Plensa's seven men
Glowing continents conversing in colour over the night square.
Patrice Semeria — Public domain · leineart — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jorge Franganillo — CC BY 2.0 · Jorge Franganillo — CC BY 4.0
Place Masséna is Nice's red salon: Pompeian-red arcaded buildings over a black-and-white chequered floor, exactly between old town and new — every Nice route crosses it, every festival fills it. Its stars squat on poles: 'Conversation in Nice' by Jaume Plensa — seven glowing seated men for the seven continents, changing colours through the night in a silent light dialogue that became the city's modern emblem. The Fountain of the Sun with its giant marble Apollo holds the southern end. From here run February's Carnival and flower battles, December's Christmas market, every celebration — and the tram slices elegantly between the red arcades. Crossing it is inevitable; pausing is the clever choice.
Glowing continents conversing in colour over the night square.
Red arcades on black-and-white chequer — Nice's visual identity.
Giant Apollo and bronze horses at the old town's gate.
Place Masséna, 06000 Nice
Promenade du PaillonThe Promenade du Paillon is a green ribbon through the heart of Nice, from the n1 minute walk4.5
Opéra de NiceThe Opéra de Nice is an 1885 building on the edge of the old town, with an Itali4 minutes walk4.6
Masséna StatueA bronze statue of Marshal André Masséna, one of Napoleon's commanders, born in 4 minutes walk4.5
Charles Nègre Photography MuseumThe Charles Nègre museum is Nice's museum of photography, in a seventeenth-centu5 minutes walk4.5
The Prefectoral PalaceA palace at the edge of old Nice, once the residence of the rulers of Savoy and 5 minutes walk4.6Alfred Janniot's statue drew a morality campaign from Nice's ladies at its 1956 unveiling, was chiselled down, then exiled decades to a sports ground, returning restored in 2011 as a late apology. Today he stands in peace — his story told more than his marble.
Nice's Carnival (February–early March) ranks among the world's three greatest: giant satirical floats and flower battles where blooms genuinely rain on the crowd. Stands are ticketed, some standing free — and book hotels months out. For families an exceptional show in mild winter weather.
South through the arcades, the old town and Cours Saleya; east, the Paillon park and its jets; west, commercial Jean Médecin; south-west, sea and promenade in five minutes — Nice's solar roundabout; pick your ray.