CHAPTER IV 



THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS, NICE-CIMIEZ : DIRECTRESS, 

 THE COMTESSE DE LAGRANGE 



These prettily situated Gardens are well worth a visit, 

 if only for the magnificent views obtainable from them. 

 They can be reached from Nice by excellent electric 

 tramcars having first and second class compartments. 

 (Why are tram-cars so very much better abroad than 

 in England ?) Close by the Gardens is the fine Ex- 

 celsior Regina Hotel, where our late Queen Victoria 

 used to stay. The rooms in the hotel should be 

 visited on the way back from the Gardens ; an ex- 

 cellent lunch can be had there, for the cooking is 

 truly first-rate. 



The Zoological Gardens were founded by the late 

 Comte de Lagrange, a great traveller and naturalist, 

 who died in 1893 at Singapore, at the early age of 

 thirty-six. His widow, the Comtesse de Lagrange, is 

 now sole proprietress and directress. 



The entrance fee is one franc, and one franc for a 

 carriage ; the latter fee can be saved by alighting at 

 the entrance and simply walking in on foot. 



The Gardens are of small extent, and the whole of 

 the animals and birds can be seen in a very short 

 time. 



