Vieux-Nice (Old Nice) — Baroque Quarter

Vieux-Nice — the old town quarter of Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes — is one of the most visually distinctive historic neighbourhoods on the French Riviera, occupying the eastern corner of the city between Castle Hill and the modern commercial centre. Its street plan follows a medieval layout of narrow alleyways (carruggi) only 2 to 3 metres wide, where tall baroque apartment buildings rise five and six storeys in shades of ochre, terracotta, amber, and pale yellow decorated with ornate window frames and trompe-l'oeil painted facades — a Baroque aesthetic that reflects the quarter's 17th and 18th-century heyday under the House of Savoy, when Nice belonged to the kingdom of Sardinia rather than France. The commercial and social heart is the Cours Saleya, a broad, sunny esplanade running parallel to the seafront that hosts the Marché du Cours Saleya on Tuesday through Sunday mornings from 06:00 to 13:30. This is one of the most celebrated outdoor markets in southern France, selling cut flowers, seasonal vegetables, Niçoise olives, socca (chickpea flatbread cooked in wood-fired pans), and pan bagnat on stalls that fill the full length of the cours. On Monday mornings the flower market is replaced by an antiques and brocante market. The Chapelle de la Miséricorde on the Cours Saleya (17th century) is considered one of the finest Baroque interiors in the region; nearby the Cathédrale Sainte-Réparate dominates the Place Rossetti with its tiled dome and ornate interior. Rue de la Préfecture and Rue du Marché are the most atmospheric shopping streets, lined with specialty food shops, galleries, and restaurants serving traditional Niçoise cuisine including pissaladière, salade niçoise, and the chickpea pancake known as socca. Castle Hill above the old town, reached by lift or stairs from the eastern end of the quarter, offers a panoramic view over the entire bay and the terracotta rooftops of Vieux-Nice.