Cours Saleya

In front of you is the Cours Saleya market, where Nice can be seen, smelled and tasted. Ever since the town council authorised it in 1861, flowers and vegetables from the market gardens and greenhouses of the region have been sold here.

1What you will find

In the morning the stalls fill with seasonal flowers and with produce you will later find on Niçois plates: courgette flowers for stuffing or frying, Swiss chard for tourte de blettes, mesclun, a mix of tender salad leaves typical of Nice, small Cailletier olives, lemons from Menton and fresh herbs. Some growers sell what they have picked themselves; others are resellers, so check the signs.

Between the stalls, look out for the socca sellers: socca is a thin chickpea-flour pancake baked on large copper trays in a wood-fired oven and eaten hot, peppered and with your fingers.

The Cours changes face through the day: market in the morning, café terraces at lunchtime and, in the evening, craft stalls.

2Life all around

The Cours is lined with terraces, the Baroque Chapel of Mercy and, at the far end, the ochre palace where Henri Matisse lived. The streets climbing into the Old Town hide bakeries, olive oil shops and small restaurants serving Niçois cooking.

3What to look for

• The striped awnings of the stalls.
• The courgette flowers, a very Niçois ingredient.
• The Chapel of Mercy, with its yellow façade.