The ''Promenade des Anglais'' (; Niçard: ''Camin dei Anglés''; meaning "English Walkway") is a

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

along the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

coast of

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It extends from the

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

on the west to the Quai des États-Unis ("United States Quay") on the east, for a distance of approximately 7 km (4,35 miles). Administratively speaking, it forms part of Route nationale 98, which runs between

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

and

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

History

Starting in the second half of the 18th century, the English aristocracy took to spending the winter in Nice, enjoying the panorama along the coast. In 1820, when a particularly harsh winter further north brought an influx of beggars to Nice, some of the English proposed that they could work on the construction of a walkway (''chemin de promenade'') along the sea. It was funded by the Reverend

Lewis Way Lewis Way (1772–1840) was an English barrister and churchman, noted for his Christian outreach to the Jewish people. He is not to be confused with his grandfather, also called Lewis Way, a director of the South Sea Company. Life Lewis Way was b ...

and members of Holy Trinity Anglican Church. (2011) The city of Nice, intrigued by the prospect of a pleasant promenade, greatly increased the scope of the work. The Promenade was first called the ''Camin deis Anglés'' (the English Way) by the Niçois in their native dialect. After the annexation of Nice by France in 1860 it was rechristened ''La Promenade des Anglais''. The Promenade was the site of the

team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ( ...

in the

2013 Tour de France The 2013 Tour de France was the 100th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on the island of Corsica on 30 June and finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 21 July. The Tour consisted of twenty-one stage ...

, held on 2 July 2013. It was also featured as a start and finish location of the first two stages of the

2020 Tour de France The 2020 Tour de France was the 107th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. Originally scheduled to start on 27 June 2020, it was postponed until 29 August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in F ...

Modern day

For the local inhabitants, the Promenade des Anglais has simply become the ''Promenade'' or, for short, ''La Prom''. It is popular with bicyclists, baby strollers, and families, especially on Sundays. It has also become a favorite place for

skateboarder Skateboarding is an action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. S ...

s and in-line skaters.

2016 Bastille Day attack

On 14 July 2016, a

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

was deliberately driven at revellers celebrating

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...

on the Promenade. The driver, 31-year-old

Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel Mohamed Salmene Lahouaiej-Bouhlel (; ''Muḥammad Laḥwiyyij-Būhlāl''; 3 January 1985 – 14 July 2016) was a Tunisian terrorist living in France who carried out the 2016 Nice truck attack, in which he drove a truck into a crowd celebrating ...

, also shot at others before crossing the road in the vehicle to continue the assault. The vehicle was surrounded by police near the

Palais de la Méditerranée Hyatt Regency Nice Palais de la Méditerranée is a nine-floor luxury casino hotel complex located on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France. It was built in 1929 by architects Charles and Marcel Dalmas, and partly rebuilt and modernized in 199 ...

, and Bouhlel was shot dead. 86 were killed, and 450 were wounded.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Promenade Des Anglais Streets in Nice Tourist attractions in Nice Waterfronts