Nice is the fifth most populous city in France and the capital of the Alpes-Maritimes départmenet. The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of about 1 million on an area of 721 km2 (278 sq mi). Located in the French Riviera, on the south east coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea, at the foot of the Alps. Nice is the second-largest French city on the Mediterranean coast and the second-largest city in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region after Marseille. Nice is about 13 kilometres (8 miles) from the principality of Monaco, and its Airport is a gateway to the principality as well.
The city is nicknamed Nice la Belle, Nice the Beautiful, which is also the title of the unofficial anthem of Nice, written by menica Rondelly in 1912.