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Rocket Man Rocks on Nice Pebbles

Volume X, Issue 17

As old friend Barb Westfield and I were bussing up into Cimiez yesterday to take in the Niçois museums, she reminded me that even Sir Elton John thinks Nice is nice — a resident now in a villa that has the best view of Nice.
 
Virtual Tourist/Nice Life has a great article about ol’ Elton and why he might be so enamored with Nice that is worth a read. It’s reprinted here below, or you can link directly to it.
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Sir Elton, citizen of Nice – has the best view

A Brief History of Nice

26-4-12 Sir Elton Johns villa perched above Nice NicePerched on top of Mont Boron near the radio mast, above the port looking out in two directions over the Baie des Anges and behind to the deep harbor of Villefranche, Sir Elton John commands what is probably the finest view of all Nice. When the lights are on, everyone can see “Sir Elton” is in town, though less often now baby is in L.A. An honorary citizen of Nice, Elton was not the first to discover the most vibrant city in France next to Paris. Remains of Homo Erectus (calm down Elton, it’s only an old fossil) dating back 160,000 years were found at the foot of Mount Boron.

Three thousand years ago the Greeks discovered Nice, and first named it “Nike,” after the fashionable sports shoe. A thousand years later more soldiers arrived, this time in sandals, in an early but ultimately unsuccessful attempt at European unification known as The Roman Empire. The Mediterranean language of “Nissart” is a legacy of the Latin spoken by its occupiers. After the fall of Rome, fast forward a thousand years. Then the borders of one-day-to-be France and Italy spent centuries shifting between the Duke of Savoy, the Earl of Ventimiglia, the Count of Provence and the Grimaldi family. Either sides of the river Var, you can hear the collective groan of the Nicois: “Hey Pierre, Franco, – gedda the old flags out – we’re changing sides again!”

In the 1820′ s a few hundred well-heeled families wanting to escape the British winter founded an English colony. An eccentric British clergyman, the Reverend Lewis Way, raised subscriptions to build the precursor to the Prom, Le Chemin des Anglais, as a leafy idyllic walkway lined by trees straight out of Gainsborough’s Haywain. In the 1860’s Nice became formally part of France, and shortly after, the railways arrived, with the Paris-Marseilles-Nice Blue Train clocking the journey in only eighteen hours, providing Europe’s aristocracy with convenient access.

By the 1920’s, the more cosmopolitan wealthy of America and Europe had discovered the Riviera. The Negresco and Palais de Méditerranée popped up as somewhere for them to stay. International industrialists found a place to spend the money they had made doing whatever it is “industrialists” do (seems to pay well). Nice became all year round, not just Winter.

All this burgeoning hedonism was only briefly interrupted by the occupation of France during WWII. In a French history book I noticed a black and white holiday snap, like millions of others today, but of four Wermacht officers in full military unifor
m, smiling to the camera, behind them the familiar sights of the Promenade des Anglais. Nice survived, and I guess we should be grateful. (VT travelers checkpoint: life’s more than just a beach!)

Mass air travel, leisure and tourism followed in the 1960’s, along with property development, to feed on the growing aspiration for a place in the sun. Thanks to its wonderful Belle Epoque and Art-Deco facades along the Prom and finer streets, and its balance between visitors and real working people, Nice has been largely spared from the holiday apartment blight found in some other parts of the Riviera. Instead, much heritage preserved, terra cotta roofs, trompe l’oeil facades, wrought-iron balconies, rich mediterranean colors, a beautiful city by the sea full of people who treasure it. Latest chapter is the arrival of the low-cost airlines making the Riviera accessible to all, even just for the weekend. And there’s VT: now you don’t even have to get out of bed to visit the Riviera.

So there you have it. One hundred sixty thousand years in the making. The majesty and magnificence of the French Riviera. What are you waiting for?

Inhale!

From his window, Elton, 58, enjoys a view of the entire city of Nice, with the green Colline du Chateau rising up from the plain, and the terracotta roof tops of Old Nice. Climbing back from the center towards the mountains the vantage point of Queen Victoria’s beloved Cimiez, with its monastery and Roman ruins

Towards the horizon the whole sweep of the Baie des Anges 7km out to the airport, and onward where sea meets sky the distant silhouette of the luxurious Cap d’Antibes. Inland, the backdrop of the Alpes Maritimes reminds you Nice is a city between the mountains and the sea. On the clearest of days out to sea, I am told you can just make out the coastline of Corsica.

From his balcony, Nicelife enjoys a view of Elton’s most truly desirable “dernier étage” address in Nice. It is as you might expect entirely inaccessible. However, you can enjoy the same view as Elton, for only one euro courtesy of the number 14 bus from Nice Centre to Mont Boron, then onwards several hundred yards on foot towards the telecommunications transmitter.

Many people settle for the more easily accessible and unquestionably enchanting view of the Bay from the Château, probably one of top ten most photographed views of the western world. But if you are up for the challenge, there’s few more spectacular views of the Riviera than those found here.

Virtual Tourist
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26-4-12nicedistrictsThe districts of NiceThe point is that Nice is getting nicer by the moment. As I write, the sun is pouring in the windows, the skies are blue and the air is cool on an April morning. One doesn’t need a villa overlooking all of the city to take advantage of all it has to offer. In fact, my two-room “pied-à-terre” in the “Carré d’Or” will do just fine, thank you.

The Carré d’Or is one of the areas of the city that combines a great lifestyle with solid rentals. There are several to consider with a healthy return on investment: picturesque properties in Nice Old Town (Vieux Nice), sea-view apartments on the Promenade des Anglais and Nice Port, bourgeois properties in Nice Carré d’Or and the Musiciens as well as the best Nice villas in Mont Boron (like Elton’s!?).

26-4-12 property prices alpes maritimes

Property prices* in the region (Alpes-Maritimes (06)) can vary widely, with the most expensive properties close to the sea. The per square meter price of an apartment can be as low as 2,576€ or as high as 7,699€, with the average 4,124€. In Nice proper (06000), you may be lucky to find an apartment as inexpensive as 2,498€ per square meter, but 6,875€ is the high and what you can expect…if not higher depending on location and quality (3,887€ per square meter is the average).

26-4-12 Prices Nice best

Expect any in the districts named above to fall on the higher side. Still, this compares with Paris with the average per square meter price of 8,340€ (as of January 2012) and of course, much higher in the central districts comparable to these in Nice. From a rental return point of view, a property in Nice can generate a higher return on investment given today’s prices with strong rentals and fewer legal restrictions.

26-4-12 Nice prices 06000

But, put aside the financial reward and consider why Elton and so many others are flocking here…an international airport, access to the entire Blue Coast of beautiful towns, sunshine 300 days a year, the blue Mediterranean Sea and a casual lifestyle “à la Française.”

A bientôt,

adrian-in-Nice10-11Adrian Leeds
Editor, French Property Insider

Email: [email protected]

 

P.S. See Sir Elton John in concert here in Nice June 22nd at the Palais Nikaia. Book your tickets.

P.P.S. If you would like to consider an investment on the Riviera, we have a team to help you make the dream come true. Contact us at [email protected] for more information.

* Nice prices based on Meilleurs Agents

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