Point of interest
Colline du Château (Castle Hill)
in Nice, France
A 92-metre green hilltop park offering the best panorama over the Old Town, port and bay, reached on foot, by lift or by tourist train.
Where it is
This wooded hill rises about 90 m above the Old Town and the port, at the eastern end of the Baie des Anges.
Address: Vieux Nice, Nice
What it is
The Parc de la Colline du Château offers the most famous panorama over Nice, the sea and the red roofs of the Old Town. Among pines and ruins you find the remains of the old Sainte-Marie cathedral and the waterfall; you can climb on foot via stairways or take the free lift. Admission is free.
History
The hill is the birthplace of Nice, settled since antiquity and later crowned by a powerful citadel that was demolished in 1706 on the orders of Louis XIV. From 1882 the city laid out the grounds as a public park, and the artificial waterfall was created in 1885.