Nice

Nice
/nees/, n.
a port in and the capital of Alpes-Maritimes, in SE France, on the Mediterranean: resort. 346,620.

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ancient Niceaea

City (pop., 1999: city, 342,738; metro. area, 888,784) southeastern France.

It is located on the Côte d'Azur of the Mediterranean Sea, near the Italian border. Founded by Greeks с 350 BC, it was conquered by Romans in the 1st century AD and became a trading station. It was held by the counts of Provence in the 10th century. In 1388 it passed to the counts of Savoy. The city was ceded to France in 1860. Sheltered by beautiful hills, Nice has a pleasant climate and is the leading resort of the French Riviera.

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France
      seaport city, Mediterranean tourist centre, and capital of Alpes-Maritimes département, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur région, southeastern France. The city is located on the Baie (bay) des Anges, 20 miles (32 km) from the Italian border. Sheltered by beautiful hills, Nice has a pleasant climate and is the leading resort city of the Côte d'Azur, or French Riviera.

      Founded by the Phocaeans of Marseille (a colony of Greek mariners) around 350 BC, the city was probably named in honour of a victory (nikē in Greek) over a neighbouring colony. Conquered by the Romans during the 1st century AD, it became a busy trading station. The town was held by the counts of Provence during the 10th century, and in 1388 passed under the protection of the counts of Savoy, who held it until 1860, although it was captured and occupied several times by the French during the 17th and 18th centuries. Nice was ceded to France by the Treaty of Turin (1860), after which a referendum ratified the decision. The Paillon River, now partly built over, separates the new town to the west from the old town, the harbour, and the commercial district to the east. The old town, with narrow winding streets, stands at the western base of a granite hill known as Le Château, although the castle that used to crown it was destroyed in 1706. The harbour, begun in 1750 and extended after 1870, is now used primarily by ferry services to Corsica and by sailing craft. There is also a regular passenger service to Corsica. The most striking part of the new town is the famous Promenade des Anglais, which originated in 1822 as a path along the shore built by the English colony. It stretches 2.5 miles (4 km) along the waterfront, and consists of two wide carriageways separated by flower beds and palm trees.

      The Musée Jules Chéret des Beaux-Arts and the Musée Masséna have collections of early Italian paintings and works by 19th-century and contemporary artists. A memorial to the painter Marc Chagall has been built to house a collection of biblical paintings donated by the artist in 1966. A mile northeast of the city centre is the ancient episcopal town of Cimiez, which contains the majestic ruins of a Roman amphitheatre. Nearby stands a 17th-century villa housing an archaeological museum and a collection of more than 40 paintings and drawings by the French artist Henri Matisse.

      Nice has a long history of tourism, both in summer and winter, and it is one of the city's principal economic activities. Apart from the beaches and yachting harbour, tourism is stimulated by Nice's cultural facilities, shops, and architectural heritage; business tourism is also of considerable importance, based on the Acropolis Congress Centre and associated exhibition halls. In addition, numerous events and festivals are organized each year, notably the Carnival of Nice, which dates from 1873, but also including the open tennis tournament. Nice is a major commercial and administrative centre in the east of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, its influence extending well beyond the boundary of the Alpes-Maritimes département. Numerous small and medium-sized factories are located at Nice, particularly in the Var Plain to the west. More recent economic development has been increasingly associated with the large neighbouring science park at Sophia-Antipolis. High-technology firms there often work closely with the University of Nice (established 1965).

      Nice is linked to the national motorway network and is served by the high-speed train (TGV), connecting the city to Paris and northern France. The airport is the second largest in France (after Paris) and has become a focus for a variety of distribution and service industries. Pop. (2004 est.) 339,000.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • nice — W2S1 [naıs] adj ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(good)¦ 2¦(friendly)¦ 3¦(something you want)¦ 4 it s nice to know (that) 5 have a nice day! 6 nice to meet you 7 (it s been) nice meeting/talking to you 8¦(not nice)¦ 9 nice try 10 ni …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Nice — (n[imac]s), a. [Compar. {Nicer} (n[imac] s[ e]r); superl. {Nicest}.] [OE., foolish, fr. OF. nice ignorant, fool, fr. L. nescius ignorant; ne not + scius knowing, scire to know. Perhaps influenced by E. nesh delicate, soft. See {No}, and {Science} …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • NICE — Chef lieu du département des Alpes Maritimes, Nice est , avec 345 675 habitants en 1990 (516 740 pour la conurbation), l’une des grandes villes françaises. Mais elle est la seule qui doive sa rapide croissance à la fonction touristique fondée ici …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • nice — [ naıs ] adjective *** ▸ 1 attractive/enjoyable ▸ 2 friendly/kind ▸ 3 for showing you like something ▸ 4 with small difference ▸ 5 skillful ▸ 6 with high moral standard ▸ + PHRASES 1. ) attractive, enjoyable, or pleasant: Your hair looks nice.… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • nice´ly — nice «nys», adjective, nic|er, nic|est, adverb. –adj. 1. that is good or pleasing; agreeable; satisfactory: »a nice face, a nice child, a nice ride, a nice day …   Useful english dictionary

  • NICE — (Heb. ניצה), capital of the Alpes Maritimes department, on the Mediterranean coast of France. The first specific mention of Jews can be found in the Statutes of Nice, enacted in 1342 while the town belonged to Provence, which compelled the Jews… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • nice — The word nice is the great cause célèbre of meaning change in English. In medieval and Renaissance literature, nice (derived from Latin nescius meaning ‘ignorant’) has a wide range of generally unfavourable meanings such as ‘foolish, stupid’ and… …   Modern English usage

  • Nice — Эта статья об утилите Unix; о британской прогрессив рок группе конца 1960 х см.: The Nice. nice  UNIX утилита, запускающая программу с измененным приоритетом для планировщика задач. Если не указано ни одного аргумента, команда nice выводит… …   Википедия

  • nice — 1 Nice, dainty, fastidious, finicky, finicking, finical, particular, fussy, squeamish, persnickety, pernickety can all mean exacting or displaying exacting standards (as in selection, judgment, or workmanship). Nice (see also CORRECT, DECOROUS)… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Nice — puede referirse a: Contenido 1 Lugares 2 Música 2.1 Grupos 2.2 Discos 3 Otros …   Wikipedia Español

  • NICE — ist der englische Name der südfranzösischen Stadt Nizza der Name der Musikgruppe The Nice das englische Wort für nett die Programmiersprache Nice (Programmiersprache) einen Unix Befehl, der das Prioritätsscheduling eines Prozesses verändern kann… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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