One of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen, and definitely one of the most beautiful in France, is Nice. Nice is the capital of the Alpes-Martimes department on the French Riviera. It is located on the shores of Baie des Anges. The city was founded by the Greeks but later became a haven for artists, most notably Henri Matisse and Marc Chagal.
Nice is the fifth largest city in France and attracts people from all over the world with its beauty, charm and inviting climate. We were there in November and the climate was such that we were able to enjoy outdoor cafes and shopping at open air food markets. The architecture in Nice is varied and each style brings a must photo op. Scattered through some of the wealthiest neighborhoods are homes of Baroque and Belle Epoque style.
Second only to Paris, Nice has the most museums in Paris. The Matisse Museum and the Marc Chagal museum are not to be missed.
The Musée Matisse in Nice is a municipal museum devoted to the work of French painter Henri Matisse. It gathers one of the world’s largest collections of his works, tracing his artistic beginnings and his evolution through his last works.
Chagall was actually involved in the design of his museum and was instrumental in making final decisions on where his paintings would be displayed. The museum displays his famous paintings of biblical themes from the New and Old Testament.
Of course, as always, what I looked forward to most of all were the food markets of Nice, and there were many to choose from. First we enjoyed strolling through the oldest part of the city that was painted with old world buildings and shops, lined by ochre colored streets. Winding our way through alley-ways, we visited local shops and eateries. 
One of my favorite things to do in a foreign city is to savor the street foods and this city didn’t disappoint. A couple of the treats that I enjoyed the most were the onion, anchovy and olive tarts called Pissaladieres (not for everyone, but they were definitely for me) and socca, one of the most popular dishes of Nice. The city is also famous for their salad Niçoise, a classic salad that is a mixture of mesclun, tomatoes, radishes, onion, black olives, hard boiled eggs and tuna, and ratatouille, an eggplant, tomato and zucchini stew.
We tasted these delicacies and shopped in one of Nice’s best open air markets, Cours Saleya. It is located in the heart of Old Town. There are several booths topped with striped awnings that house everything from flowers to produce to seafood to meat. It’s so hard to visit these markets and not be able to bring back a lot of what you see to your home in the states. 
Three of the four major markets that the Cours Saleya hosts are the flower market, the fruit and vegetable market, and the seafood/meat market. The largest part of the market is fruit and vegetables, many booths of which are artistically displayed. It is here that I was introduced to socca at Chez Theresa.
I hope to go back to Nice someday. There was so much more I wanted to experience and too little time.