Day 3057 (Tuesday) 21st October 2025

This is Monaco

and this is Eze Village.

The weather was a bit better today, it was still a bit overcast but nice enough to go into Nice for our weekly kebab and after lunch we went to see the new Promenade du Paillon. There were really ugly modern buildings along this road but they knocked them all down and it’s taken a few years to create this urban forest and it’s really quite beautiful.

It’s very well done with lots of wooden floors and unusual plants and a lot of herbs.

I rather liked this dragon in a pool.

The views along the gardens are pretty spectacular, it’s hard to believe that this was a concrete jungle.

This museum is still here but it’s disguised well.

 

I’m very pleased that library in la tete carre (the square head) is still here.

After admiring the gardens we walked back to Place Garibaldi and I couldn’t resist taking a photo of this lion yet again.

When we got home I looked up Promenade du Paillon and found this… 

THE PROMENADE DU PAILLON PROJECT, SEASON 2

The project will extend the current Promenade du Paillon from the Bourgada crossing to the Monnet crossing, at the edge of the Parvis de l'Europe. The project also includes the facade-to-facade sides: Risso, Gallieni, Saint-Sébastien and Saint-Jean Baptiste. The streets on either side of the park as well as the cross roads will be redeveloped to accommodate widened sidewalks, a two-way cycle path (on either side of the park), a roadway and a bus lane to accommodate the new high-speed bus line.

Project: View of the central aisle and pool in the Acropolis sector
© City of Nice / Alexandre Chemetoff & associates / Ingerop / Mazet / Canopée / Les éclaireurs / Scenevolution.

The objectives of “season 2”

Extend the Promenade du Paillon to the North, over an additional 8 hectares

to constitute approximately 20 hectares of planted areas, over nearly 1 linear km between the Bourgada crossing and the Monnet crossing.

Developing an urban wooded landscape

with the planting of around 2,500 trees of species adapted to the local climate, low in water, with high shading power and CO₂ storage capacity.

Requalify and renovate the MAMAC

in order to improve accessibility, public reception conditions, and the energy performance of the building.

Highlighting the Louis Nucéra Library

by strengthening its access and its opening onto the Sosno garden.

Maintaining the Arts parking lot

The benefits of the project

This project contributes to the objectives of the Metropolitan Climate Plan and is based on orders of magnitude from preliminary studies.

Creation of approximately 8 hectares of permeable surfaces across the city.

Potential emission reduction of approximately 1,740 t CO₂/year (order of magnitude)

Estimated acoustic attenuation of 6 to 8 dB(A) depending on configurations

Improvement in air quality (order of magnitude ~1 t/year of pollutants filtered – NOx, SOx)

Strengthening habitats and local ecological continuities

Implementation of a system for recovering and reusing rainwater to supply natural water basins

Induced effects are possible for local uses and local activity; they will be subject to dedicated monitoring and evaluations.

The operation is being carried out with a view to conserving resources (circular economy, limiting the use of new materials) and reducing impacts during the work.

Project: view of the MAMAC from the Bourgada sector
© City of Nice / Alexandre Chemetoff & associates / Ingerop / Mazet / Canopée / Les éclaireurs / Scenevolution

Between nature and culture

The proposal combines nature and culture by creating a link between the park and the MAMAC.

The museum's rehabilitation is based on the existing architecture, with adaptation to contemporary uses (route, accessibility, conservation).

Cost of the operation: €75 million including tax

Amount of State and Regional participation: 50%

The Louis Nucéra Library will undergo renovation, with access repositioned across Barla for a better connection with the garden and the park.

The project integrates the urban environment “from facade to facade”.

The redevelopment also concerns the adjoining streets, with greening of the lines and treatment of the crossings promoting calm and active mobility (traverse de la Bourgada, traverse Garibaldi – place Yves-Klein, traverse Barla, traverse Delattre-de-Tassigny, traverse Jean-Monnet).

The park must be interwoven with pedestrian links: a large alley and cobblestone streets will ensure continuity from one end to the other, as well as the connection between the two banks of the Paillon.