The images conjured up in most people’s minds by the word “Nice” (as in the French Mediterranean city not the adjective!) are sea, sun, beaches and fabulous restaurants. But there are also hidden historic sites of Nice that are well worth discovering says Christina Mackenzie.
Amongst these are four that reveal a broad span of Nice’s history from prehistory to the 19th century. Two of them are literally hidden: underground or masquerading as subterranean parking!
Prehistory
You may think you’ve made a mistake when you arrive at 25, Boulevard Carnot, the address of the recently modernised Terra Amata museum, because little on this block of flats with its balconies flounced by blue and white striped awnings hints that this is anything but residential. But you’ll spy a sign on the front, half obscured by bushes: “Musée de Terra Amata” and sure enough instead of an underground car park, you’ll find a museum on the very site where some of the world’s most ancient prehistoric remains were found in 1968 when foundations for the building were being dug.
In the 1960s, exploratory archaeology prior to any construction work was not mandatory in France (it is today) but historian Professor Henry de Lumley negotiated long and hard with the building company to halt work for six months so the site could be explored. What de Lumely and his team discovered were 400,000-year-old vestiges of a campsite, including what is now the highlight of the museum: one of the world’s oldest traces of a domestic hearth.
When Homo Erectus lived here, the sea-level was about 25m higher than it is now, so this campsite would have been on a beach with the caves and inlets of the cornice providing shelter.
Given the importance of the discovery, the city authorities agreed to conserve the site and built a museum over it – the first such in-situ museum in France – but also permitted the housing project to be completed. It was awarded the “Musée de France” label in 2002. This means researchers can work here, sifting through 2,173 drawers which contain everything found on the site that is not on public view.
Roman remains
Moving smartly along the historical timeline, the Musée d’Archéologie de Nice/Cimiez, right next to the better known Musée Matisse, is where you can visit a small section of Cemenelum, the Roman capital of the Alpes Maritimes territory. Built atop Cimiez hill, it was a thriving community whose inhabitants were clearly fond of spas. Still visible are the ruins of three thermal establishments used between 1 to 3 AD, a few streets and living quarters, shops and an amphitheatre (of which little remains). There are also some Paleochristian ruins of a cathedral and a baptistry dating to 5 AD. Covering roughly the site of 5 football fields, the site is very impressive – and you’re likely to have the place almost entirely to yourself. There’s also a museum with exhibits of daily life in Cemenelum.
Medieval
In Place Jacques Toja you’ll find France’s second biggest archaeological crypt (after the Louvre in Paris). Here, exploratory archaeological work prior to the construction of Nice’s first tramline uncovered extremely well preserved remains of the city’s medieval fortifications and gates which previously were thought to have been entirely demolished on 21st July 1706 by order of King Louis XIV when the troops of his enemy Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, capitulated after a 10-month siege.
The entrance is so discreet as to be almost invisible! Look for a sign which says “Visite de Site, Crypte Archéologique, Place Jacques-Toja” in front of the Monoprix shop. You’ll be forgiven for thinking this is a poster on a bus-stop but at its foot you’ll find the concrete steps which lead not to an underground carpark, but into a vast area where you can see fortifications and parts of an aqueduct and the sturdy remains of the Pairolière gate, which was the main entry to the northern point of the then-triangular shaped city, bounded on the south by the Mediterranean and the west by the Paillon river.
Reservations at centredupatrimoinevdn.com or at the Centre du Patrimoine, 14 rue Jules Gilly.
Tip: Don’t wear heels as the ground is uneven.
18th century
The most remarkable baroque monument in Nice is the Palais Lascaris at n°15 rue Droite (which used to be the old city’s main street). This is interesting not only for its 17th century architecture, furniture, décor, frescoes and fabulous staircase but also for one of Europe’s most important collections of antique musical instruments gifted to the city in by collector Antoine Gautier in 1904.
Tip: The Nice museum 4-day pass gives you access to all of the city’s museums and galleries at a very discounted price.
The area around Nice is also filled with history evident in the pickled-in-the-past villages, including lovely Saint-Paul-de-Vence which is about 20km from the city. Kevin Suther of Villa Lou Patio, a stunning rental holiday home nearby says “There’s so much ancient history evident in this area, it’s like a journey through time. Pebbles and shells have been found that prove that at the end of prehistory, the sea would have lapped the slopes of the hill on which the town is now perched. Roman tiles are nestled in the rampart walls, and buildings which date back several hundred years give St-Paul-de-Vence a unique charm.”
Nice and the many villages offer not just wall to wall sunshine, mouth-watering gastronomy and fabulous wines – but a stew of rich historic remains at every level.
Christina McKenzie is a Franco-British journalist who writes in both English and French. Married to a Frenchman, she settled 30 years ago near Fontainebleau.
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