Nice seems like a really nice city, but I didn't really find out, because I spent the day in Monaco instead.
Monaco is a nation as microscopic, immaculate fantasy-land. Its narrow, steep streets and parks are perfectly groomed, its marinas fully brthed with luxury yachts and its pocket-sized palace is well-suited to a ruler of 20,000 people.
Some things you notice about Monaco: it's very steep, hence all the lifts and escalators; it's architecturally-crowded but doesn't feel people-crowded; and it has a gorgeous setting - really, it's just gorgeous in general.
My first stop was the Musee Oceanographique and aquarium. It was nice and had some cool small-scale feature species like nautilus, morays, garden eels and scorpionfish, rather than the big-name stars of Osaka.
Walked past the cathedral and the palace, and eventually made it to the Jardin Exotique (which is a bloody hike, what with all the stairs and steep streets). It's a garden of desert plants, and is pretty neat, and has great views, but wasn't really worth the 6 euros.
Next, trekked downhill to the casino, which is fancy and glamourous and all that, but I couldn't go inside.
Went back to Nice, and made time to take a look at the beach. It's nice (no pun intended), and the coast between Nice and Monaco is spectacular, but the beaches themselves (not counting the water, cliffs, and surrounding scenery) aren't that great. We have better.
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