Promenade des Anglais, Nice

To the west of the avenue de Verdun in Nice, the Quai des Etats-Unis leads into the Promenade des Anglais and continues along the shingle beach of the Baie des Anges. This highway, which was laid down between 1822 and 1824 on the initiative and with the financial contribution of English visitors, and which has subsequently been widened on several occasions, is lined with numerous opulent buildings, among them the Palais de la Méditerranée (theater), the Palais Masséna and the famous Hôtel Negresco, which is under a conservation order. The old Casion Ruhl, however, was replaced in 1970 by a commonplace concrete building.The Promenade des Anglais is now a pedestrian area with gardens. Road traffic has been diverted into two tunnels, one on top of the other, each with three lanes, which run under the sea just off the coast. The Promenade is popular with inline skaters, skateboarders, cyclists and families out for a walk.