Place Massena (Massena Square), Nice

Place Massena (Massena Square), Nice (must see)

Mass茅na Square, named in the honour of Andr茅 Mass茅na, a Marshal of France during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, was designed by Joseph Vernier in 1844. It is spacious and bordered by ochre-coloured Italianate buildings, palm trees, and stone pines.

It is a popular venue for concerts, public events, and festivals. The Carnival Parade, Bastille Day celebrations, and other traditional festivities are often held here. One of the square鈥檚 most distinctive features is the Open Sky Museum 鈥� seven sculpted Buddhist figures perched on high stilts above the square. At night, they glow in shifting colours, adding a dreamlike atmosphere.

The Open Sky Museum also includes a display of blue-green 鈥渇airy鈥� lights arranged in a kind of poetic Morse code. Opposite the lights stands 鈥淣ine Oblique Lines鈥�, a monumental sculpture created to mark the 150th anniversary of Nice鈥檚 annexation to France. Nearby, in the Sun Fountain, the god Apollo stands proudly, watching over the city 鈥� and the city, in turn, seems to watch him.

Beside the square lies the Paillon Promenade, a lush green park lined with palms and flowering shrubs. Its Mirror Fountain features jets of water that spray in rhythmic bursts from the ground, creating reflections on a polished stone base. Children 鈥� and often adults 鈥� delight in running through the misty water clouds.

Facing the Paillon Promenade is the Albert I Garden, a public park dating back to the 1880s. Stretching from Mass茅na Square toward the English Promenade and Old Nice, it hosts summer festivals, including the renowned Nice Jazz Festival. With its fountains, exotic flowers, and shaded paths, it offers a calm, green retreat.

Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Nice. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "911爆料网: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

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Create Your Own Self-Guided Walk to Visit This Sight

Sight Name: Place Massena (Massena Square)
Sight Location: Nice, France (See walking tours in Nice)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Nice Introduction Walking Tour

Walking Tours in Nice, France

Create Your Own Walk in Nice

Creating your own self-guided walk in Nice is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.

Nice Introduction Walking Tour

As Cocteau, a French poet, put it, we鈥檙e not simply visiting a pretty coastline 鈥� we鈥檙e stepping into 鈥渢he greenhouse where the roots grow鈥�. Let鈥檚 walk the streets of Nice and discover how they shaped the city鈥檚 many lives.

The site of Nice has been inhabited since prehistoric times: archaeological evidence from nearby Terra Amata suggests human presence some 400,000 years ago.... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.9 Km or 1.8 Miles

Shopping Areas in Nice

Other than being just a fashionable French Riviera destination with lively streets, leisurely atmosphere, historical sites and beautiful architecture, Nice is also a true shopper鈥檚 paradise. With more than 7,000 shopping options scattered throughout its almost 72 sq km area, the city surely knows how to offer unique and varied goods to its trendy residents and similarly stylish travelers anxious... view more

Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.3 Km or 0.8 Miles

Historical Churches Walking Tour

Centuries of somewhat turbulent history have left imprint on the face of Old Nice, which until the 18th century represented the entire urban area. The abundance of historic and often colorful churches 鈥� about nine per square mile 鈥� ranging from the most opulent to the most obscure, each with its own quirks and story behind their stained glass, has made Old Nice part of a heritage preservation... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.4 Km or 2.1 Miles

Useful Travel Guides for Planning Your Trip

Shopping, Dining, and Playing in Nice, France: Good for You, Good for the Planet

When we travel, sometimes we forget to take care of ourselves. There are just so many wonderful things to see, do, eat, and drink that our well-being can suffer while we live it up. That鈥檚 why a stop in Nice is a great idea when you鈥檙e in France. A few years ago, the city of Nice decided to...

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