Promenade des Anglais and the Blue Chairs

The Promenade des Anglais is the long seafront boulevard curving along the Baie des Anges in Nice, on the French Riviera, and the blue metal chairs lined up along its pebble-beach side have become one of the city's best-known photographic subjects. The stretch in front of the Hotel Negresco, at 37 Promenade des Anglais, combines the pink-domed facade of the hotel on the inland side with rows of chairs and the sea on the other. Looking east along the promenade, the frame runs toward the Colline du Chateau, which catches the first warm light at sunrise, while looking west gives long converging lines of palms, lamps and the bay curve. The sun rises over the eastern end of the bay, so the chairs are backlit or side-lit in the early morning, and the Mediterranean turns pale pink and blue before the sunbathers arrive. Blue hour after sunset suits the lit seafront and the glowing hotel dome. Autumn through early spring offers the softest light, cleaner air and far fewer people; in summer the promenade is crowded with cyclists, rollerbladers and walkers from mid-morning onward, and the chairs are occupied. A few early risers share the promenade at dawn, so a tripod position is easy to find, but the cycle path next to the walkway moves fast and any setup should stay off it. Tripods are permitted for personal photography on the public promenade as long as they do not obstruct traffic. Drone flights over the seafront are restricted in the Nice urban area and the airport approach, and should not be attempted without authorisation. There are no access fees. Public restrooms are located along the seafront at intervals and cafes sit across the road, and a long exposure of the waves against the pebbles works well at dawn with a neutral density filter. Rain and storm days can also produce dramatic skies with surf breaking along the Baie des Anges.