| f Tesco and boring supermarket shopping? If you're | | | | Nice. There's as much emphasis on Italian food as |
| looking for the perfect antidote, plus a little winter | | | | French in Nice. |
| sun, take a trip to Nice, book an apartment and go | | | | After all, the city was Italian until the early 1860s |
| shopping for food in the famous Cours Saleya. Nice | | | | when the population voted to transfer to France. |
| was for years primarily a winter resort. | | | | Pasta, gnocci and pizza still feature strongly in |
| It was only in the 1920s, when the likes of Picasso | | | | restaurant menus, while dishes like soupe de pistou |
| and his friends started visiting the Riviera in summer, | | | | are closely related to the pesto and minestrone |
| that the world followed their example. While | | | | found along the coast in Genoa and across Italy. |
| unbroken sunshine is far from guaranteed in the | | | | Several chapels and churches add to the attractions |
| winter months, the chances are you'll enjoy some | | | | of this vibrant part of the city while at the far end is |
| decent weather. The Cours Saleya is a huge, open-air | | | | the Place Charles Felix and a large yellow-ochre |
| market right next to the sea front, sandwiched | | | | house, No1 Palais Cais de Pierlas. For years, the third |
| between the Promenade des Anglais and the | | | | floor was home to Matisse, his paintings of Nice's Baie |
| atmospheric Nice Old Town. | | | | des Anges the views from his apartment window. |
| The Mediterranean Sea, and the palms that fringe the | | | | The likes of Matisse and Marc-Chagall, both with their |
| resort's beach, can be glimpsed enticingly through | | | | own museums in the nearby suburb of Cimiez, have |
| archways from the market itself. Anyone with the | | | | meant art is another key attraction in Nice - indeed, |
| slightest interest in good food, or people watching, | | | | the city has more galleries and museums than any |
| will think they have landed in heaven. The famous | | | | other French city outside Paris. |
| flower and vegetable market is held here from | | | | If you have any time to spare, try popping down the |
| Tuesday to Sunday each week, while Monday is | | | | coast to Monaco. It's only fifteen minutes away by |
| given over to antique stalls. The space is lined with | | | | train but is always great fun. The Principality, for it is |
| shops and restaurants, ideal for sitting in the sun | | | | an independent country albeit less than a square mile |
| sipping a beer or coffee before slipping in to one of | | | | in size, is in a beautiful setting; has the allure of the |
| the many restaurants for a meal of fish soup, a salad | | | | world's most famous casino and is full of very rich |
| nicoise or other local speciality. | | | | residents. |
| The produce on sale in the market makes you | | | | If you thought people watching was fun in Nice, |
| appreciate why food in France is so special. There | | | | Monaco will be a revelation. Try lunch at the |
| are seemingly endless displays of cheese, charcuterie, | | | | Café Rascasse on the famous bend on the |
| olives, herbs and spices and, on the fringes of the | | | | Monaco Grand Prix circuit. Spot the very rich |
| market, fish stalls with a quite stunning selection of | | | | gentlemen taking their stunning 'nieces' out for lunch. |
| species. In the alleyways leading off in to the Old | | | | You'll also have a very pleasant meal, happy in the |
| Town, you'll find small pasta, pastry and chocolate | | | | thought that your seat would have set you back |
| shops while others will provide luxury products like | | | | 1,500 Euros on race day. |
| truffle oil and foie gras. | | | | So book that cheap flight to Nice now - Easyjet and |
| Watching the locals choosing their produce with such | | | | Ryanair have a wide choice, or even jump the train |
| care is a delight in itself. Everything is sniffed at, | | | | via Paris. It's a trip you'll want to repeat every winter |
| examined minutely and discussed with the stall | | | | when a little sun, and good food, is desperately |
| holders before the purchase is complete. Choosing | | | | needed. |
| one's ingredients is not something to be rushed in | | | | |