The South of France-East Half Part 33

The glory of Nice is the Promenade des Anglais, commenced by the English in 1822 to employ the poor during a season of scarcity. This beautiful terraced walk, 85 ft. broad, extends 2 m. along the beach of the Baie des Anges, from the Quai Lunel of the Port to the mouth of the Magnan, whence it will be continued other 3 m. west to the mouth of the river Var, near the Racecourse.

Over the Port rises the Castlehill, 315 ft., commanding from the platform, in every direction, the most charming views. To the E. are the peninsula of St. Jean and Cape Boron, and rising from it, Fort Montalban, Mt. Vinaigrier, and the Observatory residence and buildings.

To the N. is Mt. Chauve; to the E. the roofs of Nice; and in the distance the Roche-Blanche (p. 164), the peninsula of Antibes, and the Esterels. This fortress, founded by the early Phnician colonists, and destroyed and rebuilt at various periods afterwards, was finally razed to the ground in 1706, by order of Louis XIV., by Marechal Berwick. Now it has become the great park of Nice. A round tower that still remains, over the Hotel des Princes, called the Tour Bellanda, was probably added to the Castle by Emmanuel Philibert in 1560. On the W. side of the hill (see plan) is the cemetery in five stages. At the entrance is the monument to the "Victimes de l'Incendie du Theatre, 23d March 1881."

Towards the E. end, at the wall, is the grave of Rosa Garibaldi, d. 19th March 1852. The tombstone was placed by her son, General Garibaldi. In the highest terrace is the grave containing Gambetta and his mother. In a terrace by itself in the eastern end is the Protestant cemetery.

[Headnote: CATERINA SEGURANA. MEMORIAL CHAPEL.]

Near the harbour, and above the Quai Lunel, is the statue of King Charles Felix. In the Rue du Murier, leading down from the Rue Segurane to the Port, is the mulberry tree where Caterina Segurana had her tent.

On the 15th of August 1543 she, at the head of a devoted band, attacked the allied French and Turkish forces commanded by Francois de Bourbon and the Turk Barbarossa, struck down with her own hand the standard-bearer, and put the enemy to flight. Giuseppe Garibaldi was born, 19th July 1807, in a house which stood at the head of the Port before its enlargement. In a small street, ramifying from the Rue Segurane, is the church of St. Augustin, in which Luther preached in 1510. At the east end of the R. de la Prefecture, last street left, No.

15 R. Droite, is the Palais des Lascaris, with ceilings painted in fres...o...b.. Carlone. It is now the "ecole Professionnelle." This is also the street of the jewellers patronised by the peasantry. Paganini died (1840) in the house No. 14 R. de la Prefecture. The jambs and lintels of the doorway are slightly decorated. The Cathedral and the other churches in the old town are in the Italian style, ornamented with gilding and variously-coloured marbles. The new church, Notre Dame, in the Avenue de la Gare, is Gothic in style. The first non-Romanist church erected in Nice was the Episcopal chapel of the Trinity in 1822. As it became too small, the present church was built on the same site in 1856 at a cost of 6000. To the N.W. of the railway station, by the Chemin St. Etienne, in an orange grove, is the Russian Memorial Chapel, a series of ascending domes, built over the spot on which stood the villa in which the Prince Imperial of Russia died, April 24, 1865. The interior is covered with designs in gold leaf, varied here and there by a light-blue ground. Round the base runs a white marble panelling, enclosing frescoes of saints in niches.

The princ.i.p.al thoroughfares in Nice are the Place Ma.s.sena and the handsome broad street the "Avenue de la Gare," extending in a straight line northward from the "Place" to the station. Next in importance are the Quais Ma.s.sena and St. Jean Baptiste. In the above are all the best shops. The Rue Ma.s.sena, and its continuation the Rue de France, behind the Promenade des Anglais, contain shops princ.i.p.ally of the provision kind, British stores, grocers, wine merchants, confectioners, and dressmakers. At the east end of the +Rue de France+ is the Croix de Marbre, a marble crucifix under a canopy on four marble columns, erected in 1568 to commemorate the visit of Charles V., Francis I., and Paul III. in 1538, and the partial reconciliation of the two potentates through the intervention of the Pope. The column opposite commemorates the visits of Pio VII. in 1809 and in February 1814. Near this is Trinity Church, and in the Rue Gioffredo the Temple evangelique, the second Protestant church built in Nice.

[Headnote: ANDRe Ma.s.sENA.]

On the arched part of the Paillon, fronting the Quai St. Jean, is the large and handsome Casino, and a little farther up the river the pretty public garden called the Square Ma.s.sena, with a statue in the centre, in an animated posture, of Andre Ma.s.sena, Prince of Essling and Marshal of France, who was born on May 7, 1758, in a house now demolished, which stood on the Quai St. Jean Baptiste. In 1810 he was chosen by Napoleon to stop the advance of Wellington in Portugal, and was commissioned "to drive the English and their Sepoy general into the sea." But the wary strategy and imperturbable firmness of the British general proved resistless, and Ma.s.sena was compelled to save his military fame by a masterly retreat. On the pedestal Clio is seen writing his name in the chronicles of his native city. This garden forms a pleasant lounge, but it is not so fas.h.i.+onable as the other farther down, at the mouth of the river, called the "Jardin Public," planted with magnolias, acacias, j.a.pan medlars, and gum, cork, camphor, and pepper trees. The band plays here in the afternoon. The most beautiful of the public gardens is on the Castlehill, intersected by footpaths and carriage-roads up to the summit. On one side of the hill is the public cemetery.

[Headnote: CIMIeS.]

All the side streets which ramify eastward from the Avenue de la Gare lead to the Quartier Carabacel, one of the most sheltered parts of Nice, and inhabited by the most delicate invalids. Above it, about 2 m.

distant, or 3 from the Place Ma.s.sena, is Cimies (430 ft. above the sea), another favoured spot, frequented princ.i.p.ally by nervous invalids requiring a sedative climate. On the top of this hill stood the Roman city Cemenelium, of which all that remains are the ruins of an amphitheatre 210 ft. long by 175 wide. Just under the Boulevard Prince de Galles are artistic ruins composed of ancient material gathered in this neighbourhood. They stand in the s.p.a.cious grounds of the superb villa Val Rose, which in shape resembles Noe's ark. Entrance from behind G. H. Windsor. The first road right from the theatre leads to a Franciscan convent built in 1543 on the site of a temple of Diana. The altar-pieces of the two chapels to the right of the altar were painted by Ludovico Brea, a contemporary of Raphael, and the only artist of eminence Nice has produced. The cemetery contains some beautiful tombstones. In the centre of the "Place," on a spiral marble column, is a crucifix with a winged J. C. Above is a pelican feeding its young, a favourite Christian symbol of charity during the Middle Ages.

A path in the corner of the "Place" leads down to St. Pons (p. 179).

At No. 6 Place Garibaldi is the Museum of Natural History. The first hall contains a collection of the fungi growing in the department; and separate, under a gla.s.s case, specimens of those allowed to be sold in the market for food.

[Headnote: DRIVES.]

The best of the drives from Nice is to Menton, 20 m. east, either by the high Corniche road along the flanks of the mountains, pa.s.sing above Monaco, or by the beautiful new road which seldom rises much above the coast, and pa.s.ses through La Condamine to Monte Carlo. An omnibus runs daily between the Boul. du Pont Neuf and Monte Carlo by this road (see p. 187).

Cab with 1 horse and 2 seats to Villefranche and back, 5 frs.; hour's rest allowed. With 2 horses and 4 seats, 7 frs. Above the Pont Neuf, near the Place St. Francois, omnibuses (without fixed time) start for Villefranche, fr.; St. Jean, 15 sous; and Beaulieu, 15 sous. On feast-days a steamer generally sails to Monaco. In the village of St.

Jean there is a very comfortable country inn, H. Victoria, where bouillabaisse can always be had. Pension, 8 frs. And at Beaulieu, close to the station, is the *H. et P. des Anglais, pension 9 to 12 frs.

Those who go from Nice to St. Jean with luggage should leave in the omnibus, but for Beaulieu the rail should be taken. A carriage with 2 horses to St. Jean and Beaulieu and back, 25 frs. The tour round Mt Boron, ascending by the new and descending by the old road, costs, in a coach with 2 horses, 15 frs. Time, 1 hour.

[Headnote: VAL-OBSCUR.]

+Nice to the Val-Obscur+, 4 m. N.--Take tram from the Place Ma.s.sena to St. Maurice, 2 m. N. It stops in front of the gate of the Villa Chambrun, by the side of the Octroi. For the Vallon des Fleurs ascend by the road to the right. For the Val-Obscur ascend by the road to the left, pa.s.sing the Chapelle du Ray. Carriages can drive the length of the water-conduit. From this part the bed of the stream may be followed, but as it is very stony it is better to keep on the path by the side of the conduit as long as possible. The Val-Obscur is a deep ravine, 440 yards long, between cliffs of an earthy conglomerate from 200 to 300 ft. high, and 7 ft. apart at their narrowest point. By continuing this path for a little distance past a house on the side of the hill, then crossing over by a path to the right, we reach the chapel of St. Sebastien, whence a road ascends to Mt. Chauve, pa.s.sing by Le Ray, with an inn, 1446 ft.

above the sea, or only 1324 ft. below the summit of Mt. Chauve.

The +Vallon des Fleurs+ ou des Hepatiques is renowned for its olive trees and its wild flowers in early spring. The commencement of the valley is about 10 minutes' walk from the St. Maurice terminus of the tram. A path leads to the top of the valley. From the summit it leads round by the head of other two vallons to the Cimies road, which it joins nearly opposite to the observatory, only a little higher up the valley of the Paillon. The whole forms a very agreeable walk. (For Cimies, see p. 177.)

[Headnote: VILLA CLERY. ST. PONS. GROTTE ST. ANDRE.]

A much-frequented drive or walk is to the Grotte St. Andre, about 3 m.

N. from Nice by the west bank of the Paillon and the Vallon St. Andre.

A cab with 1 horse and 2 seats there and back, 5 frs.; with 2 horses and 4 seats, 7 frs.; hour's stay allowed. Carriage, 15 frs. But if the return to Nice be made by Falicon, 25 frs. When about 1 m. up the Paillon there is a large gate which gives access to the orchard of the Villa Clery, containing some orange trees above 100 years old, yet in the whole plantation there is not one well-developed specimen. The oranges are sold at from 4 to 6 frs. the 100, and packed and despatched to order. Almost opposite, on the east side of the Paillon, are the more beautiful gardens and perfume distillery of Rimmel. On the top of the hill (430 ft.), above the Clery orchard, is seen the monastery of Cimies, built in 1543 after the original house, which stood near the Croix de Marbre, had been destroyed by the Turks. The next large edifice pa.s.sed on the west bank is the monastery of St. Pons, built in 775 by St. Syagrius, a contemporary of Charlemagne, on the spot where the Roman senator St. Pontius suffered martyrdom. The emperor is said to have spent some days here in 777 while on his way to Rome. In 890 it was destroyed by the Saracens, and in 999 rebuilt by Fredericus, Bishop of Nice. In 1388 the treaty was signed here by which Nice was annexed to the house of Savoy. A short distance beyond, at the part where the stream St. Andre unites with the Paillon, 3 m. from the Place Ma.s.sena, is the asylum for the insane. First-cla.s.s boarders pay 4 frs. per day, second 3 frs. A little higher up the stream are the village, pop. 660, and (on a hill) the chateau of St. Andre. The chateau is a plain house with a small chapel at the west end, fronted by a terrace built by the brothers Thaon of Lantosque in 1685. Part is occupied by a school and part is let. The chapel is now the parish church. At the east end is a small petrifying spring. From the chateau an avenue of ill-conditioned cypresses (the best have been cut down) leads to the Grotte St. Andre.

Fee, fr. each. It is a natural tunnel, 114 ft. long and 25 ft. high, through the limestone rock, under which flows the stream St. Andre, dammed up at the outer end to enable the man to take visitors through it in a boat. Near it are a restaurant and shop in which petrifactions are sold.

From the "Grotte" up to the 8th kilometre stone the ravine becomes so narrow that there is barely room between the high cliffs for the road and the stream. It is so picturesque that those who have come to visit the cave should walk up this distance, 1 mile, before returning. Those in carriages generally pa.s.s up this way and return by Falicon, a village perched on the top of a steep hill above the river St. Andre.

_To the Observatory_, 1215 ft. above the sea, constructed in 1881 at the expense of M. Bischoffsheim. Take the Abbatoir tram the length of the Place Risso (see plan), where take the corner to the right and ascend by the Corniche road. If on foot, on arriving at a well beside a house, ascend the hill by the mule-path. The views are charming. The establishment possesses 1235 acres of land. On the highest part are the various buildings for astronomical purposes. A few yards below, on the west side of the mountain, is a handsome building 228 ft. long and 46 broad. In the centre is the library, and the wing at each end dwelling-houses.

[Headnote: LEVENS. LANTOSQUE. ST. MARTIN LANTOSQUE. COL DI FINESTRA.]

+Nice to Cuneo by St. Martin Lantosque.+

(Map, page 165, and Map of Rhone and Savoy.)

_Nice to Cuneo by St. Martin Lantosque._--Diligence from Nice to St.

Martin, 37 m. N. From St. Martin to Entraque, on the north side of the Col di Finestra, 8 hrs. by mule, considered equal to 25 m. From Entraque to Cuneo by Valdieri and Dalmazzo, 24 m. N. by coach.

The diligence from Nice ascends by the west side of the river Paillon, and after pa.s.sing the villages of St. Andre (p. 179) and Tourette, near the ruins of Chateauneuf, arrives at Levens, 1826 ft. above the sea, pop. 1560, _Inn:_ H. des etrangers, where the coach halts a short time. After Levens it crosses the Col du Dragon, and then descends into the prettiest part of the valley of the Vesubie, where it pa.s.ses through the village of Dura.n.u.s, 18 m. from Nice, pop. 1500. Then, after having traversed a tunnel 88 yds. long, crossed the Vesubie, and pa.s.sed by the hamlet of Le Suque (Suchet), 25 m. from Nice, it reaches the village of Lantosque, 28 m. from Nice, 1640 ft. above the sea, pop. 1910, _Inn:_ H. des Alpes Maritimes. On a plateau 765 ft. above Lantosque, and 1 m. distant, is La Bollene, with a large hotel, charmingly situated amidst hills covered with chestnut trees. The coach next halts at Roquebillere, pop. 1800, on the Vesubie, 3 m.

from Lantosque, 32 from Nice, and 1968 ft. above the sea. It is the station for the village of Belvedere, pop. 1250, with a comfortable hotel on a plateau 755 ft. above Roquebillere. From Roquebillere the coach proceeds up the valley of the Vesubie by the villages of Berguerie, St. Bernard, and St. Sebastien, to +St. Martin Lantosque+, 37 m. from Nice, pop. 1956, and 3117 ft. above the sea. An ancient village at the junction of the Vesubie with the Saleses. In the "Place" where the diligence stops is a very good inn, the H. des Alpes. Down in the town is the Belle-Vue pension, 6 frs. Up by the side of the promenade are some good pensions. On the opposite hill, hour walk from St. Martin, and 700 ft. higher, is the village of Venanson, pop. 250, commanding splendid views of the surrounding valleys. The lower parts of the mountains are covered with chestnut and cherry trees, and the higher with large firs. From St. Martin commences the bridle-path to Entraque, by the valley of the Vesubie and the Col di Finestra, 8269 ft. above the sea, called thus from a fancied resemblance of a cleft in the peak to a window. Mule and guide to Entraque, 22 frs.; time, 8 hrs. 1 m. up the Vesubie is the stone which marks the boundary between France and Italy, and 6 m. farther the inn and the chapel of the Madonna di Finestra, 6234 ft. above the sea. Many rare plants are found here, especially the remarkable _Saxifraga florulenta_, on the ridges of rock above the sanctuary.

Half an hour beyond, a lake is pa.s.sed among jagged peaks, and, in about another hour more, the summit of the pa.s.s, 8269 ft., is attained, commanding an extensive view both towards Italy and France.

At Entraque there is an inn, and a coach daily to Cuneo.

[Headnote: VALDIERI.]

A mule-path from St. Martin extends to the Baths of Valdieri, about 20 m. distant, time 7 to 8 hrs., by the Saleses, which it follows all the way to the Col de Moulieres, 6890 ft. A few miles farther northward it crosses also the Col di Fremamorta, a depression between two mountains, 8745 ft. and 8964 ft. respectively above the sea. It then descends by a long dreary road to the Val di Vallaso, where it turns eastwards to the river Valletta and the Baths of Valdieri. From the baths a carriage-road extends 24 m. N.E. to Cuneo, pa.s.sing by the village of Valdieri on the Gesso, 2493 ft. above the sea, 10 m. N.

from the baths, and 7 m. S. from the next village, Roccavione, in the picturesque valley of the Vermanagna. The coach then pa.s.ses through the Borgo San Dalmazzo, 5 m. from Cuneo, in a well-cultivated plain at the junction of the Vermanagna with the Gesso.

A more direct but not such a good path separates from the Fremamorta road at a small hamlet about 4 m. N. from St. Martin, whence it ascends northwards by the Col de Cerise, 8500 ft., and then follows the course of the Valletta to the baths. "The Baths of Valdieri make excellent headquarters for exploring this part of the Western Alps. In every village an inn of more or less humble pretensions is to be found; and, though the first impressions may be very unfavourable, the writer [Ed.] has usually obtained food and a bed such as a mountaineer need not despise. Apart also from the advantage of being accessible at seasons when travellers are shut out by climate from most other Alpine districts, this offers special attractions to the naturalist. Within a narrow range may be found a considerable number of very rare plants, several of which are not known to exist elsewhere. The geology is also interesting, and would probably repay further examination.

A crystalline axis is flanked on both sides by highly-inclined and much-altered sedimentary rocks, which probably include the entire series from the carboniferous to the cretaceous rocks, in some parts overlaid by nummulitic deposits." --_The Western Alps_, by John Ball.

[Headnote: PUGET-THENIERS. SAINT SAUVEUR.]

_Nice to Puget-Theniers_, 42 m. N.W. by the Vallon du Var, which does not become picturesque till Chaudan, 22 m. N. from Nice, at the junction of the Tinee with the Var, where the horses are changed and where the coach from St. Sauveur (18 m. N. from Chaudan) meets the Puget coach. Puget-Theniers (Castrum de Pogeto de Thenariis, pop.

1450, 1476 ft. above the sea, _Inn:_ *Croix de Malte) is a dirty village on the confluence of the Roudoule with the Var at the foot of bare precipitous mountains. Coach daily from the inn to Guillaumes, pop. 1300, on the Var, 22 m. N., _Inn:_ Ginie. The roads beyond are traversed by mules. Coach also to Entrevaux, 3 m. W. from Puget.

The banks of the Tinee are more picturesque than those of the Var. On the Tinee, 40 m. N. from Nice, is +Saint Sauveur+, pop. 800, _Inn:_ Vial, with Romanesque church containing a statue of St. Paul, dating from 1309. Hot and cold sulphurous springs issue from a granite rock called the Guez. From St. Sauveur a good road extends northwards by the Tinee to St. Etienne, where there is an inn. From St. Etienne, pop. 150, a good mule-path leads by the Col Valonet to Vinadio (see map, p. 165).

[Headnote: GIANDOLA. SAORGIO.]

+Nice to Turin by the Col di Tenda.+

Nice to the village of Tenda, by coach, 51 m., 11 hours, 9 frs.; Tenda to Cuneo, 29 m., 7 hours, 7 frs.; Cuneo to Turin, by rail, 3 hours (see maps, pp. 165 and 107). This is rather a fatiguing journey. The most beautiful views are seen during the descent from Tenda to the Mediterranean. +Nice.+--Start from the Place St. Francois. The road ascends the E. bank of the Paillon by the villages of +Trinite-Victor+, pop. 1300, and +Drap+, pop. 800, with a sulphurous spring called Eau de Lagarde. Beyond this it leaves the Paillon and crosses over to +Escarene+ on the Braus, 12 m. N.E. from Nice, pop.

1500. About 1 m. farther is +Touet+, pop. 400, whence commences the tedious ascent of the Col di Braus, 3300 ft, between the Tete Lavine on the S. and Mt. Ventabren on the N. The road now descends to +Sospel+, 1125 ft., pop. 3500, on the Bevera, an affluent of the Roja, 25 m. N.E. from Nice. H. Carenio; coach daily to and from Menton, 14 m. S. The road now ascends the Col di Brouis, 2871 ft., whence pa.s.sengers in this direction have their last view of the Mediterranean. The descent is now made through bleak and barren mountains to +Giandola+, 39 m. N.E. from Nice, 1247 ft., at the base of lofty frowning rocks. _Inns:_ etrangers, Poste. Coach daily between this and Ventimiglia. To the E., on the Roja, are Breglio, pop. 2580, and the ruins of the castle of Trivella. The road now ascends a narrow defile of the +Roja+, which, suddenly widening, discloses +Saorgio+, pop. 1600, 400 ft. above the torrent, composed of parallel rows of dingy houses among almond and olive trees. On the top of the hill is the castle of Malemort, destroyed by the French in 1792. From this the valley contracts so much that the road has repeatedly to cross and re-cross the river on its way to Fontana on the Italian frontier, 43 m. from Nice, pop. 1230. Luggage and pa.s.sports are examined here.

Almost the only habitat of the curious plant _Ballota spinosa_ is between Fontana and Breglio. The road from this to St. Dalmazzo, 5 m.

N., pa.s.ses through one of the most formidable defiles in the Alps, the Gorge de Berghe, between steep ma.s.sive walls of igneous rock. "The bold forms of the cliffs, and the luxuriant vegetation which crowns every height and fills every hollow, make the scenery of this road worthy to compare with almost any other more famous Alpine pa.s.s."

--_Ball_. At St. Dalmazzo is a hydropathic establishment, pension 8 frs. Coach daily between Ventimiglia and Tenda.

[Headnote: LIMONE. CUNEO.]

51 m. N.E. from Nice, 2 m. S. from the tunnel, and 12 m. S. from Limone, is the village of +Tenda+, pop. 1800; _Inn:_ H. National; 2680 ft. above the sea, and 1516 ft. below the tunnel; situated on the Roja at the base of a rock, on which are the picturesque ruins of the castle of Beatrice di Tenda, executed on the 13th Sept. 1418 by her jealous and tyrannical husband, Duke Fil. Maria Visconti. Many rare plants are to be found on the rocks over the village. The village church (1476-1518) is a good specimen of Lombardian architecture. The tunnel, opened in 1882--4196 ft. above the sea at the Tenda end, and 4331 ft. at the Limone end--is 9844 ft. long and 23 ft. high. The Tenda end of the tunnel is at the hamlet called La Punta, and the Cuneo end at the hamlet La Panice. From La Panice the road descends rapidly by the Vermanagna to +Limone+, 3668 ft., 63 m. N.E. from Nice and 17 m. S. from Cuneo; _Inn:_ H. de la Poste; pleasantly situated in the valley of the Vermanagna, from which an occasional glimpse may be had of Monte Viso, 12,670 ft. The road, after pa.s.sing Robillante, Roccavione, and +Borgo-San-Dalmazzo+, pop. 4600, arrives at Cuneo, 80 m. N.E. from Nice, 1500 ft. above the sea, pop. 1200; _Inns:_ Barra di Ferro, Albergo di Superga; situated at the confluence of the Stura with the Gesso. 55 m. N. by rail is Turin.

[Headnote: MONDOVI.]