In 1860, the County of Nice - including the city of Nice, obviously - was ceded to France by the Italian Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia in exchange for France’s support during the (failed, mostly) Second War of Italian Independence. The Treaty of Turin between Victor Emmanuel II and Napoleon III made the southern city and its…
Being here at the Matisse Museum, built mainly into the Villa des Arenes in Nice’s Cimiez suburb, I can certainly see the appeal of the area. The climate is mild, the Mediterranean shore a few brief minutes away, but seeming almost as if in another world from this hilltop retreat. The Roman ruins of Cemenelum…
Today, Nice is essential France. There is a bakery on every block, a wine bar next door, and crepe stands abound. There is art, there is culture. There is no doubt that this is truly France. But in fact, Nice is a relative newcomer to France, its inclusion in the country only permanently coming in…
I think that for most people coming to Nice, its draw isn’t history. Rather they seek the Mediterranean sun, the blue waters of the Côte d’Azur, the fresh sea breeze, and the French cooking. But here in France’s fifth largest city there is a history that spans millennia, and can still be seen today with…
It’s hard to believe it’s down to my last month of this Europe trip. This month I’ll be based in Toulouse in southwestern France. It’s the first major stop on this trip that isn’t on the coast, not that this is a major consideration for me. I was in Toulouse for part of two days…
After a wonderful whirlwind month in Genoa and northwestern Italy, it is time to head into France. The destination: Nice. I’ll have roughly a month here, exploring both the city itself and some of the surrounding towns along the Côte d’Azur, Azure Coast. And while February isn’t the prime season for sunbathing by the Mediterranean,…
For the first time since resuming travel coming out of the Covid shutdown, I didn’t make it to Europe in 2025. And while I had an amazing travel year, that absence was felt, both in that I missed my favorite place in the world and that I didn’t have my “normal” (I’ve only done it…
Editor’s note: while I haven’t done a cruise on the Rhine, regular readers of The Royal Tour will probably remember time I spent in the region, based in Bonn. You can visit my guide to the amazing city here, and see my favorite castle experience here. Jackie, however, puts the whole length of the river…
What qualities go into a great museum? For me, there are a few. A great museum has to start with a great collection. Whether it’s art, antiquities, or anything else, a museum cannot be truly great without a world class collection. Secondly, it has to have a good physical space. A beautiful view, a historic…
Well, this is definitely no simple hunting lodge. The palace of Versailles, built by Louis XIV just outside Paris, is one of the most overtly conspicuous displays of wealth and ego ever built, by a monarch for whom wealth and ego were like mother’s milk. Walking around, golden domes, gates, window adornments - golden everything…