Fragrant, irresistable, provençal and totally charming is how I'd describe the wonderful open-air market located at Cours Saleya in Nice. No matter how many times I return, no matter the season, with or without family or friends, there is always something that catches my eye, indulges my senses and makes me delight in the warm convivial atmosphere that reigns in and around Cours Saleya.

Located under the shade of colourful awnings you'll find a magnificent selection of olives and olive oils, herbs and spices, fresh bread, locally produced fruit, salads and vegetables, wild mushrooms, cheeses, honey and, of course, magnificant cut flowers and exotic plants.  

Each stall belongs to one of the many small-scale farmers who harvest and market their own produce. Look for local mesclun, a mix of tiny bitter and sweet leaves such as wild roquette, sorrel, dandelion and mâche, stacks of vivid yellow lemons from Menton and still with their green leaves. In summer you'll see lucious orange cantaloupes from Cavaillon, strawberries from the Var, local figs, marrows, plump red, yellow and green peppers, and every sort of olive imaginable prepared in a myriad of ways.  

Set amongst the stalls you'll find a few artists selling their paintings. While to some this may seem a little touristy, in many ways it adds an extra creative element to the market. Though there are a number of very good restaurants running along both sides of the market, you may like to try something totally different and only found in Nice: Socca.

You'll find this Niçois speciality, a huge flat pancake made of chickpea flour, just outside the Chapelle de la Miséricorde de l'Archiconfrérie des Pénitents-Noirs on the corner of Cours Saleya and place Pierre-Gautier. Here you'll find the makeshift café "Chez Thérèse". The owner, Thérèse, serves up very thin slices of this pancake, kept warm in an enormous flat pan on top of a very hot "oil" drum. Her Socca is a Nice institution, and we've often seen locals and tourists alike waiting patiently for a freshly baked socca to arrive by motorized bicycle from her kitchens in Rue Droite.

Framed with pastel-colored houses and shaded by plane trees, this lively market starts at six every morning except Mondays when it turns itself into a charming antique market, and ends, fairly abruptly, with the firing of the midday gun atop Castle Hill - another Nice institution which we'll feature in another article.

For now, let's step back in time and find out how Cours Saleya's market began. 

It all started on July 22nd, 1861 when the Malausséna municipality inaugurated a wholesale market (or lou mercat as it was known in Nissard, the local language that's a blend of Provençal and Italian) on Cours Saleya. Fruit and vegetables were sold on the east of Saint-Gaétan and on Square Palais-de-la-Préfecture, the west side being reserved for selling flowers. In spite of the old elm trees offering some shade in summer, it quickly became evident that some sort of roofing was required to protect both the goods and the people there from rain and the hot Mediterranean sun. Thus in 1870, for measures of hygiene on the one hand and convenience for those living in the new developing Nice on the other, it was decided to move the market "up" to Boulevard du Pont-Neuf (today Jean-Jaurès) between the dates of 15th May and 15th October, when it would "come down" to Cours Saleya and the place du Palais for the other months.

With the French flag raised during transactions the wholesale market started trading at 4am and ended at 7.30am. But bit by bit things started to change; with the arrival of retailers and, more especially, in 1897 with the flower market. Once only a morning market, the multiple brightly coloured tents of the flower merchants, while adding a picturesque note to the already vibrant colours of the Mediterranean market, could be seen stretching as far as the Opera by the afternoon. In 1913, a severely looking metallic structure was constructed on the east side of Cours Saleya, giving it the vague aspect of a hall. Old and rusty, this was finally demolished in June 1950 as, too, were the old Elm trees and the stone benches where people could come and sit in the freshness of an evening.

Four months later another structure, this one made out of concrete and designed with a central glass roof panel, was built along the entire length of the Cours giving this important regional market both a modern and functional look. Even the French News transmitted its inauguration on November 13th, 1950. However this too was later demolished, seen as both ugly and obsolete when the wholesale market moved away in 1965 to the modern buildings of MIN (Marchés d'Intérêt National) located on the west side of Nice.  

So begun on the 18th November 1980 the demolition of Cours Saleya's market. It was inaugurated on the 22nd December 1982 when brightly coloured market stalls and leafy trees once again filled the Cours . . .

I think you'll enjoy this market very much no matter what time of year you visit it. Its situation too as it serves as an excellent starting point to saunter gently into old Nice. Here you'll discover narrow streets filled with art galaries, Provençal boutiques, restaurants, bars, various gorgeous speciality shops and wonderful ice cream parlours (try Glacier Fenocchio on Place Rosetti for some truly remarkable ice-cream and flavours).

Apart from the market there are also a few buildings worthy of attention: at the top of Cours Saleya you'll see a bright yellow house at no. 1, place Charles-Félix. From its third floor window Matisse painted those window scenes of azure blue seas and palm trees swaying in the breeze and you can read more about this wonderful painter by clicking here.

Down at the other end of the market you'll come to the Nice's Opera. Originally built in 1776, it was tragically burnt down in the middle of a performance on Wednesday March 23, 1881 at nine o'clock in the evening; 59 people lost their lives. Rebuilt in 1885 and inaugurated in 1886, it is now one of France’s most beautiful theaters with its classical maritime figures sculpted in marble. A little further down rue Saint François de Paule you'll pass the magical Patisserie Auer who sell delicious chocolate, candied fruit and homemade preserves. Dating back to 1820, it has kept its Baroque style with beautiful Rococo sculptured wood.

Continuing along rue Saint François de Paule and taking the second street on your right, rue Opéra, you'll come out at the newly designed and very impressive Place Massena; its water fountain is just beautiful.