Nice, France is a place that is fairly well known as a popular tourist destination, especially for Europeans. It however, hadn't been very high on my personal list of to-visit places. Last December though, I got to visit Nice as it was the first stop of my family's end of year holiday. Within the half a day that we got to spend there, I had fallen completely in love with the city's beauty.

The weather was wonderful the day we were there; Clear blue skies, and crisp, cool winter air. It was the perfect weather for us, as it helped in keeping us refreshed, as we had just flown in from Dubai. Wanting to head to the beach to check out the views, we wandered through the city center, and came across a mist and water covered open plaza, known as the Miroir d'eau (Water Mirror). The blue skies were perfectly reflected on the wet floor of the plaza, and many people were taking advantage of that to grab photos. I did as well, and captured a shot that has become one of my favourites from the entire trip - That of a girl and her reflection, mid-skip across the plaza.

The beach was only a short walk further from the plaza, and there were many people there too, relaxing and enjoying the great weather. It was all very calming.

As the afternoon wore on, we headed up the nearby hill (Seen in the above photo) to get better views of the city in the golden light of the approaching sunset. And as you can see from the following photos, what a view it was.

We stayed at the top of the hill until it started getting dark, and headed back through the city to our hotel. En-route, we passed the Miroir d'eau once more, and it was no less beautiful than what it had been earlier in the day.

After this very short visit to the city, I'd say that it's name is well deserved (Though that's not quite how the city got it's name). If you like a casual, calming and beautiful seaside retreat that's different from the usual white sand and hot sun that most people think of when it comes to a beach holiday, Nice would be a nice alternative (pun very much intended).

Till the next time,

Raylen