The Observatoire de Nice (Nice Observatory) is located on the summit of Mont Gro

s. The observatory was established in 1879 by the banker Raphal Bischoffsheim. Th

e architect was Charles Garnier, and Gustave Eiffel designed the main dome.
The 76-cm (30-inch) refractor telescope that became operational in 1888 was at t
hat time the world's largest telescope. It was outperformed one year later by th
e 36-inch (91-cm) refractor at the Lick Observatory at University of California,
Santa Cruz.
As a scientific institution, the Nice Observatory was merged with CERGA in 1988
to form the Observatoire de la Cte d'Azur. Many scientific activities still take
place on the Nice Observatory site on Mount Gross above the city including gravi
ty-wave and high-energy astrophysics, astrometric and interferometric astronomy
and planetary science. The city is the namesake for the Nice model, which was de
veloped at the observatory in 2005.
Culture
Nice is one of the oldest human settlements in the world. Terra-Amata, an archae
ological site dating from the Lower Palaeolithic age, is situated near Nice. Nic
e itself was established by the ancient Greeks. There was also an independent Ro
man city, Cemenelum, near Nice, where the hill of Cimiez is located. It is an ar
chaeological site with treasures, of which only a small part has been excavated.
The excavated site includes thermal baths, arenas and Roman road.
Since the 2nd century AD, the light of the city has attracted many famous painte
rs and sculptors such as Chagall, Matisse, Niki de Saint Phalle, Klein, Arman an
d Sosno. Nice inspired many composers and intellectuals in different countries e
.g. Berlioz, Rossini, Nietzsche etc.
Nice also has numerous museums of all kinds: Muse Marc Chagall, Muse Matisse (aren
as of Cimiez containing Roman ruins), Muse des Beaux-Arts, Muse international d'Ar
t naf Anatole Jakovsky, Muse Terra-Amata, Museum of Asian Art, Muse d'art moderne e
t d'art contemporain which devotes much space to the well-known cole of Nice ), Mu
seum of Natural History, Muse Massna, Naval Museum and Galerie des Ponchettes.
Being a vacation resort, Nice hosts many festivals throughout the year, such as
the Carnaval de Nice and the Nice Jazz Festival.
Nice has a distinct culture due to its unique history. The local language Niard (
Nissart) is an Occitan dialect (but some Italian scholars argue that it is a Lig
urian dialect). It is still spoken by a substantial minority. Strong Italian and
(to a lesser extent) Corsican influences make it more intelligible than other e
xtant Provenal dialects.
In the past, Nice welcomed many immigrants from Italy (who continue to make up a
large proportion of the population), as well as Spanish and Portuguese immigran
ts. However, in the past few decades immigration has been opened to include immi
grants from all over the world, particularly those from former Northern and West
ern African colonies, as well as southeast Asia. Traditions are still alive, esp
ecially in folk music and dances. The most famous dance is the farandole.
Since 1860 a cannon (based at the Chteau east of Old Nice) is shot at twelve o'cl
ock sharp. The detonation can be heard almost all over the city. This tradition
goes back to Sir Thomas Coventry, who intended to remind the citizens of having
lunch on time.[21