Five photos: the streets of Old Nice

Nice is perhaps most often thought of as a cosmopolitan vacation spot, attracting Frenchmen and foreigners alike to its pebbled beaches and warm climate, but at its heart it remains a simple village. Bistros are built into houses with shuttered windows and sun-dried paint, and the streets that wind through the center of Old Nice are just wide and labyrinthine enough for a wanderer to get lost for a few hours in a world before cars and buses. Even the tourist-busy Place Masséna is lined with buildings hearkening back to an older era that at night point toward alleys illuminated by the soft glow of lanterns.