The Best of France - Monaco and Nice
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, one of the 26 regions of France, includes Provence, the former papal territory of Avignon, the county of Nice, whose coastline is known in English as the French Riviera, and in French as the Côte d'Azur, bounded to the east by the Italian border, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea and by the principality of Monaco. This series focuses on Monaco, founded by Francois Grimaldi in 1297, and Nice.
Monaco is the world's most populated country and second-smallest independent state after the Vatican City. The principal residential and resort area is Monte-Carlo, created in 1866, and host to the world's first and grandest Old World hotel, Hotel de Paris, built in 1864. beside an internationally famous Casino, surrounded by gardens, museums, and leisure facilities, mostly along the French Riviera.
Only minutes from Monaco is Nice, the 5th largest city in France, founded probably around 350 BC by the Greeks of Massilia (Marseille), and received the name of "Nikaia" in honor of a victory over the neighboring Ligurians (Nike being the Greek goddess of Victory). It boasts of a celebrated promenade along the Mediterranean Sea (the Promenade des Anglais), beautiful parks and gardens like Place Massena and Place Garibaldi, museums (Chagall, Matisse), luxury hotels (Negresco, Le Meridien), and churches (St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral, the oldest Russian church in Western Europe, and Basilique Notre-Dame). The only way to get to know the real Nice is by strolling through the ochre colored streets, listening to the "Niçois" speaking their own language (Nissart), and by tasting their local cuisine, like Salade Niçoise or the famous Ratatouille.
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d'Azur France French Monaco Monte-Carlo Nice Provence-Alpes-Côte Riviera
Added: September 9, 2008, 2:37 am
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