The face of Nice is changing so quickly it’s hard to keep up! The Promenade du Paillon is being extended far to the east. The TNN (Theatre National de Nice) I referred to on page 179 has been torn down. In its place is a new garden promenade, La Bourgada. Instead of climbing to the top of TNN as I suggested, you can climb up to a balcony overlooking the garden for this view.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, the Couvent de la Visitation I mentioned on page 59 as part of the Old Town walk, is now a five-star hotel, the Hotel du Couvent.I noted that the hotel was planned and now it’s completed. Although the facade extends to the Place Sainte Claire, the entrance is on 1 rue Honoré Ugo. At least for now, that’s the only entrance and it’s best accessed at the top of rue Rossetti. The hotel courtyards, lounge areas and gardens are open to the public and I highly recommend a visit to this unique place.

 

 

Big changes are afoot east of Avenue Jean Médecin. The Promenade du Paillon is being extended, the Acropolis and the Nice National Theatre are being torn down and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MAMAC) will be given a dramatic facelift. (TBH, it needed it) The museum will be closed for four years to complete the basement to rooftop renovation.

The result will be  new exhibition areas, a redesigned entrance as part of the extension of the Promenade du Paillon (to be completed in 2025),  and a roof much more open to the public. The structure will expand by 400 m², will be brighter and more open, and  also greener. The idea is to make the place inviting enough for a stroll. Place Yves Klein will be transformed with large windows that will highlight the MAMAC. “It will no longer be a kind of balcony with cars passing underneath,” explains Mayor Christian Estrosi. It should be exciting. 

And what will happen to the museum’s art collection?

Mid-June 2024 , go to the Fernand-Léger museum in Biot, for the exhibition “Fernand Léger and the new realisms”. Around sixty works from the Nice MAMAC collection will be showcased there.

Mid-October 2024 , head towards the Matisse Museum, “for an unprecedented face to face between Henri Matisse and Yves Klein. Two of the greatest artistic signatures of Nice will finally dialogue. The majestic Stabile-Mobile (1970) by Alexander Calder , a monumental abstract work in steel 8 meters high and more than 7 meters wide, has already taken up residence on the north square of the Villa des Arènes.

At the end of April 2024 , Niki de Saint-Phalle will be featured at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri — while Americans have been particularly fond of the Nice-Côte d’Azur destination in recent years. “More than 80 works from the Riviera collection will be loaned”.

See more about art museums on the French Riviera 

and museums in Nice

 

As you move around Nice for the next few years, you’ll be seeing a lot of construction. What’s going on? A lot. A major expansion to the west is intended to revitalize the entire area between Nice Airport and the Plaine du Var with parks, gardens and cultural centers. Central Nice will lose the massive TNN structure which, controversially, will be destroyed and replaced with parkland. Nice’s current administration is determined to reduce cars and pollution in central Nice. To that end there will be new transport lines to the north, east and west and plenty of greenery to keep the air fresh.

To put it in historical perspective, Nice’s mayors and governing officials have always sought to put their imprint on Nice’s urban landscape. Some projects have worked out well such as the expansion of Nice from its old town core to the Quartier des Musiciens and Cimiez. Some have been less welcomed such as the destruction of mansions and parkland in West Nice. This mayor has a vision of a much greener and cleaner Nice that extends from the Var river to the northeastern limits of the city where people can rely on modern public transport. 

For an overview of all the changes along with maps and models, stop by the Maison des Grands Projets facing the water mirror in the Promenade du Paillon.

Here are the major developments:

PARKS

Extension of the Promenade du Paillon

CULTURAL SPACES

The rehabilitation of the Franciscan church on Place Saint François has been going on for some time. In excavating the 13th-century church, archaeologists discovered columns, caves and even the remains of an early 20th-century cinema. It should be a beautiful venue for the new Théatre National de Nice. The 300-seat theater will be modernized technically and acoustically and made more accessible. The stage will be fully modular with various tiers and configurations that can adapt to each production.

La Cuisine

TRANSPORT

Cable Car linking Nice and Saint Laurent du Var

This cable car is intended to relieve traffic congestion by providing a convenient link between Nice and Saint Laurent du Var. Why not just extend tramway line 2? That would involve creating a new bridge over the Var river. This cable car will link the Cadam tram stop on line 2 with the Saint Laurent town hall in less than three minutes. And, it will run every four minutes.

Tramway Line 4

When? early 2026.