Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by David Baron

Promenade des Anglais is the most popular promenade here which is situated along the coastline with azure sea. There is the vast majority of hotels, so if you are looking for accommodation in Nice, here you certainly find one, especially those luxurious.

The historic center is a jumble of narrow streets, taste and smell, restaurants, cafes and shops. When you walk through those places, you’d think that people do not spend their time differently than with a food.

Nice has also its own castle, situated on the hill, so it is worth to climb there especially in the evening when it offers great views of the illuminated city. The castle is a place of regular concerts and theater performances in the summer. Nice Cathedral built in 1650 – 1699 is a National Heritage Site of France located in the old town.

If you wish to enjoy the festival days you should come here in February, when the city holds an annual carnival. From museums you can visit Marc Chagall Museum, a national museum dedicated to the work of painter Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse Museum and the Museum of Modern Art. The shops, bars and casinos can be found really everywhere.

Well, Nice is ideal for those who love lazing and luxury and want to spend their holidays with a drink in one hand and sun cream in another one. If you would like to see something around Nice, you can visit Saint-Paul – a medieval village with magnificent views of the coast, Cannes or Monaco.

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Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Maciej Kasprzyk

The first written mention of the Książ castle dates back to 1288. It was one of several defensive castles built by duke Bolek I “the Cruel”. In 1508 Książ castle fell into the hands of John von Haugwitz, who sold it to Conrad von Hochberg.

Książ castle was rebuilt many times, so it combines many architectural and artistic styles – including the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and eclectic elements. The most beautiful part of the castle is certainly Maximilian Hall, which was used for concerts and theater performances, and its interior served as a setting for several movies.

One of the most important and also the most tragic periods in the history of the castle was the time of the World War II. In 1941 Książ castle was occupied by the Nazis. All the valuable works of art, furniture and contents of the castle library where took by Nazis. Many underground corridors were built below the castle, which proves that Nazis prepared here one of the seats of the German dictator Adolph Hitler.

Książ castle combines the history of several nations and many people. In addition to the standard attributes of building castles like beautiful gates, bastions and towers, also hundreds of undiscovered secrets are waiting here for the visitors.

The castle is open daily except for Mondays from 10:00am to 3:00pm (extended in Summer and weekends). You can attend several routes, the basic admission is 20PLN (€5).

For further details visit the official website of Książ castle.

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Caltagirone is famous for the production of hand-made ceramics, particularly maiolica and terra-cotta wares. Production of grapes, olives and peaches is also typical for this region.

In the city you can visit Museum of Pottery which is dedicated to the history of pottery, where you can see a collection of ancient and modern pottery and terra-cotta, dating back to the Magna Grecia period.

The biggest attraction of the city is 142-step monumental Staircase of Santa Maria del Monte, built from 1608 in the old part of the town. The speciality is that each stair is decorated with different hand-made ceramics, using styles and figures derived from the millennial tradition of pottery making.

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During the summer there are lots of concerts in Caltagirone, theater performances and dance celebrations, but the most important event is on 24 and 25 July each year called La Luminaria – feast of San Giacomo, saint patron of the city. The staircase is illuminated with candles of different colours arranged in order to reconstruct an artistic drawing of several tens of meters.

During the winter Caltagirone is much more picturesque thanks to the temperature differences between day and night, that often rise to a dense fog, familiarly called “A Paisana“.

The historical center of Caltagirone extends along two main streets: Via Roma and Corso Vittorio Emanuele. Here you can see beautiful baroque buildings, including Palazzo Gravina, and the norman Basilica di San Giacomo which houses precious works of art.

However the city offers much more and it really worth to see it.

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