Vieux Nice ochre lanes

Vieux Nice is closer to Genoa than to Paris: tall facades in ochre, terracotta and deep red, green shutters, lanes so narrow the light arrives in shafts. Work the stretch between Place Rossetti — where the cathedral facade and the gelato terraces open the frame up — and the lanes running down toward Cours Saleya, whose flower market adds colour at ground level every morning except Monday, when the antiques dealers take over.

Morning is the working window twice over: the lanes are quiet before the shops open, and the high coloured walls bounce light down between them so the whole quarter behaves like a warm reflector — flattering, soft, workable even as the sun climbs. By late morning delivery trolleys, café terraces and shoppers own the ground level.

The quarter is compact — everything is five minutes from everything — so shoot it as a wander rather than a checklist, and let doorways, laundry lines and shafts of light set the stops. Keep frames tight and vertical: these lanes are about height, not width.