Vieux Nice
Vieux Nice features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Nice. Give it roughly ~40 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type historic
- Suggested visit ~40 min
- Nice Nice guide
About Vieux Nice
A warren of ochre lanes and Baroque churches that spent most of its life not French but Savoyard-Italian, with its own dialect, saints and dishes, until Nice was handed to France in 1860.
Vieux Nice, the old town, is a dense maze of narrow lanes and Baroque churches beneath tall houses painted in ochre, red and gold. Its character is more Italian than French, for good reason: in 1388 Nice placed itself under the Dukes of Savoy, and it remained, with interruptions, under Savoy and the Kingdom of Sardinia until 1860, when it was transferred to France by the Treaty of Turin and a plebiscite (officially about 83% in favour, though historians question how free it was). The historic local language, Niçard, still appears on street signs, and the revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi, who opposed the transfer, was born in Nice in 1807. At its heart is the pretty Place Rossetti, with its fountain and the cathedral's tiled dome. The old town lies within the historic city of Nice.
Did you know? For centuries Nice was not French: from 1388 it belonged to the House of Savoy and the Kingdom of Sardinia, becoming French only in 1860, which is why the old town feels so Italian.
How long is a visit to Vieux Nice?
Set aside roughly ~40 min for Vieux Nice. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Vieux Nice worth your time?
Vieux Nice is among the 18 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Nice, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Nice
Hear the story of Vieux Nice
Preview the Nice tour free in the Gingerguide app.