Nice - Administration, History, Culture, Places of interest, Education, Miscellaneous, Sources and References

43°42N 7°14E, pop (2000e) 358 000. Fashionable coastal resort on the Mediterranean Sea, and capital of Alpes-Maritimes department, SE France; encircled by hills on the Baie des Anges, 157 km/98 mi NE of Marseille; fifth largest city in France; airport; railway; university (1965); leading tourist centre; textiles, perfume, soap, olive oil, fruit, furniture; flower market in old town; cathedral (1650), several 17th–18th-c Baroque churches, 17th-c Palais Lascaris, Palais de la Mediterranée, Palais des Expositions, 19th-c opera house, casinos, palm-lined Promenade des Anglais; Carnival (before Lent), book festival (May), international dog festival (Jun); ballet festival (Jul–Aug).

Ville de Nice
City flag	City coat of arms
Motto: Nicæa civitas. (Latin: "Nice the city")
Location
Coordinates	43°42′10″N, 7°16′09″E
Time Zone	CET (GMT +1)
Administration
Country	France
Région	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Département	Alpes-Maritimes (06)
Intercommunality	Community of Agglomeration Nice Côte d'Azur
Mayor	Jacques Peyrat  (UMP) (since 1995)
City Statistics
Land area¹	71.92 km²
Population²	5th in France
- 2004 estimate	347,100
- Density	4,826/km² (2004)
Urban Spread
Urban Area	721 km² (1999)
- Population	888,784 (1999)
Metro Area	2,268 km² (1999)
- Population	933,080 (1999)
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers >
² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g.

This article is about the French city.

Administration

Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur région, Nice is a commune and the préfecture (administrative capital) of the Alpes-Maritimes département.

History

There were settlements in the Nice area approximately 400,000 years ago: the site of Terra Amata shows one of the earliest uses of fire and construction of houses.

Nice (Nicaea) was founded in the 5th century BC by the Greeks of Massilia (Marseille) and received the name of Νικαία ("Nikaia") in honour of a victory over the neighbouring Ligurians (Nike being the Greek goddess of victory). but as a city it had an important rival in the Roman town of Cemenelum, which continued to exist as a separate city till the time of the Lombard invasions, and has left its ruins at Cimiez, which is now a quarter of Nice.

In the 7th century Nice joined the Genoese League formed by the towns of Liguria.

In the second half of the 20th century, Nice bore the influence of mayor Jean Médecin (mayor from 1947 to 1965) and his son Jacques (mayor from 1966 to 1990).

Jacques Peyrat, the mayor of Nice since 1995, is a member of the UMP party and former member of the Front National.

Culture

Nice has a distinct culture due to its unique history.

In the past Nice welcomed many immigrants from Italy (who continue to make a large proportion of the population), as well as Spanish and Portuguese immigrants.

Places of interest

Promenade des Anglais: the street running along the edge of the water, with strong nightlife and nice views Château Monument aux morts The port Marché aux fleurs (flower market): runs every day of the week selling all the best produce of the area Old Nice Grand Hôtel Impérial

Religious buildings

Sainte-Réparate Cathedral, 17th century Saint-Jacques Church, 17th century The Saint Nicolas Orthodox Cathedral Sainte Jeanne d'Arc Church, 20th century

Museums

Musée des Beaux-Arts Jules Chéret Musée Masséna Museum of Natural History Naval Museum Galerie des Ponchettes Musée Chagall (Cimiez) Musée Matisse (arenas of Cimiez where one can also see Roman ruins) Musée Terra-Amata

Education

Nice is home of the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis and EDHEC Business School.

Miscellaneous

Births

Nice was the birthplace of:

Andre Massena (1758-1817), Duke of Rivoli, Prince of Essling, soldier in the armies of Napoleon and a Marshal of France Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1885), nationalist revolutionary and Italy's most famous soldier of the Risorgimento Melchior de Vogue (1848-1910), author Albert Calmette (1863-1933), physician, bacteriologist and immunologist Marcel Journet (1867-1933), tenor Robert Caesar Childers (1838-1876), British Orientalist scholar René Dreyfus (1905-1993), Grand Prix driver Jean Behra (1921-1959), Formula One driver Simone Veil (born 1927), lawyer and politician Yves Klein (1928-1962), artist Christian Wolff (born 1934), American composer of experimental classical music Max Gallo (1932), author and politician Le Clezio (1940), author Didier Van Cauweleart (1960), author, winner of the Goncourt in 1994 Catherine Ségurane, heroin of the siege of Nice in 1543

Town twinning

Nice's town twins are:

Active twinnings: Cuneo, Italy Edinburgh, Scotland Gdańsk, Poland Hangzhou, China Laval, Canada Louisiana (State), United States Nuremberg, Germany Saint Petersburg, Russia Szeged, Hungary Thessaloniki, Greece Yalta, Ukraine Other twinnings: Alicante, Spain Antananarivo, Madagascar Cape Town, South Africa Houston, Texas (United States) Kamakura, Japan Libreville, Gabon Manila, Philippines Miami, Florida (United States) Netanya, Israel Nouméa, New Caledonia (France) Phuket, Thailand Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Saint Denis, Réunion (France) Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands (Spain) Sorrento, Italy Pact of friendship: Xiamen, China

Sources and References

^ The original city motto was Nicæa civitas fidelissima, i.e. "Nice the very loyal city" (loyal to the House of Savoy), but the motto was shortened in 1860 when Nice became French.