Nice – the pastel beauty in focus

From Zurich via Nice to Calvi. Sounds awkward, but has tempting benefits. In general, I prefer direct flights. Especially if it is a destination within Europe. Especially for holiday destinations that are served by charter flights during the summer months, the offer of direct flights outside the weekly rhythm is limited. So it happened that last Thursday we flew to Calvi (Corsica) with a change in Nice. From Zurich to Nice with Swiss and then with Air Corsica on to Calvi. In between, a four-hour stop in Nice. Enough time to bridge the stopover with a detour to the “capital” of the Côte d’Azur.

But before we could take the bus to the city center, we first had to get our luggage from the baggage carousel and check in again at the Air Corsica counter. According to statements at the Swiss counter at Zurich Airport, baggage cannot be checked through with the combination Swiss / Air Corsica. Interestingly, SBB doesn’t seem to know anything about this and checked through the luggage of those people who checked the luggage at SBB without comment (and the luggage arrived in Calvi without any problems). Equally interesting is the airport layout of the small Nice airport. If you are changing from international flights to domestic flights, you will have to take the airport bus to the neighbouring Terminal 2 for about 10 minutes.

Due to these logistical additional loops, we still had two hours left for a stroll through the city at the end. There was enough time for a leisurely stroll through the colourful old town streets of Vieux Nice, including a detour to the 90 m high castle hill, from where you can see the Promenade des Anglais and the harbour complex. By the way, the altitude can also be easily overcome by lift. The pastel-colored facades of the houses won my heart in no time and I will definitely return sometime with more time for Nice. Until then, I can dream myself back to Nice with these pictures. Mediterranean flair par excellence.

Practical tips:

• Bus no. 98 takes you from the airport to the city centre the fastest. Travel time to the end of the Promenade des Anglais about 20 minutes
• For a refreshment stop, one of the numerous restaurants on Place Charles Félix is a good choice.
• Reading material for the trip: Nizza – mon amour by Fritz J. Raddatz
• You can find more information about Nice in the 36 Hours Guide of the New York Times and the Guardian

The stop in Nice took place as part of a press trip with the Corsica specialist Rhomberg-Reisen, which also offers a weekly direct flight from Zurich – every Sunday with Helvetic Airways – to Calvi. – As always, my readers can be sure that I always represent my views and enthusiasm.