St. Nicholas Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Nicolas)

Nice is full of interesting architectural delights, but perhaps none is as unique as the St. Nicholas Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Nicolas), a Russian Orthodox church which speaks to the history of Nice as a popular destination for visitors from all over the world. While the Promenade des Anglais is a nod to the English, who wanted to walk along the shoreline in the sun without being directly on the beach, the Russian cathedral is a similar concession, this time to the Russian nobility – namely Tsar Nicholas II – who found the mild climate and beautiful location to be equally alluring.

St. Nicholas Cathedral is one of the top sites to visit in Nice, although it isn’t remotely French. Even if it weren't commonly known as the Russian Cathedral, one look at its exterior would give it away; it looks as though it was shipped directly from Moscow, with its fanciful onion-shaped domes and brightly colored exterior. Inside, as befitting a Russian landmark, its collection of icons is one of the finest in the world, and the interior architecture and color scheme looks like a bejeweled Easter egg.