Friends, it’s been a long winter. In many ways it’s been one of my most wonderful winters in recent memory.

I am really beginning to think that there actually is something to be said for the advice about surviving Swiss winter that I’ve heard time and again from both other expats and natives… Get above the clouds if you want to be happy. However, no matter how much wholesome fun and crisp air Switzerland can serve up for me, there’s still a part of my soul that longs for a more vibrant kind of energy. In the spring I find the calling for it almost unbearable. Last spring at around this time I satisfied my craving with a little jaunt to Colmar, this year I’m off to Nice!

Why Travel to Nice in The Spring?

The spring is a great time to travel to the south of France, especially if you’re on a budget. Not only will the heat be less intense, but the crowds will be less cray-cray too. That, and I won’t be paying top dollar for accommodation or airline tickets.

I’m a Fauve at heart and have been a fan of French Impressionism since my momma gave me my first set of oil pastels. I’ve been reading about the gorgeous light that drew artists to the south of France to paint for my entire life, and now I’m going to get to experience it for myself! I’ll visit the homes of Picasso and Matisse, drink in the Chagall Museum, fill my soul with the sights and sounds of the seaside, wander through the fabled  Nice marketplace, eat and drink myself silly and enjoy some well needed solitude. I simply cannot wait.

So what about you? Where do you go to rejuvenate your soul? And is there anything arty freaky cool life affirming and wonderful in Nice that you think I need to pop onto my itinerary? Let me know in the comments, please!