Chic, 1 bed apartment with terrace , central Nice- 2 minutes from sea

I have just left La Barchetta, our second stay in Jane's chic flat in Central Nice. This is a super little pad that quickly becomes a home from home. That mattered less when we stayed in July 2011, but we brought the English weather to the Rivera this Easter (2012) so there were a couple of evenings when all we wanted to do was hide from the rain and stay off the wet streets. The full length balcony provided ample refuge from the rain but still allowed us to be outside and not get wet.

La Barchetta is located in a lovely part of central Nice, only one building stands between it and the calm aquamarine waters of the Mediterranean sea. One block away is the supermarket and around the corner, literally, are two great bakeries. Nice is wonderfully flat terrain unless you head out towards Mont Boron (recommended) so great if you suffer from limited mobility (the flat has two lifts as well). It takes about ten minutes gentle walk into the main shopping area, another five minutes from there to reach the market square where you will find (in our opinion) Nice's best restaurants. At night the market stalls are put away and the restaurants turn the square into a wonderful patchwork of al fresco eateries. Pizzas, steaks, fine French food and even Indian food can be found here, most at reasonable prices. But if you don't fancy the walk, try the restaurant on the corner of the road opposite the bus stop and Hi Beach, the food is lovely. And having Hi Beach practically on your doorstep is fabulous, especially if you like cocktails while you sunbathe! Whilst there are private beach areas in Nice, every other beach is public so don't listen to the gloom merchants who tell you all beaches are private and expensive; the beach closest to the flat is public and even in July we never struggled to get on it, but they are busy.

Getting to the flat is simple, as it's one building back from the Promenade d'Anglais and the bus stop is one minutes walk away. The buses serve the airport (15 mins into both terminals), Monte Carlo, Cannes, Antibes, Villefranche sur mer (sandy beaches) and many other places. Other than the airport €4 each way per person) the bus is €1 even to Menton, which is practically Italy. We also did the walk from the flat to Villefranche sur mer in about an hour. That is a super walk with dramatic scenery.

The flat itself is a large one bedroomed flat with a terrace running the full length and French doors f