The Promenade in the Belle Epoque

This painting by Angelo Garino, dated 1922, shows us how the Promenade looked once upon a time. It can be seen in the Massena Museum. On the left you can see the Ruhl hotel, which was located next to the Gardens of Albert 1er.

Nowadays the Ruhl hotel is replaced by a building from the seventies which houses the Casino Ruhl and the 4 star Meridien hotel.


On the right you can see the Jetée Promenade in Nice which was dismantled by the Germans during World War 2. This was the original place for the casino. It was built with a large steel construction (also designed by Gustav Eiffel) in the sea. To make the story short, due to a fire they had to built it 2 times and opened it in 1891. The original project was the brain child of the Marquis d’Espouy de Saint-Paul who wanted Nice to have a replica of London’s Cristal Palace on the Promenade des Anglais.

This is one of the many advertising posters to attract visitors to Nice. The Promenade des Anglais has always been the place to be seen, legendary for its palaces and beautiful villas where the rich invited each other for a party and marriages were born. In future posts I will write more about the palaces and villas on the Promenade.

The Promenade des Anglais - a brief summary

Not later than in 1823 the English people who were very attracted to Nice’s climate and beauty, started to build the ultra famous Promenade, that stretches 7 km around the Bay of Angels, which became known in 1844 to the world as the Promenade des Anglais (the Promenade of the English). They built many luxury palaces and hotels, all its glamour is still present today. Nice is a busy, bustling city with something for everyone from the bright lights of the city shops, bars, restaurants and clubs to the lure of the azure blue water and the possibilities it offers of diving, swimming, parasailing, boating and sunbathing, as well as to the activities of golfing, walking, cycling, sightseeing both in Nice and inland.
Nice is the Queen of the Riviera and the Promenade des Anglais is the only place to be!!