If you are planning a trip to Nice France than a "must do" activity for your visit would be to check out Castle Hill. Its a public park located on top of a large foothill within the city.
The hill is a 93 meter tall natural limestone deposit and a really nice green space within the large city.
Its situated right next to the old town, which it overlooks, along with the Promanade des Anglais and the coast of the Mediterranean sea.
Standing at the top gives you some great views of the city below. I think it's kind of neat how you can see the older portion of the city next to the newer portion. It alctually looks as if there is a distinct dividing line of where one ends and the other begins.
The views up there are pretty incredible from all sides so I recommend exploring a little and checking out the multiple platforms that offer a different perspective of the city.
My friend and I hiked to the top twice on the last day of our visit, once in the morning and then again in the evening to catch the sunset before our flight home.
I took these photos at different times of the day so you might notice that the lighting keeps changing from photograph to photograph.
Hopefully the inconsistency doesn't bother you as much as it does me.
The site gets its name from an 11th - 18th century military fortress that once stood there. It was captured by France in 1705 and then destroyed by King Louis XIV a year later.
I don't recall seeing any signs of the old citadel or keep, but there were some ruins of an old Romanesque church.
It was originally built in the 11th and 12th centuries, but as you can see there is not much left of it today.
The upper portion is quite large and there is a fair amount to explore up there for all ages. For kids there is a lively park and playground and for adults there are the views, multiple ruins, two cemeteries and even a very impressive waterfall.
The falls are man-made but still very much worth checking out.
The waterfall was built in the late 19th century on the steep side of the hill where the old keep used to be located.
The platform is a bit small and the water is quite lively, so Keep in mind that you might get a little wet from the spray back. It's worth it though in my opinion.
Accessing the hilltop is fairly easy overall and you have several options for getting up there.
There are multiple paths with stairs on three sides, as well as at least one street for vehicles with a little parking. There is also an elevator that's located near the Bellanda Tower and the #ILoveNice sign.
My friend did the stairs on his crutches as you can see but for the second round in the evening we took the elevator.
If the invisible man is in town you may want to take a photo with him on your way up!
Walking down the hill on the Northside you'll come to the Israelite and Catholic cemeteries.
Inside are large tombs where supposedly some pretty famous aristocrats are buried.
One of them is Emil Jellinek, a wealthy automobile entrepreneur responsible for commissioning the first modern car in the year 1900, the Mercedes 35hp.
I didn't make it over to the catholic side of the cemetery that day but I think that it's mostly more of the same, only a little larger.
As I mentioned we headed back up the hill in the evening to catch the sunset before leaving for the Airport.
Keep in mind that the elevator shuts down at 5:30pm (winter hours). We missed the sign that mentioned that and had to walk back down the stairs. It may run later in the summer but be sure to verify the time if you are relying on it to get down the hill.
The stairs are only a short walk of Maybe 5-8 minutes but if you have mobility issues they could be a problem.
It got dark quickly up there once the sun dropped below the horizon but there were still a lot of people out and about and it felt very safe at all times, even despite the darkness.
We stopped at the Bellanda Tower on the way down as well for another view of the city.
Its lower on the hill but still a really good spot to watch the sunset.
A last look from the staircase before heading over to the harbor to catch the tram to the airport.
I passed this monument on the walk around Castle Hill but I didn't have time to check what it represented or what it's dedicated to.
Overall I would say that Castle Hill was easily a highlight of our visit to Nice. It's actually a really good activity to do with the old town itself given its close proximity and if you combine those two spots along with Massema Square and the Nice harbor, then you have your plans for the better part of the day. If you wanted to do it as a circuit you could start your tour in Massema Square then make your way through the old town and market until you reach Castle hill. From there you could take the staircase at the Bellanda Tower or the elevator to the top to see the views. After exploring everything there is to see, head down the opposite end towards the harbour. From there you could follow the road back around the Hill to the #IloveNice sign and walk along the Promanade Des Anglais. It would take a few hours but could easily be done in half a day (more or less depending on your pace).
