With all the newspapers proclaiming that Nice is the place to be, both summer and winter, Vogue steps in to help tell us where to stay. There are a range of luxury hotels opening, from the airport to the Old Town, including of course the sea front in the Golden Square (Carre d'Or).

A reminder today from the local newspaper that you have until the end of the month to use those printed tram/bus tickets! Whether it's a single or any other type, the paper tickets will stop working in the machines from 1st January next year. If you have a 10-pack you cannot cash in unused journeys or transfer them to the new rechargeable electronic ticket cards. You have been warned!

An advantage Nice has over many other holiday destinations is that it is still a great place to visit over winter. In fact it was initially famous as a winter holiday destination during Victorian times, when the English initially built the now famous Promenade des Anglais. Now the Daily Mail has run an item about how pleasant it is here over the cooler months. The author picked pretty good restaurants too, though if you also want to visit Bistrot d'Antoine then I recommend booking in advance. It is always busy. Hopefully more people will discover the pleasures of walking past palm trees at Christmas.

Locals in the Port are wary about the new conference centre. A resident's meeting allowed locals to bring up their concerns about the building of a 28,000sqm spectacular sea front centre. Some expressed skepticism at the aggressive schedule, starting next February and to be completed by June 2025, in just over a year. Others complained they haven't seen the environmental impact report before the project gets the green light. The previous socialist leader vows, however, to disrupt the works as much as possible. He plans with his colleagues to start protests, petitions, and any other means possible to cause problems. He admits he won't be able to stop the project but hopes to delay it by a couple of months, presumably so Nice misses the ability to host the UN Summit on how to protect the oceans. Personally I think the project looks great, and a good use of a redundant car park since the new multi-story underground parking was opened right next door. It will certainly bring added prestige to Nice, and a nice international clientele to the restaurants nearby.

In 2028 the new "Nice Airport train station" will open. It will link up the airport, train station, tram line to the city, cycle lanes, the new bus station next to it, and multi-story car parks with 700 spaces, all next door to each other. It will be covered in a huge sail-shaped roof covered in solar panels which will generate 600MW/hour, and there will be 4200m² of gardens around it. They appear to be trying to integrate man and nature with the environment they will create. Sounds more relaxing than the average train station!

Now it's the turn of The Express to praise the city of Nice, naming it "one of Europe's most walkable destinations". Can't say I disagree.

Though the ski resorts near Nice don't open for another week, 18th November, there was a heavy snow fall to the ski slops in advance of the opening which the local papers have been sharing photos of. It is looking good for the opening of Valberg, Auron and Isola2000.

Easyjet is starting three new destinations from Nice next year, two in Spain and one in Greece. They will be Alicante from the 5th April, Malaga from the 2nd June, and the island Cephalonia to the west of the Greek mainland.

The AirBnb-style key boxes stuck onto public walls have always been illegal but have continued to proliferate and can now be found on sign posts, bike parkings, and building railings. The Mayor has declared that enough is enough. Starting now, all the keyboxes will get a red sticker with the date written on it, and a notice that they have 15 days to remove it. If it's not gone then it will be cut off and confiscated. You can apply to recover it but it will require a few hoops to jump through including a copy of your title deeds. The Mayor is keen to stress it's nothing to do with AirBnb but what he considers a blight on Nice streets that are an eyesore and an unauthorised abuse of public property. You have been warned!

Another enthusiastic piece from CNN about the French Riviera. A lot of focus on Nice but a few other places get an honourable mention.