beach.
However, the most enjoyable time on the Promenade des Anglais is to sit and stare at the sparkling bay. Henri Matisse said that the sea in Nice is incredible, fantastic color. For admiring the sea, in addition to the usual white benches, there are the famous blue chairs. The tradition of putting blue chairs began in 1950, and since then, both locals and tourists have become so used to them that when they tried to remove the chairs in 2003, the public was outraged. They take pictures or just relax in the afternoon - as Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene once did. True, the chairs were different then, now the third model is already in use. But the sea of fantastic color is still the same.
