Carré d'Or — Nice's Golden Square

The Carré d'Or, or 'Golden Square', is the elegant heart of central Nice — a compact grid of handsome Belle Époque buildings, upmarket boutiques, pavement cafés and leafy squares, bounded by the Promenade des Anglais and the sea to the south. Rue de la Buffa runs through its western edge, a calm and characterful street lined with bakeries, florists, wine shops and neighbourhood restaurants, yet only a few minutes on foot from Place Masséna, the pedestrianised rue de France and the beach.

Right next door stand Holy Trinity Anglican Church (11 rue de la Buffa), a listed neo-Gothic landmark built between 1859 and 1862 for the English community that famously wintered in Nice, and Square Alziari de Malaussena, a small public garden tucked beside it. The church's spire and rose window are the view from the apartment's windows, framed by palm trees and cascading bougainvillea. The whole district forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage site 'Nice, Winter Resort Town of the Riviera.'

It's the kind of neighbourhood where you can buy fresh flowers and a morning croissant on the corner, wander to the sea before breakfast, and be back among quiet residential streets by evening.