Nice, city in southeastern France, capital of Alpes-Maritimes Department, on the Mediterranean Sea, at the foot of the Maritime Alps. The city is the chief resort of the French Riviera, and tourism is important to the economy. Industries in Nice include food processing (especially olive oil), perfume manufacturing, electronics, and precision machinery. Nice is built around a bay and its old and new parts are separated by a small stream, the Paillon. Embankments and promenades, including the Promenade des Anglais, line the sea frontage, and a boulevard extends along the bay shore. The city and bay are protected from severe climatic changes by the mountains on the north. Nice has an active commercial port and a variety of manufacturing industries. It also is a cultural center, with a university (1965) and several museums, including museums devoted to works of the 20th-century artists Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall. It is the site of Roman ruins and of the 17th-century monastery of Cimiez.
Probably founded by the Greeks as Nicaea about the 5th century BC, Nice became a well-known trading colony in the ancient world. Taken by the Romans in 154 BC, it subsequently changed rulers several times and suffered damage during many wars. In 1388 it acknowledged the supremacy of the house of Savoy, and in 1796 it was ceded to France by Sardinia, which was at that time ruled by the duke of Savoy. Nice was returned to Sardinia in 1814, and in 1860 was reincorporated into France after a plebiscite. Population (1999) 342,738.
