Step inside the 1867 Louis XIII-style railway station that helped turn Nice into the playground of European royalty. Your audio guide uncovers the ornate ironwork rising above the platforms, the private waiting rooms said to have been reserved for visiting monarchs, and the roll call of aristocrats and film stars who arrived here chasing Riviera sunshine. Discover why this unassuming transport hub became the gateway to the Belle Époque, and how its arrival reshaped Nice's entire economy and identity.

Marvel at the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral in Western Europe, its five onion domes rising above red-brick and marble walls. Consecrated in 1912 in memory of a young Tsarevich who died in Nice, the cathedral was built for the Russian aristocracy who wintered on the Riviera, with backing from Tsar Nicholas II, to keep their faith and heritage alive far from home. Your audio guide reveals the hand-painted icons inside, the bells, and the poignant stories of émigrés who found sanctuary on the French Riviera.

Stand before a Gothic Revival giant, its twin towers modelled on Angers Cathedral, raised between 1864 and 1879. Inside, Mediterranean light pours through stained glass onto artwork by local masters, while your audio guide explains why something so ambitious was built so soon after Nice joined France in 1860. Discover why this basilica became a statement of civic pride during Nice's rapid 19th-century growth.

Step into the beating heart of Nice, where Turin-inspired arcades meet a bold chequerboard pavement laid in 2007 over the covered Paillon river. Your audio guide explains the story behind the black-and-white paving, the dancing fountains that punctuate the square, and the tramway gliding silently across the square. Learn how this square became a symbol of Nice's dual Italian-French identity.

Follow a 1.2-kilometre ribbon of green laid in 2013 over a long-buried river, where mist fountains play and Mediterranean planting softens the modern city. Your audio guide draws the line between this contemporary park and the river and city history beneath it. Discover how centuries of memory were layered beneath a single city park.

Encounter five bronze planetary figures by sculptor Alfred Janniot, encircling his marble Apollo at the heart of Place Masséna. Your audio guide explains which planets the figures represent, and how the choreographed water draws on ancient solar mythology. Discover why locals once protested this fountain fiercely — and why most have long since come around.

Explore one of Nice's oldest public gardens, laid out in the second half of the 19th century and home to many Mediterranean and exotic plant species. Your audio guide points out ancient olive trees and exotic palms collected by Belle Époque botanists. Discover how this garden once served as the social stage where European royalty took their Riviera air.

Trace seven kilometres of one of the world's most famous seafronts, built in the 1820s and paid for by English residents. Your audio guide reveals the story behind the iconic blue chairs and the strategically planted palms lining the bay. Discover why this promenade remains one of the most photographed stretches of the French Riviera.

Step into Nice's most sensory marketplace, trading continuously since the 1800s. Your audio guide introduces the flower vendors, the blooms grown in inland valleys, and the daily transformation from morning market to evening dining terrace. Discover the baroque buildings ringing the square and the three centuries of stories they've witnessed.

Duck into a 17th-century neighbourhood church devoted to the saint of impossible causes, where trompe-l'œil paintings stretch the ceiling into false depth. Your audio guide explains the side chapel of Saint Rita, focus of local devotion, and the bell-ringing patterns said to have once told the quarter whether a wedding, a death, or a feast day was underway. Discover a corner of Nice that tourists routinely miss.

Enter Nice's baroque cathedral, built in the 1650s beneath a glazed-tile dome that still defines the city skyline. Your audio guide tells the dramatic legend of a fifteen-year-old martyr said to have arrived in Nice carried by angels, alongside the baroque artwork inside. Discover how faith, myth, and centuries of history sit stacked beneath one dome.

Lose yourself in a labyrinth whose street plan dates back to medieval times, its narrow streets said to keep the air cool long before air conditioning existed. Your audio guide points out ochre and red façades, courtyards only locals know, and artisan workshops still practising trades passed down through generations. Discover Vieux Nice the way a local would show a close friend, not a tour group.

Visit Nice's ancient acropolis, inhabited by Greek settlers, Ligurians, and medieval lords alike. Your audio guide recounts the 1705–1706 siege ordered by Louis XIV, after which the fortress was demolished, reveals the 1885 artificial waterfall fed by the Vésubie canal, and explains the 19th-century landscaping of the park. Discover why the panorama over the Baie des Anges from here is among the finest in Nice.

Pause at a solemn First World War memorial carved into the rock of Castle Hill and inaugurated in 1928. Your audio guide explains the symbolic plantings, the great urn holding the memorial plaques of Nice's fallen, and the annual ceremonies that keep their memory alive. Discover a space designed for quiet contemplation rather than spectacle.

Enter one of Nice's most historic squares, dedicated to a hero of Italian unification who was born just streets away. Your audio guide explains the strict 1780s architectural code behind the yellow neoclassical façades, the central statue of Garibaldi, and the arcaded cafés of this corner of the city. Discover how one square captures Nice's complicated Franco-Italian identity.

Stand before a thirty-metre cubic head sculpted by Sacha Sosno in 2002 — still one of Nice's most talked-about landmarks. Your audio guide explains how the offices of the city's main library operate inside, working in geometric daylight, and how locals who once protested the sculpture now point to it with quiet pride. Discover a case study in how bold public art can reshape a city's sense of itself.

Visit a bastioned Renaissance fortress built between 1557 and 1560 to repel Ottoman raids along the coast. Your audio guide reveals the soldiers' casemates and defences engineered for long sieges, all still intact within the original walls. Discover why so much of the Côte d'Azur unfolds below these ramparts like a living map.

Visit a 1933 modernist church dedicated to Joan of Arc, one of France's patron saints, its 65-metre bell tower a bold contrast to the city's baroque churches. Your audio guide explains how the stained glass filters Mediterranean light into a space built for prayer, beneath Eugène Klementieff's frescoes. Discover how 20th-century Nice found its own architectural voice.

Explore terraced monastery gardens first laid out by Franciscan monks in the 16th century, where ancient olive trees shade meditative seating. Your audio guide reveals the symbolism behind the plant choices, the medicinal plants the monks once grew, and the central well at the heart of the original layout. Discover a quieter, older side of Nice, high above the seafront crowds.

Visit an active Franciscan monastery close to the ruins of Roman Cemenelum, where nearly five centuries of Franciscan devotion meet Louis Bréa's altarpieces and a Franciscan museum. Your audio guide explains how the cloisters were built to harmonise human proportion with the natural world, offering a quiet, contemplative note to your Nice visit. Discover why this hilltop sanctuary feels a world away from the Promenade des Anglais below.