The Carre d’Argent lies the other side of the Avenue Jean Medecin tram line to the Carre d’Or, and is perfectly placed between the city centre and the Old Town and Port. The Nicois-style buildings are lined with shops and restaurants, and everything you need is within a five minute walk.

This area is one of the best located in Nice. Though the Carre d’Or may be closer to the beach, and the Musicians Quarter may have a more spectacular array of architecture, this area is situated right in the middle of all the places you want to be. Five minutes walk south takes you to the Old Town, and just past that either the Port or the beach. Five minutes walk east takes you to Place Massena and all the shopping districts. And five minutes walk west takes you to the Acropolis, with all the conference and entertainment complexes that come with it.

For rental it is a very good location for its proximity to the Old Town but remaining outside of the crowded streets. The Acropolis next door, with all its international conferences, makes it perfect for corporate rental. It may not be as well known as the Carre d’Or but the better value for money properties mean yield should be equally good. For a holiday home, the location is hard to beat. It is perfect for a weekend as well as extended stays.

The architecture is mostly traditional Nicois, build from solid stone, and built between the 1880s and 1920s. Not all buildings have lifts. There are no terraces you can dine out on but plenty of small balconies enough for a small table and a couple of chairs to breakfast or enjoy a glass of wine.

The area does not have an official name, the Carre d’Argent is one we coined at Med In Heaven for our clients to easily identify it. The reasons for this name are that it is like the Carre d’Or but a bit cheaper, and it is popular with the older generation because everything is such a short walk.

The difficulty with this area is that when somebody moves there, they are reluctant to leave. We have trouble sourcing properties in this area and they sell quickly to locals. The most sought after property here would be a two bedroom apartment on the third or fourth floor, 70-80 sqm, a small balcony, and priced around €300,000. A one bedroom would be around €240,000.

Key roads

• Boulevard Dubouchage – the continuation of the prestigious Boulevard Victor Hugo, this wide leafy road is prestigious and priciest. A mix of modern and bourgeois, it has some of the grandest buildings in this area.
• Rue Pastorelli – one of the more commercial and busy of the roads, and home to one of the few new builds in the city centre.
• Rue Hotel des Postes – full of book shops and art stores, it has very traditional Nicois architecture.
• Rue Gioffredo – very similar to Rue Hotel des Postes, and slightly better known, it is full of small cafes and boutiques.

Each of the perpendicular roads has their own unique character. For more information about any particular road please contact us. The restaurants are very local in character and most of them do a dish of the day for around €10. Unlike the other areas, do not expect to hear anything other than French here!