As you walk along the Promenade des Anglais and mingle with summer tourists and holiday makers, it is hard to believe that, once upon a time, Nice and its coastline were only prized in winter. Indeed, at the onset of summer Nice would empty of all visitors, and social life came to a grinding stop.

Two types of clientele came to Nice as winter residents: well-to-do aristocrats or the very ill. While the first enjoyed the luxury, opulence and gaie society, the second led a much more sober life suffering from consumption, scrofula or lethargy.  Following orders from their physicians, they would make the arduous journey down to Nice in the hope that its mild climate and the clean, fresh air of the Alps would help them recover.

What a journey that was. From London it took three days to get to Paris and then a further thirteen days, with over a hundred posting houses along the way, with roads little more than dusty stony tracks. The advent of the railroad in 1865 helped enormously and we'll be looking at this in greater depth later on.

Before I write more about the creation of the Promenade des Anglais, I do need to tell you about a gorgeous park, today called Jardin Albert 1st, as it makes a wonderful, green leafy oasis between the Promenade and Quai des Etats-Unis.

Jardin Albert 1er
The garden dates back to 1852 when it was first designed by the architect Vérany and is considered to be one of the oldest public parks in Nice. It is built over the Paillon River, once a wide, stony and quite marshy river-bed. Traces of it can still be seen at Galion Plage where a wide arched outlet has been left for storm surges. Today it covers an area of roughly 25,774m² and wide stretches enter snake-like into the heart of Nice.  

It was originally built in three stages. In the first instance a small public park was established on the left side of the mouth of the Paillon River. Planted in the romantic à la française style, the garden also contained pine, cypress and olive trees alongside more exotic vegetation ,such as African and Oriental plant varieties.  It was called Jardin Paradis. When a bandstand was erected in 1868 all of high society gathered every Thursday and Sunday to listen to military bands playing the music of the day.  The stunning bronze Lionne de Clovis Masson located today at the entrance of the park was originally erected in 1869 and sited above a small lake and artificial grotto.

In 1860 a second public garden was constructed, this time on the right-hand side of the Paillon River and it was named square des Phocéens.   

A bridge, le pont des Anges (once called le pont Napoléon) arched over the mouth of the Paillon River linking the two sides of the river banks. The two gardens were “joined up” in 1893 when the Paillon River was finally covered over. The gardens officially opened to the public on the 20th November 1895 and proved a huge success.  In honour of the Belgian King Albert 1st, the park’s name changed to Jardin Albert 1er in 1914 as a tribute to the King’s heroic resistance against the German invasion during the First World War.

During the Second World War the gardens were badly damaged by German troops with the building of blockhouses to repel any threat of and Allied landing. They were redesigned in their present format in 1946 by the Niçois architect François Aragon.

The garden still retains a few mementoes from its past such as Antoniucci Volti’s Three Graces and Masson’s lioness and a new bandstand has come to replace the old one, as has a new theatre to replace the Théatre de Verdure built in 1945, offering up to 3,000 seating capacity.  Though many of the plants have disappeared in favour of well-groomed lawns there are still very rare ones such as the Reclinata palm tree, which are identified by name.  In addition, you'll find Bernard Venet’s monumental and sleek bronze arc, l’Arc de 115°5 which measures an impressive 19 metres. Commissed by the EPAD, it was installed in 1988 and offered to the City of Nice.  In contrast there is a charming Merry- Go-Round that finds appeal with young and old alike.

Before we look at the “pièce de résistance”, the Promenade des Anglais in detail, I must point out another historical monument that stands proudly at the entrance of Jardin Albert 1re facing the Mediterranean sea.

Monument du Centenaire
Built in 1896 and inaugurated that same year on 4th March by Félix Faure, then President of the French Republic, this stone and bronze monument was sculpted by André Allard after an architectural design by Jules Febvre.  It was erected to celebrate the first annexation of Nice to France in January 1793.  Engraved on the monuments are three dates; 1793, 1860 and 1893 marking important dates in the history of Nice.

It is difficult to comprehend the historical legacy that is to be found in Nice especially if you're here for a few days or taking time out to relax on the beach or strolling along the Promenade des Anglais. For many people coming here for the first time, it is the incredible panoramic views of the Baie des Anges, the wonderful markets and quaint narrow streets that draw one's attention. But as one digs deeper into the history of Nice you come to realize that this poor old city has had a rather turbulent past and vestiges can be found almost everywhere if you look carefully. Yet out of these turbulent times was to issue one of the most spectacular of promenades the world has ever seen; and remarkably it is thanks to foreigners (ie. the English) that it all came about.