Port Lympia

What could be more peaceful than a walk along the harbor. The old port of Nice lends itself perfectly to such an experience. It was built during the 18th century, right at the foot of the ancient citadel. Along with Cannes’ harbor, Port Lympia is ,the oldest port of the French Riviera. At the time, Nice belonged to the kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, governed by the House of Savoy. The capital was Turin. The king of Sardinia, Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy, wanted to open Nice up to the sea, and chose the area around the Lympia swamps to do as such. However, it was no small task to transform this marshland into a port. This colossal project, for the time, lasted about 150 years. The construction started with an artifical harbor, made out of 2 basins, an arsenal, as well as the dock you are standing on and the whole district surrounding the area. The first basin was finished rather quickly, so ships began to arrive as early as 1751 in the Port of Lympia. When France annexed Nice, the construction took off, and the harbor started generating a lot of cargo trade, giving Nice a new economic reach. They also ventured into passenger transport. To this day, Nice is the closest part of France to Corsica, and Port of Lympia still ensures daily trips to the “Island of Beauty”. Look around you, the harbor is surrounded by beautiful Italian baroque style buildings. It welcomes numerous yachts, pleasure boats and cruise ships. Ochre facades, white boats, deep blue sea and green hills- the harbor is just like a watercolor painting!