When we think of Casino magnates, we might think of Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn or Sol Kerzner, yet the first true casino magnate was likely the American Frank Jay Gould, who built his casinos in Juans-les-Pins and Nice among other places. France had declared gambling legal in 1907 and Gould joined in the excitement to compete with Monte Carlo. He …
This is the former home of the Klarsfelds (the most successful Nazi hunters in history) which they occupied in Nice on the 30th of September 1943 when the Gestapo, just after midnight, placed its light projectors against the building’s facade and began to systematically search the apartments for Jews they knew were inside. The Germans came to take them away. …
They called them the “Lost Generation”, a term credited to Gertrude Stein who credits it to her car mechanic. This was the generation who came of age during WWI. It was particularly used for a group of artists and writers, particularly American expatriates, who were living in France during the 1920s. Americans have been living in Europe for a long …
Via Nissa annual Bellet Wine tasting and Niçois lunch was held on the 22nd of September 2019. A wonderful event was had by all. The vineyards of Bellet were in the middle of the grape harvest, so the timing was absolutely perfect to experience the Grape Harvest and the vineyard actually working, versus just looking at clean vats and barrels. …
Robert Levitt has published his first article in Nice Matin. You can read the French version here. Jefferson loved France and supported the French revolution. He was a Francophile in every sense of the word. The local ties between Nice and America have always been very strong and it was a man, from nearby Le Bar-sur-Loup, the French admiral Comte …
While we don’t know the date of this postcard, it puts into perspective the popularity of the Promenade des Anglais. It is clearly before WWII as the Germans destroyed the Palais de la Jetée. It was scenes like this which attracted the Jews in 1938-40 who had been expelled from so many places and who finally found the last refuge …
Grasse, perhaps the best smelling town in the world in 2018, was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity for its cultivation of perfume plants, the knowledge of processing natural raw materials and the art of perfume composition. Via Nissa brings you deep into the Perfume Capital of the World, its fields of flowers, perfumeries …
We speak often about our visits and excursions during the primary seasonal months of March through October, yet all year round Via Nissa prepares historical studies, primarily studies on private homes and villas. We research the history of these homes or we do analyses for legal support. Depending on their age, we can focus on the builder and architect or …
While it doesn’t bloom until next June, the lavender fields are always popular for visitors to the Côte d’Azur and Via Nissa is pleased that our visits to the Lavender fields as well as to Grasse, the Perfume Capital of the World and now a UNESCO World Heritage for immaterial patrimony in the know-how of perfume production will be led …
Did you ever wonder why Nice seems to have forgotten the American President Thomas Jefferson? This plaque (dated 2009) was originally on display in Nice but I had never seen it. At the Hotel de York, where Jefferson spent from April 10-13, 1789, there is a plaque, but nothing mentioning Jefferson. And Jefferson was a lover of Bellet wines, buying …
