Given that Nice is the fifth city in France, traffic is a big issue. Cars are more and more numerous in French Riviera and it will increase by 25% until 2020. Nice city hall had to find a solution to relieve congestion in the city center. At the end of 2007, finally trolley cars entered the city. Works were very long and hard to bear for storekeepers downtown. But now the result is prodigious.
On one hand, the first trolley line reduces time between districts. For intance you can go from the north of Nice to the “Place Massena” within 14 minutes. By car, you have to drive 40 minutes and by bus it takes 30 minutes. Indeed, as parking are scarce, people stop their cars everywhere and specially on bus lines ! Trolley is the best solution because the lines are dedicated only to trolley cars and no other cars can go into. On the other hand, the city hall not only changes the streets for trolley cars but also improves streets and places on the Nice trolley run. €13,000,000 have been invested in the transformation of Nice famous place : “Place Massena”. The objective is clearly to make traffic easier dowtown and to offer bigger and nicer areas for pedestrians. Continue reading ‘Nice changes for the better’
French riviera is often associated to cities like Nice, Cannes and St Tropez … Marseille is hardly known and that’s a pity ! 20 years ago, Marseille suffered from a bad reputation due to the poor economic market and some insecure districts. The situation was unsmilling compared to other cities on the French Riviera. Real estate market was in a disastrous shape.
Since 1990, Marseille has been transforming in a dynamic city with more and more renovated areas. Thanks to TGV, Marseille is only at 3 hours from Paris. No doubt that real estate prices have increasing since. But the city is still affordable compared to other cities on the French riviera.
And Marseille is very well located. An international airport allow you to go everywhere and far away. But if you prefer to stay on the French riviera, Marseille is a perfect spot for visiting Provence. Within 30 min, you are having lunch on a trendy terrace in Aix-en-Provence. If you prefer history, please have a look to Avignon (one hour driving from Marseille). If you prefer suntanning, go to Cassis and enjoy its “calanques”.
What about culture ? Marseille is working hard on that ! The city of the French Riviera aims at beeing the new European cultural city in 2013. The city hall and the local authorities involved themselves in many architectural and cultural projects for Marseille. For instance, a wonderful castle called “Château de la Buzine” will become a city of cinema : almost 4000 m² dedicated to cinema with a 7000 works library, an amazing 350 seats projection room and a museum about Marcel Pagnol. Continue reading ‘French riviera : Marseille is an ideal place to invest and to live’
