Place Garibaldi is the largest square in Nice, a formal 18th-century composition of arcaded yellow buildings surrounding a statue of Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was born in Nice in 1807 (when it was still a French city; he spent much of his life fighting for Italian unification, and the city was given to France permanently in 1860, a year after Garibaldi had helped defeat Austria). The square sits between the old town and the modern city and is the departure point for Nice's tram lines.
The surrounding streets have a cluster of good cafes under the arcades — more local in character than the Cours Saleya and noticeably less expensive. The area around the square has gentrified considerably in recent years, with design shops, wine bars, and small restaurants filling what were once down-at-heel back streets.