August 2004
However, I have made a new discovery this year. I will have spent eight weeks in Nice this Summer (2004) and as much as I love the private beaches, it is simply too expensive to use them every day so I have limited myself to once, maybe twice a week. The rest of the time, if we go to the beach we use the public or free ones.
My discovery this year is that at certain points along the quai des Etats-Unis and the Promenade des Anglais, some of the public or free beaches have really nice facilities. I'm talking about loos here. I had always thought that unless you went in the sea, the only options were the indescribably unpleasant 'portacabin' loos that are on the free beaches at regular intervals. Or, you buy a coffee or something from the snack bars of the private concessions to earn the right to use their loo. Not so. In fact at about 4 or 5 (probably more) points along the bay, there are some really nice facilites on the free beaches.
The nearest beach to us with these superior facilities, ie near the Port, is the Plage Publique de Beau Rivage, just next door to the private Beau Rivage Beach on the quai des Etats Unis.
You can spot the location of these beaches by the green toilet signs on the Promenade des Anglais and you can get to these loos directly from the Promenade down steps - handy if you are walking along the Prom and need a loo - you don't need to get on to the beach first.
Here, there are flushing loos, hot showers as well as the usual cold showers on the beach, security boxes, public telephones and a life guard. There are plenty of bins too and every morning, the bins are emptied, the pebbles washed down and the public areas are generally tidied up.
You do pay for this but it is very little, only 35 cents for the loo, priceless compared to peace of mind, in fact knowing there is a respectable loo somehow makes me less likely to need one, it must be the knowledge that it's there. A hot shower is 1,80 euros and to rent a security box is 1,60 for the day.
By the way when you pay for the loo, there is someone at a desk at the entrance, they will say 'servez-vous' and point at the desk. This is covered with squares of loo papaer. They must get any stuff in the loos nicked so you have to grab what you need before you go. I always have a bag of tissues with me anyway. There are clean wash basins, with soap and hand dryers.
This has transformed me and I am quite happy to use the punblic beaches now. It makes a very cheap day out. If you can't be bothered to take a picnic, a snack bar counter belonging to the Beau Rivage private beach opens out onto the free side and you can buy a Panini or a coffee etc for a few euros. Even nicer is to to pick up a 'fougasse', a sort of doughy cross between a pizza and a garlic bread from the Cours Saleya for 3.10 euros, gorgeous. All you need now is padding for your bum, a towel and a small parasol. Beer sellers and beignet (huge doughnuts, hopeless for Atkins) sellers patrol at regular intervals so you are set for the day.
You are also close enough from this beach to leg it into the Old Town for something to eat from the cheap 'fast food' type kiosks selling socca and Pan Bagnats to proper restaurants. If you're on a free beach, I'll assume you are saving a few euros - have a look at some of my recommendations in my restaurant page, especially, Restaurant du Gesu, Lou Pilha Leva and Bar de la Bourse.
The only safety precaution I take, which I do on the private beaches anyway, it to take my credit cards, money and keys with me in a waterproof container when I go for a swim. You can buy these from most supermarkets and anywhere that sells stuff for the beach, certainly I have seen them in the 'Bazar' beach shop at 32 rue Pairoliere in the Old Town.Or, you could use the security boxes, I asked the lady staffing the loos about this, they take the bag off you and give you a ticket which you show everytime you need to get your bag, so you will need to keep this safe anyway.
To have a day on a free beach in comfort I should brook the small expense of a parasol even if you ditch it or pass it on at the end of your holiday. Also, I think you need a beach towel and a padded sun-mat, these fold up and have handles and will make a big difference to your pain threshold on the hard pebbles.
As a guide to the price of small beach parasols, I have seem them range from 4 - 8 euros, swim shoes about the same price. If you are here for a few days, it will be good value when you see that the cost of hiring a parasol at a private beach is about 5 euros for one day, plus anything from 10 to 18 euros a day for the sunbed too, PLUS an extra 5 euros to rent a beach towel. You are not allowed to take your own food onto the private beaches either!
If you step off the private beach you are more or less opposite La Petite Maison restaurant in rue St Francois de Paul, if you want to visualise where this beach is, very close to the Opera House, therefore just a step from the Old Town. I noticed several shops very close by that sold beach stuff so you can easily get sorted out quite quickly although if you can be more orgainised it is probably cheaper to buy beach stuff from the bigger supermarkets like Carrefour or Monoprix - there's a nice one at Place Garibaldi at the back of the Old Town. On a side note, we have found a supermarket that sells beach stuff very cheaply, including plastic shoes suitable for swmming, on rue Lech Walesa, just opposite the 'Intermarche' supermarket. See left for more details.
A 'croque monsieur' , 4,50 euros, is a ham and cheese taosted sandwich, my daughter loves them.
In case you can't see the prices, there is a selction of Paninis for about 4-5 euros.
In case you can't see the prices, everything else is 2 euros except for the Perriers and Evian, for 3 euros.
