Extremely beautiful place Massena scale is not inferior to Paris. This is the real center of the city that I want to walk and walk.

Square for almost two centuries: she was born in the period of intensive development of the city in 1820-1830. Its development was facilitated with an ideal location between the Old nice and Central Avenue Jean Medcin leading to the city station.

Initially, the area was much smaller and was named in honor of king Charles albert of Sardinia, rising to the throne in 1831. Similar to the current shape she got to the historical nice to 1860, when the city was annexed by France. It was then that the area was named after Marshal Massena, who occupied nice in 1792. Paradoxical solution due to the fact that a brilliant military leader Andre Massena – a native of nice. Patriot of France, he loved and hometown.

Unusual, elongated shape modern square explained as it is situated right on the banks of the river paillon, crossing nice. The river flowing down from the Alps, in the old days was regularly done in nice devastating floods. Now paillon is not visible – she is securely shackled underground pipe passing closer to the South side of the square.

Place Massena is reminiscent of the immense size of chess Board: it is almost entirely paved with dark and light stone slabs and represents a huge pedestrian zone. With the exception of its Central axis. In the nineteenth century, then ran Conca, then the trams and cars, which led to a transport collapse. It was decided to pave through the Massena line of modern high-speed tram, the very same area to give the pedestrians. Yet there are the stations for "Velo Bleu" – public municipal network of low-cost rental bikes.

In the southern part of the square is noisy fountain of the Sun. It is surrounded by bronze statues of Earth, Mars. Venus, mercury and Saturn is the work of sculptor Alfred Gennio. In the center of the fountain – seven marble Apollo, which in 1970 was removed from here because the caller nudity. In 2011 the statue, however, returned to his place.

Earlier in the square appeared seven ten-meter-high metal poles topped with plastic figures of seated men. In the evening they glow different colors. The song is called "Dialogue in nice", and its author, a Catalan sculptor Jaume Plensa, believes that the figures represent the seven continents of the Earth.

At all times the area was one of the main social centers of the city. In 1941 the Pro-Nazi Vichy regime organized here a large propaganda festival of Jeanne d'arc. Four years later a hundred thousand citizens were singing on the square "La Marseillaise", welcoming the General de Gaulle arriving in a liberated capital of the Maritime Alps. In our days in February, the noise in here is the largest in France two-week carnival city, in December, has an outdoor ice rink and Christmas market, year-round exhibitions. Past the cafe regulars sweep skaters and skateboarders in the arcades surrounding houses with beautiful red facades is the mass of enticing shops.