I started the morning by going to the daily morning market in central Nice.
On my way, I was pleasantly surprised to see a statue of Albert Camus. Camus had a strong connection with the Mediterranean generally rather than Nice itself. The statue, a gift from Brazilian Edgar Duvivier, was installed earlier this year.
From the market, I was straight onto the coast and about 15 minutes from the official start of the walk at the harbour.
Nice to Villefranche-sur-Mer is a fairly straightforward coastal trail. It’s part of the Sentier du Littoral, a coastal footpath that stretches along much of France’s coastline. The section I walked is uneven and there are some ups and downs but nothing arduous.
Having started on the promenade, I stuck to it around the harbour. Then I started walking up a hilly road. When I was near the top, I checked the map. I’d missed the turn that took me on to the first rocky section of the path. I was about to re-trace my steps when I saw that if I continued, I could rejoin the path, which would put me on the second rocky section.
This was lucky detour because I was running low on food and drink. At the top of the hill, I saw a Carrefour and stocked up.
Rejoining the path in town was easy and I descended to the coast. Although rocky, it wasn’t strenuous. You just had to occasionally watch your step.
Villefranche-sur-Mer, which I didn’t know anything about, had a few beach areas, some of which had sand, unlike all the beaches I’d seen so far in Nice. Climbing the stairs got me into the central and older part of the town. It was a quieter and more peaceful version of central Nice.
My return to Nice was a two minute train journey then a bus back to my apartment to see the sunset.
