Statsraad Lehmkuhl visits Nice, France, June 3–13, 2025.
The French riviera is especially nice in June, but that’s not the reason Statsraad Lehmkuhl visits Nice Nice, on the French Riviera, is truly nice, and the French call the city Nice la Belle, meaning “Nice the Beautiful.”
But that’s not the reason Statsraad Lehmkuhl is heading into the Mediterranean. The seawater and environmental conditions in the Mediterranean differ significantly from those in the Atlantic Ocean, something researchers from ESA, NASA, and the Nansen Center are eager to study.
But the ship has another mission, too.
A floating landmark
From June 9–13, the 2025 UN Ocean Conference will be held in Nice. The aim of the conference is to bring together governments, international organizations, scientists, businesses, civil society, and others to accelerate global efforts to protect the ocean.
Statsraad Lehmkuhl will be moored as a striking presence and a meeting point throughout the conference.
From spring to summer
The leg from Reykjavik to Nice is the longest of the entire expedition: 26 days and 3,000 nautical miles. The journey takes the vessel from cool spring in Iceland to sunny and warm summer in southern France.
Nice enjoys a mild and inviting climate year-round, and has been inhabited since as early as 350 BCE. The first settlement was founded by the Greeks and named Nikaia, after the goddess Nike. The city became part of France in 1792, was returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1815, and finally became French again in 1860. Today, the metropolitan area is home to around one million people.
Tourism and trade
In the 18th century, the English upper class began spending their winters in Nice. The seaside promenade is named after these early visitors, Promenade des Anglais, or "Walkway of the English". Today, five million tourists visit the city each year. Nice Airport is one of the busiest in France, and only Paris has more hotels.
Nice is the capital of the Alpes-Maritimes department, and beyond tourism and conferences, the city is a center for administration, commerce, education, and industri related to computing, electronics, pharmacology and biotechnology.
Average maximum temperature in June: 24.7 °C
Average rainfall in May: 35 mm
