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In common with several other locations covered on this site, the authorities in Nice have erected information panels at various places around the town which give details of paintings produced by a variety of artists, capturing the scene as they saw it. These form the basic structure of this walk but over the course of time some of these panels have been lost, some the author could not find and some have suffered badly from the effects of weather and vandalism. One panel that is not included is that showing La Fête des Cougourdons by Clément Roassal as this is close to the Monastery of Cimiez and the Matisse Museum, which is some distance away from the rest of the walk and would be better combined with a visit to those two sites. Also, La Route de France vers Magnan by Jules Defer is at the far end of the Promenade des Anglais, quite a hike from the other panels, although this could be combined with a visit to the Musée des Beaux-Arts which is close by. A plan of the entire route can be found at Nice walk master map.
The walk now scales the heights of Colline du Château via a challenging flight of steps, although for the weary of leg there is the Ascenseur du Château – a lift of some vintage that will take much of the sweat out of the climb. Cross the main road and at the end of Rue des Ponchettes you will find the bottom of the steps and a little further on the entrance to the lift.
Home to many of the paintings featured in this walk is the Musée Masséna and that is just a few yards further on and is definitely worth a visit. Housed in a fabulous villa, once home to the Masséna family, the collections also include personal items relating to Napoleon and Josephine. Another reminder of more elegant times is the Hotel Negresco on the next block. First opened in 1913, decorated with original artwork from the time of Louis XIV to the present day, haunt of royalty, politicians and celebrities, offering Michelin-starred dining, all in sumptuous interiors – who could ask for more??
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Avenue Jean Médecin is a wide boulevard running from the main railway station in the north to the Place Masséna, old town and seafront in the south and is one of the principal shopping streets referred to by residents as ‘The Avenue’. Just by the intersection with Rue de la Liberté you will find the first information panel which presents a painting by Louis Béroud called L’avenue de la Gare (1) (Musée Masséna, Nice). At the turn of the twentieth century when the picture was painted this was the name of the road and much has changed but much has remained the same. The street is still tree-lined, pavement cafés still cater for busy shoppers and trams (now electric-powered) are still a hazard when crossing the road. 
Now walk towards Place Masséna through the colonnade, reminiscent of Rue de Rivoli in Paris, and you will emerge into the magnificent square lined on three sides with elegant buildings painted in dusky tones of pink. Proceed to the far end of the arcaded building on the right and just round the corner you will find the next panel showing La Place Masséna by François Bret (2) (Musée des Beaux Arts Jules Cheret, Nice). Painted in 1950, this public space is instantly recogniseable and in many ways is much improved by being pedestrianised – except for trams. An eye-catching addition is a modern installation of seven statues sitting atop lofty columns called Conversation à Nice by the Spanish artist Jaume Plensa.
The next panel is to be found in the Vielle Ville (Old Town) and to get there head towards the impressive marble statue of Apollo with various bronze attendants and fountains. This figure of Apollo has had an interesting history – first installed in 1956 to a scandalous reception, partly because of his slightly kitsch appearance but more controversially because of the size of his ‘masculine attributes’. The sculptor Alfred Janniot was asked to reduce the size of the offending feature but complaints from sensitive parties continued, including The League of Feminine Virtue, and in 1979 the statue was finally removed and exiled to a football stadium. Times and sensitivities change and with much public support the statue was finally returned as part of the areas regeneration when the tramway construction was completed. 
On the far side of the statue take the Rue de l’Opera and then, resisting the lure of the seafront, turn left into Rue St François de Paule. You are now in the area referred to as the Old Town and in the distance you will see the colourful awnings of the daily Marché aux Fleurs set amidst pretty pastel-coloured buildings with the wooded slopes of the Colline du Château beyond. Pass the Belle Epoch splendour of the Opera House on the left and stroll around the stalls of the flower market. On the left hand side you will come to a small tunnel (leading to the seafront) opposite the Place Gautier and here you find the next panel showing La Préfecture de Nice, 1963 by Claude Ambaud (3) (Musée International d’Art Naif Anatole Jakovsky, Nice). This naive representation of the impressive government building on the far side of the square is almost unchanged and the view is still obscured by parked vehicles.
The next panel in the Old Town involves a walk through narrow pedestrianised streets where it easy to get lost, but fascinating all the same. First walk to the end of the Cours Saleya into Place Charles-Felix and you will see infront of you an impressive 17th century town house previously called Caïs de Pierlas Palace. It was here that Matisse lived in a 3rd floor apartment, affording him magnificent views of the old town and the Bay of Nice, from 1921 to 1938. We will pass the locations of some of his other residences later in the walk. Now turn left into Rue Jules Gilly with the church of St Suaire on your right. Follow this road until it become Rue Droite ignoring turnings to left and right and pass through Place de Jésus with the church of St Jacques on the right. Carry on along the narrow lane lined with diverting shops, cafés and restaurants and cross the intersection with Rue Rossetti. Eventually the road will join Rue St François and at this point bear to the right and continue until you reach Place St François.
This is the location of a small fish market but at the time of writing was suffering from major road works and reorganisation and as a consequence the next information panel was not to be found – possibly to be reinstalled at a later date. This shows Le marché aux poissons – Place St François à Nice (4) (Private collection) by Raoul Dufy. Inspite of the chaos and inevitable collection of parked vehicles the scene is still easy to recognise. The impressive edifice on the right dates from the 18th century and is the former Palais Communal and the bell tower to be seen behind the adjacent building is what remains of the convent that was later transferred to Cimiez.
This area was a favourite haunt of Dufy and his wife and the next panel should only be a short walk away. The truth is the author couldn’t find this panel either but to get somewhere close to the spot take Rue Pairolière out of the square and follow this until turning right into Rue François Zanin. The panel should be opposite the La Treille museum, near the church of St Augustin. It shows Mai à Nice (5) (Musée des Beaux Arts Jules Cheret, Nice), painted between 1930–33. There is a small square on Ruelle St Augustin where it intersects with Rue du Choeur, Rue Neuve and Ruelle St Martin and here there is a jumble of street levels and railings where the artist could have positioned himself. The arrangement of balconies has changed but this could be the result of artistic licence in the first place or more recent building works. The atmosphere captured in the painting could easily be recreated with a few flags, bunting and swags of foliage.
The next panel is positioned by the Old Port and to reach here involves a walk around the bottom of the castle hill, which will be scaled a little later. From Place St Augustine take Rue Sincaire until it meets Rue Catherine Segurane and turn right. As with many parts of the city, this area was undergoing extensive road works at the time of writing, but the idea is to follow this road or Montée Eberlé and Montée Monfort until the Old Port become visible on the left. It may be necessary to take a short detour via Rue Martin Seytour and Rue Cassini but eventually you will be able to cross the main road to Quai Lunel. This photograph is useful as comparison to Trachel’s painting shown below.
Head towards the port entrance and just by the car park on the left there is a panel showing Vue du Port (6) (Musée Masséna, Nice) painted in 1860 by Hercule (Ercoule) Trachel. Over 150 years have passed since then and there are obvious changes in the scene. One or two quayside buildings across the water are just about identifiable behind the forest of pleasure boat masts which have largely replaced commercial vessels in this part of the port. The other notable difference is the spread of the city into the hills behind the port.
Continue around the headland on the walkway alongside the busy road (Quai Rauba Capeu) passing the war memorial on the right and you will soon come to the spot close to where Joseph Fricero painted Tempête à Rauba Capeu (7) (Musée Masséna, Nice) in 1848. There is now a projection of the sea wall over the rocks and the artist could have positioned himself at a lower level to capture the rocks taking a pounding from the stormy seas. There is a row of buildings behind the road on the left not evident in the picture but the distinctive cleft in the rocks on the extreme right can still be seen – stone changes little compared to the works of man.
Now carry on past the impressive sundial set into the footway and the grand sweep of the Bay of Angels comes into view, a scene captured by Raoul Dufy in La Baie des Anges à Nice (8). This was painted in 1927 and is now to be seen in the Musée des Beaux Arts Jules Cheret. The panel is set into the railings overlooking the end of the beach. The essentials of sea, sky, beach and background hills have not changed but a notable feature missing from the scene is the pier and casino which takes centre-stage in this loose and spontaneous work.
The views of the town and the bay get more impressive the further you climb and a magnificent vantage point is Tour Bellanda where the next panel can be found. This shows Les Congés Payés (9) (Musée International d’Art Naïf Anatole Jakovsky, Nice) by Jean Klissak, painted in 1979. This is largely a work of the imagination with very few recogniseable elements apart from the beach and maybe the Cours Saleya. The artist is focused on human activity and topographical accuracy is very low on his list of priorities but the ‘toytown’ appearance is still an element which you can relate to from this lofty perch. 
We now go in search of the next panel which is further uphill and it shows La Baie des Anges vue du Château de Nice (10) (Private collection) by François Bensa painted in about 1880. It is not possible to get the exact orientation of the elements in the picture – the artists was probably slightly lower down. Having said that, the tranquil spirit of this delightful place still persists inspite of the urban sprawl that has happened over the last century and the comings and goings of aircraft at Nice airport seen in the far distance. 
The next panel can be found at the very top of the castle hill overlooking the Old Port and this shows Vue sur le Port depuis le Château (11) (Musée Masséna, Nice) painted by Alexis Mossa in 1897. The attractive foreground of agaves, cypress and olive trees is difficult to replicate, although all these plants are still to be found in the well-maintained park which is now a haven for families escaping the bustle and heat of the city below. The infrastructure of the port is also much changed with an extensive harbour wall to the right. The size of modern cargo vessels dominate this end of the port and the artists would struggle to recognise it.
That completes the walk around the Colline du Château and we now retrace our steps to the seafront where the final phase of the walk takes in the Quai Etats-Unis and the Promenade des Anglais. The first panel should be located adjacent to the Jardin Albert 1er, just beyond the Old Town but before that you pass the building where Matisse first stayed when he discovered Nice in 1917. This was at the Hôtel Beau Rivage, which no longer exists, but there is a plaque on the building at number 107. From here he had fabulous views of the sea and the views through an open window became a recurrent theme in his work. The painting shown is My Room at the Beau Rivage, 1918 (Philadelphia Museum of Art).
The panel showing La Promenade des Anglais (12) (Musée Masséna, Nice) painted by Frantz von Alt in 1885 could not be found by the author! The painting is of the gardens with a bandstand on the right with an elegant seafront building beyond, now replaced by a rather unattractive edifice occupied by Le Meridien Hotel. The bandstand, gardens and palm trees are all still features of the scene but the relaxed traffic of elegant strollers and occasional horses has been replaced by motor vehicles in more of a hurry, to say the least! The nearest approximation of the view is probably from the traffic island between the two carriageways.
Now retreat from the traffic to the wide pedestrian walkway and at a point opposite the end of the gardens where some steps go down to the beach you should see the next panel showing another naive work by Jean Klissak. This is Mois d’août à Nice (13) (Musée International d’Art Naïf Anatole Jakovsky, Nice) painted in 1982. Rendered in his very distinctive style this shows the beach with hardly a square inch unoccupied – not an unusual spectacle in the month of August! What a contrast to the vision of von Alt a hundred years before.
Walk on to a point opposite the end of the Palais de la Mediterranée and you will find a panel showing Le Casino de la jetée, promenade aux deux caléches (14) (Musée des Beaux Arts Jules Cheret, Nice). This was painted by Raoul Dufy in 1927 and features the Crystal Casino that, alas, is no more. The whimsical building, with allusions to the Crystal Palace and Brighton Pavilion – no doubt to appeal to British visitors, was first opened in 1891 and became an iconic image of the city. However the Second World War would bring an end to its fun-filled days. It was closed in 1942 and stripped of any valuable metals and wiring by the German army, partly demolished and then left to decay until all that remains are a few posts in the water marking its original location. Interestingly the Art Deco style Palais de la Mediterranée replaced the previous Hôtel de la Mediterranée which was also home to Matisse in 1920.
Now carry on until a point opposite the Hotel Westminster and you will find the next panel showing La Promenade des Anglais (15) (Musée Masséna, Nice) by Angelo Garino. Painted in 1922 this must be the quintessential vision of elegant and chic society taking its leisure beneath sunny skies and taking in the sea air. The sunny skies and sea air remain but fashions have changed, the casino has gone, the Belle Epoch turrets disappeared – alas!
Returning to the real world there is just one more panel to find but unfortunately this is to be found much further along the Promenade de Anglais and is a considerable walk. If the legs and feet allow, proceed along the ‘prom’ until you reach l’Hôpital Leval and there you should find a panel showing La Route de France vers Magnan (16) (Musée Masséna, Nice). Painted in 1865 by Jules Defer, this view looking westwards shows a scene before any of the developments of the late 19th and 20th centuries. The distance is now dominated by the airport with planes landing and taking off at frequent intervals. The dusty path has become the Promenade des Anglais – much smoother underfoot but with no welcome shade from overarching trees. Indeed we have reached a place where the contrast between a world now gone and the present day is at its most obvious. The shingle beach and the blue, blue waters of the bay, however, remain unchanged.
