First physics with heavy ions in ALICE

An overview of the soft physics observables addressed by the ALICE experiment with the first month of heavy ion (Pb+Pb) data at LHC is given. Emphasis is placed on centrality selection, charged multiplicity distributions, directed and elliptic flow, strange particle and resonance production at low and intermediate transverse momentum. Momentum correlations (HBT) and event-by-event physics are also addressed.