Quai des États-Unis, quay in Nice, France

The quai des États-Unis is a quay along the eastern shore of the Baie des Anges, between quai Rauba-Capeù and avenue des Phocéens, continued by the Promenade des Anglais. Its roadway is 14.50 metres wide, with two 2-metre pavements, a kerb and a parapet above the sea wall. The photograph shows a paved road with a pale stone kerb, palm trees and a no-parking sign on the right.

After Louis XIV had the city walls demolished in 1706, Nice built a raised terrace along the shore; in 1832 the Consiglio d'Ornato created the quai du Midi, 14.50 m wide, from the Paillon mouth to the porte Marine. Completed terraces in 1848 drew wintering aristocrats until the pont des Anges (1865) shifted walks to the Promenade des Anglais. In 1917 the municipality renamed it quai des États-Unis for the American entry into the war.

Since 2002 the quai has hosted open-air sculpture exhibitions: Niki de Saint Phalle's works appeared in 2002, Pierre Marie Lejeune's in 2005, and Bernar Venet's "Ligne indéterminée" and "Neuf lignes obliques" followed. The monumental blue chair of SAB, the Nice painter Sabine Géraudie, stands here as a symbol of the coast. The Galerie des Ponchettes and Galerie de la Marine border part of the quay.

The quay links the Promenade des Anglais to the avenue des Phocéens at the foot of the castle hill, with the quai Rauba-Capeù continuing beyond. Its roadway is 14.50 m wide, with two 2 m sidewalks and a parapet on the sea wall. Look for the circular no-parking sign with a red slash and white arrow on the right sidewalk, beside the palm trees.

Excavations for the Sulzer car park in 1999 uncovered the foundations of the royal tobacco manufactory built in 1760. The land was later named Esplanade Georges-Pompidou in 2013. Since 2002 the quay has hosted open-air art, including Niki de Saint Phalle's sculptures in 2002 and Bernar Venet's Neuf lignes obliques.