☰Vieux Nice

Vieux Nice is the old town, a dense Italian-flavoured warren of narrow streets, baroque churches, and sun-faded ochre buildings wedged between the sea and the Colline du Chateau. The Cours Saleya market runs daily with flowers, produce, and antiques on Mondays, and is the neighbourhood's social anchor. Socca, the crispy chickpea-flour pancake cooked on vast copper pans, is the essential street food and best eaten standing at Chez Theresa or one of the other market stalls. The baroque Cathedral of Sainte-Reparate and the Palais Lascaris, a 17th-century mansion turned museum, are worth ducking into. Climb the stairs to the Colline du Chateau park for panoramic views over the Baie des Anges and the port. The streets feel genuinely lived-in despite the tourist traffic, with laundry overhead and locals leaning from windows.