Under the blazing sun, merchants display their finest floral varieties, with the blend of colors and scents creating a peaceful atmosphere on the Cours Saleya. Even though it is lined with restaurants and cafes, it remains a must-visit spot in Old Nice. Located between the Promenade des Anglais and the base of the castle, tourists adore this historic site.
Every morning, beneath the striped awnings of the Cours, a flower market is set up, along with a variety of spices, fruits and vegetables, charcuterie, and stuffed olives. As Françoise, a 65-year-old retiree from Paris who moved to Nice, puts it, “There’s something for everyone and for every budget. The Cours Saleya is a true experience! It’s market, the smiling vendors, the colors of the buildings around it. It’s really very typical of the region and very pretty. You can bargain, but it all depends on the seller’s mood!”
Discovering the “Cours”
To learn more about visitors’ impressions, Nice-Premium asked them what makes the Cours Saleya a tourist attraction.
Alberto and Maria, a young couple from Madrid on their first visit to Nice, said, “Our parents convinced us to come to the French Riviera, we arrived two days ago… We came to Cours Saleya last night to have dinner in a restaurant, and then enjoyed looking at the brocante and antique stands, it was very pleasant!” They have heard about the flower market that takes place every morning at the Cours but are wary of the heat:
“We would like to go back this evening to avoid the heatwave.”
A little further, near the arcade that links the Prom’ to the Cours, Justin, Matthew, and Richard, three twenty-year-old Americans coming from Ibiza, are in Nice to relax. With a bottle of vodka-orange in hand, Justin enjoys the landscapes surrounding the city of Nice: “With the palm trees, it makes a pretty setting!” As for the Cours Saleya, they came out of curiosity, with a map of Nice in hand, highlighting in red all the places to visit.
A place for the young, but not only…
However, the Cours Saleya isn’t just an attraction for the young. We also find older tourists and families, like the Marinescus from Romania. Here on vacation, the parents are showing the city to their two sons, aged 12 and 15. The couple had already visited last summer during the same period. The children, with a slice of socca in hand, admire the biscuit stand and other delights, while their parents try to get to the beach to enjoy the good weather. “We bought lots of souvenirs last year at the Cours Saleya. The products we find, whether old advertising posters or decorated bottles, have charm and reveal an aspect of the French Riviera.”
Some think that tourist spots are overrated and unbearable. Indeed, Old Nice and the Cours Saleya represent a labyrinth for tourists, filled with sometimes somewhat kitschy souvenirs, but its history and quaint alleys are still captivating…
