When planning to hike in winter’s evenings, you have no other choice than exploring your urban surroundings and hoping for pleasant weather! Fortunately, we are lucky to work in a beautiful hilly city, with spectacular views, even at night, and many hidden treasures.

With the 2020 edition of the iBV Night Urban Hike, we got to discover many different neighborhoods of Nice, starting with the chic Evéché nearby hill and its richly ornate buildings, soon followed by the Parc Imperial, once a palace build as the Russian answer to the Regina in Cimiez before being turned into an imposing high school, painted in vibrant yellow.

Lucky enough to be on time for a quick sneak inside the beautiful Russian church and saying hello to cute bunnies in the garden, we next prepared for the strenuous ascent of Pessicart’s hill. Funny how stairs are systematic guests of iBV hikes! It seems that flatness does not belong to Nice’s vocabulary and, anyway, what is a best reward than those spectacular views of the city, the Mediterranea and remote mountains at sunset? From up there we can even spot the “Valrose castle”, ouf, we are not lost!

After a long descent on peaceful streets that iBV runners, gone in front of hikers, must have enjoyed a lot, comes the time for the last climb into another historical neighborhood, Mantega-Righi, with beautiful old houses, palaces and hidden stairs that would definitely deserve another visit in the full light of day!

There is no need to go very far to make great discoveries, have some healthy exercise (before a big Napolitan pizza…) and enjoy the company of your colleagues after a day at work!