Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Nice - Parc des Arenes de Cimiez

Thursday 31 July
Sunrise at Monte Carlo
An early start and we were on the road by 8 am on our way to Nice, the fifth largest city in France. On the way we stopped at a lookout for a view of Nice and the waterfront.
We spent part of the morning at the Parc des Arenes de Cimiez. The gardens were the location of the Nice Jazz Festival from 1948 to 2011 and the paths carry the names of jazz legends
while statues of well known jazz musicians can also be found.
Louis Armstrong
The gardens are also the location of a Roman amphitheatre
which we spent time exploring.
The remains of the Roman city of Cemenelum can also be seen in the gardens.
Cemenelum was the capital of the Roman province of Alpes Maritimae and the remains excavated provide a view of Roman life
and layout of buildings in a Roman town.
The Musee Matisse can be found next to the Cemenelum excavations. This museum is devoted to the work of artist, Henri Martisse (1869-1954).
The park itself is well known for its groves of olive trees.
Also located in the park is a Franciscan Monastery built in the 16th century.
The manicured gardens in the church grounds provide additional colour to the area.
It it amazing to be able to find all these features in a public park. Further information can be found in the French Riviera Blog.

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