The city of Nice enters the UNESCO World Heritage

The list of the world heritage by the UNESCO includes a set of cultural and/or natural sites presenting “an exceptional interest for the common heritage of mankind”. This protected heritage is the target of a Convention for the protection of the natural and cultural world heritage adopted by the UNESCO in 1972, and updated every year.

Nice, international city of the French riviera and major student city

According to the French culture Ministry website, which celebrates the choice of the UNESCO as great news, the city of Nice is thus acknowledged as “the archetype of the winter resort town of the Riviera, influenced by its position on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and its proximity with the Alps”. In the 19th century, mostly, “the mild weather and the genuine look” of Nice attracted rich European aristocratic artists who “shaped the urban planning and architecture of the city which gave birth a variety of architectural styles and designs of building decoration, contributing to the city’s renown as a cosmopolitan winter resort”.

This may also be for the same qualities, mildness, environment and cosmopolitan aspects that Nice is in France a significant welcome hub of international students. Indeed, Nice attracts about 50,000 students registered in higher education institutions, including 17% foreign students, a number higher there than in France (except Paris). As the “L’Etudiant” magazine write, “the two main assets of Nice are without doubt the weather, but also the city policies in favour of students”, which include “support at all levels” and “a highly diversified cultural offer”.

48 sites selected in France

With the addition of Nice, the Cordouan lighthouse (in the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Gironde estuary), and the Spa Town of Vichy (with the other major spa towns in Europe), France reached this year 48 cultural and natural properties included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

This number of outstanding sites put France (with Spain and Germany) at the second place (after Italy) of countries with most protected sites in Europe. These protected sites, which are mostly cultural and natural sites, include a large diversity, such as:

• monuments or exceptional sites in major French cities: the banks of the Seine river in Paris, the historic city-centre in Lyon, the Port of the Moon in Bordeaux, the Grande-île and Neustadt in Strasburg, the cathedrals in Chartres, Bourges, Amiens, and Reims, the historic city-centre in Avignon, the episcopal city in Albi, the rebuilt city of Le Havre, Stanislas place in Nancy.
• architectural compounds: the palace of Versailles, the fortified city of Carcassonne, the palace of Fontainebleau, the architectural work of Le Corbusier, the castles on the Val de Loire, the Pont du Gard, the Canal du Midi, the fortifications of Vauban, the Champagne cellars and more.
• natural sites: the Mont Saint-Michel bay, the Causses and the Cévennes, the chaîne des Puys (ancient volcanoes), the terroirs in Burgundy, the pitons of Reunion Island, the lagoons in New Caledonia, and more.

Those highly attractive sites, places of heritage, culture, and history will give you a “desire for France” not only to discover these remarkable sites, but also to study.