10 things you (probably) didn’t know about Nice

Ahead of Scotland’s Women’s World Cup clash with England in Nice, we take a look at some facts you may not know about the game’s location of Nice.

The city is nicknamed Nice la Belle (Nissa La Bella in Niçard), which means Nice the Beautiful, which is also the title of the unofficial anthem of Nice (above).

Nice is twinned with Scotland’s capital Edinburgh.

By day, Place Rossetti is a home to some of the best ice-cream makers in France.

Nice’s name is derived from the word Nike, after conquering Greeks named it Nikaia, after Nike their Goddess of Victory.

Nice only became part of France in 1860 After the Treaty of Turin was signed. Before it was part of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, now in Italy. Its Place Garibaldi is named after Giuseppe Garibaldi, hero of the Italian unification who wanted Nice to be part of Italy.

Nice’s plushest boardwalk is name the Promenade des Anglais (English Promenade) after the wealthy English upper classes in the second half of the 18th century who spent their winters there. It’s four miles long and 19th-century palaces run along its eastern side.

Former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira is manager of the local men’s team who played Kilmarnock in the 1997/98 Cup Winners Cup.

 

Gustave Eiffel, he of the famous Parisian tower, designed the dome of La Observatoire de Nice (Nice Observatory).

The famous Narche aux Fleurs at the Cours de Saleya has been awarded the status of “Special Market” by France’s National Council for the Culinary Arts. It’s flower paradise.

If you hear the word soccer, that’s not what they call football. There’s a street delicacy called Socca, a cross between a flatbread and pancake, made with chickpea flower and sold by vendors in the old quarter.