Author: Nancy Keane
As the French Riviera gears up for its annual dose of glamour, with the Cannes Film Festival and Monaco Grand Prix this month the holiday resort of Nice has other things to celebrate.
The new Nice tram system - which carries 60,000 people for a flat rate fare of €1 - has given downtown Nice a massive uplift and opened up much of the north of the city.
Coupled with the rise in cheap flights from the UK, Nice is becoming one of the best city break destinations in France. Now the tram network is having a hige impact on house prices. Areas once considered too far from the city centre to be chic are now getting a new lease of life and prices are still affordable to the average buyer.
Nice is still the cheapest place to live on the Riviera with average property prices of £2,723 per square metre, half that of nearby Cannes. It means property looks like a sound investment for UK buyers. In a seaside resort that has celebrity residents like Sir Elton John you won't find cheap bargains and a sea view carries a huge premium.
Some areas can hit £7,700 per square metre but Nice has some of the most desirable property strips in Europe, but prices remain reasonable.
The tram network could end that soon. Areas previously forgotten about are shooting up in price and with more tram lines planned in the next five years, even more outlying areas will benefit from the Nice effect.