What do you think?
Rate this book
High Season in Nice
Nice is the queen of the Cote d'Azur. Founded by the Greeks some time after the 6th century BC, it has borne the tread of Roman legionnaires and Italy-bound Englishmen on the Grand Tour as well as Lost Generation literati from Hemingway to Fitzgerald. Since the late 19th century it has been known as a "pleasure capital", and now tourism is its beating heart. But how did this happen? What was it that changed not just Nice or the French Riviera, but our leisure habits as a whole? This is a book about pleasure and escape - about what five months or five days in a strikingly beautiful, foreign place, wrested from lives choked with stress and toil back home, meant to a few wealthy people 250 years ago, and mean to millions more of more modest means today. It is about how modern tourism got the way it did. It is about how Nice and the Riviera became what they are; and about the price they paid to do so.
318 pages, Paperback
First published January 17, 2013
3 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Robert Kanigel
21 books135 followersRobert Kanigel was born in Brooklyn, but for most of his adult life has lived in Baltimore. He has written nine books.
"The Man Who Knew Infinity," his second book, was named a National Book Critics Circle finalist, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, and a New York Public Library "Book to Remember." It has been translated into Italian, German, Polish, Greek, Chinese, Thai, and many other languages, and has been made into a feature film, starring Jeremy Irons and Dev Patel, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015.
Kanigel's 2012 book, "On an Irish Island," set on a windswept island village off the coast of Ireland, was nurtured by a Guggenheim fellowship and later awarded the Michael J. Durkan Prize by the American Conference for Irish Studies.
"Eyes on the Street," his biography of Jane Jacobs, the far-seeing author of "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" and fearless champion of big-city life, was published by Knopf in 2016.
His most recent book, "Hearing Homer's Song: The Brief Life and Big Idea of Milman Parry," is a biography of the man who revolutionized our understanding of the Homeric epics. In support of this project Kanigel was awarded an NEH Public Scholar award.
"The Man Who Knew Infinity," his second book, was named a National Book Critics Circle finalist, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, and a New York Public Library "Book to Remember." It has been translated into Italian, German, Polish, Greek, Chinese, Thai, and many other languages, and has been made into a feature film, starring Jeremy Irons and Dev Patel, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015.
Kanigel's 2012 book, "On an Irish Island," set on a windswept island village off the coast of Ireland, was nurtured by a Guggenheim fellowship and later awarded the Michael J. Durkan Prize by the American Conference for Irish Studies.
"Eyes on the Street," his biography of Jane Jacobs, the far-seeing author of "The Death and Life of Great American Cities" and fearless champion of big-city life, was published by Knopf in 2016.
His most recent book, "Hearing Homer's Song: The Brief Life and Big Idea of Milman Parry," is a biography of the man who revolutionized our understanding of the Homeric epics. In support of this project Kanigel was awarded an NEH Public Scholar award.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 5, 2016
This was one of those cases where I probably could have found a better book for research. I picked this up after the truck attack in Nice to learn more about how the French Riviera became the tourist mecca it is today. It was fine for a brief overview, but the writing was terrible and I couldn't wait to be done with the book. I wanted more than peoples vacation diary entries.
After the attack France seemed more than ever to claim Nice as its own, even though for most of its history it had no national identity. The tourist industry plays a huge role in incorporating localities like Nice and Cannes for the economic benefits, so right away you heard every country in the West mourning the spoiling of such a mythical place.
Another place exists that is as well known but not for vacationers. Only refugees are drawn to the slum of Calais, where some get trapped between borders and lose all hope of making it to a safer destination. Yet people still wonder what motivates terrorists.
It will be interesting to see how the ongoing attacks in Europe affect places like Nice economically. Could this be the beginning of the end for the kitschy tourist Riviera? One can only hope!
After the attack France seemed more than ever to claim Nice as its own, even though for most of its history it had no national identity. The tourist industry plays a huge role in incorporating localities like Nice and Cannes for the economic benefits, so right away you heard every country in the West mourning the spoiling of such a mythical place.
Another place exists that is as well known but not for vacationers. Only refugees are drawn to the slum of Calais, where some get trapped between borders and lose all hope of making it to a safer destination. Yet people still wonder what motivates terrorists.
It will be interesting to see how the ongoing attacks in Europe affect places like Nice economically. Could this be the beginning of the end for the kitschy tourist Riviera? One can only hope!
March 18, 2011
Since I spent a few weeks in Nice every summer, I'm always looking for "new" books about the city or the region ("new" obviously refering to books I haven't read yet, not necessarily recently published books). So when Amazon in its infinite wisdom brought on my an intimate knowledge of my shopping preferences (I swear their software knows me better than I know myself), suggested this book to me, I more or less bought it without knowing, or caring, what it was about, thinking it was just a novel about Nice that I hadn't read yet.
Which is why I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it wasn't a novel at all, but more of a history book (albeit a rather unscientific and easy-to-read one). And it isn't a book about the history of Nice as such, but about the history of tourism in Nice.
How delightful! ;-) (sorry, but thinking back to the book, I could not help but channel my inner British millionaire at a tea-party-Self)
And as such, I can very much recommend it to any fans of Nice or the Cote D'Azur. Kanigel has collected lots of interesting information about the area and knows how to tell it in an easy, but still entertaining enough even for the more intellectual minds amongs us, writing style, following historical facts with anecdotes and quotes from travelers of the time. Even as a long-time Nice-traveler who has reads lots of books about the city and the French Riviera, the book contained quite a few bits of interesting and new information for me.
Perfect reading for a beach day (I could tell you where I go, but then my secret perfect beach wouldn't be a secret anymore), or for a nighttime read on your balcony overlooking Place Rosetti, with a glass (or two) of red wine as company. (and then someone else, I hope, because you'll want to read quotes from the book to them).
Or I guess you could also read it at home, wherever that is, but really, if the book gives you an excuse to go to Nice, why would you not?
(P.S.: Suggestions of other interesting books about Nice are very welcome)
Which is why I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it wasn't a novel at all, but more of a history book (albeit a rather unscientific and easy-to-read one). And it isn't a book about the history of Nice as such, but about the history of tourism in Nice.
How delightful! ;-) (sorry, but thinking back to the book, I could not help but channel my inner British millionaire at a tea-party-Self)
And as such, I can very much recommend it to any fans of Nice or the Cote D'Azur. Kanigel has collected lots of interesting information about the area and knows how to tell it in an easy, but still entertaining enough even for the more intellectual minds amongs us, writing style, following historical facts with anecdotes and quotes from travelers of the time. Even as a long-time Nice-traveler who has reads lots of books about the city and the French Riviera, the book contained quite a few bits of interesting and new information for me.
Perfect reading for a beach day (I could tell you where I go, but then my secret perfect beach wouldn't be a secret anymore), or for a nighttime read on your balcony overlooking Place Rosetti, with a glass (or two) of red wine as company. (and then someone else, I hope, because you'll want to read quotes from the book to them).
Or I guess you could also read it at home, wherever that is, but really, if the book gives you an excuse to go to Nice, why would you not?
(P.S.: Suggestions of other interesting books about Nice are very welcome)
March 12, 2012
As is the trouble with so many histories of the French Riviera, this one suffers from a lack of things to write about. The author clearly loves Nice, but his effusion does not make up for the utter sameness of his subject matter overtime.
There are a couple of interesting bits: the quotes from journals of Marie Bashkirtseff introduced me to a diarist I must read more of. There are some interesting quotes from other early visitors to Nice that give a vision of the seaside sanatarium of the early 19th century before the arrival of Les Hivernants.
Also of interest are the descriptions of the experience of American infantrymen during the first and second world wars. While the first world war vets seemed to have been well received - the Nicois called them 'Sammies', after Uncle Sam - the vets of the second world war sent to Nice on leave, with out any oversight from Commanding Officers, who were boarded in Cannes, did not behave themselves.
I think this must be the story of all beautiful places: in the beginning, they are beautiful and untouched, inhabited only by natives, themselves picturesque. Then, they are 'discovered' by outsiders, who marvel at this beauty. It's all downhill from there: the wealthy arrive to build their villas to take in the beautiful scenery and picturesque natives, who go to work for the villa owners. Investors come in and build hotels and resorts so that more tourists can marvel at the scenery, which is constantly being buried under more hotels. The tourists, tired of estoficada or whatever delicious local dishes the natives serve, have to bring in their own restaurants and foods. Then the place gets a reputation for being seedy, and some new gimmick must be dreamed up to keep people coming.
Nice can often, in travel guides and travel writing like High Season/i> and conversations with travelers, come off as the Jersey shore of the Mediterranean (though, admittedly, Avalon doesn't have a Matisse Museum. Or an opera house. Or a Chagall museum. Or roman ruins.) It's true, last fall, when we were walking down the Boulevard Jean Jaures and passed 'McMahon's Pub' and it's neighbor 'Planet Sushi', I got a little sad for the sameness that's been inflicted on us: I could have seen those two shops right next to each other in Center City Philadelphia. But then we turned off into the old city, the Vieux Ville, and got lost on purpose - climbing up and down staircase-streets that weren't more than five feet wide, dividing houses piled one on top of the other, tumbling, almost, to the sea. I didn't find that in Philly. The beach is pure heaven, especially if, like me, you hate being covered in sand, and the water is so salty you bob like a cork and the views from the sea are just the most beautiful.
There are a couple of interesting bits: the quotes from journals of Marie Bashkirtseff introduced me to a diarist I must read more of. There are some interesting quotes from other early visitors to Nice that give a vision of the seaside sanatarium of the early 19th century before the arrival of Les Hivernants.
Also of interest are the descriptions of the experience of American infantrymen during the first and second world wars. While the first world war vets seemed to have been well received - the Nicois called them 'Sammies', after Uncle Sam - the vets of the second world war sent to Nice on leave, with out any oversight from Commanding Officers, who were boarded in Cannes, did not behave themselves.
I think this must be the story of all beautiful places: in the beginning, they are beautiful and untouched, inhabited only by natives, themselves picturesque. Then, they are 'discovered' by outsiders, who marvel at this beauty. It's all downhill from there: the wealthy arrive to build their villas to take in the beautiful scenery and picturesque natives, who go to work for the villa owners. Investors come in and build hotels and resorts so that more tourists can marvel at the scenery, which is constantly being buried under more hotels. The tourists, tired of estoficada or whatever delicious local dishes the natives serve, have to bring in their own restaurants and foods. Then the place gets a reputation for being seedy, and some new gimmick must be dreamed up to keep people coming.
Nice can often, in travel guides and travel writing like High Season/i> and conversations with travelers, come off as the Jersey shore of the Mediterranean (though, admittedly, Avalon doesn't have a Matisse Museum. Or an opera house. Or a Chagall museum. Or roman ruins.) It's true, last fall, when we were walking down the Boulevard Jean Jaures and passed 'McMahon's Pub' and it's neighbor 'Planet Sushi', I got a little sad for the sameness that's been inflicted on us: I could have seen those two shops right next to each other in Center City Philadelphia. But then we turned off into the old city, the Vieux Ville, and got lost on purpose - climbing up and down staircase-streets that weren't more than five feet wide, dividing houses piled one on top of the other, tumbling, almost, to the sea. I didn't find that in Philly. The beach is pure heaven, especially if, like me, you hate being covered in sand, and the water is so salty you bob like a cork and the views from the sea are just the most beautiful.
July 11, 2012
can we talk about nice?
Fun fact #1: in 1936 france allowed workers their first chance at 2 weeks vacation which brought tourists to nice.
Fun Fact #2: The car actually hurt nice tourism because now people could travel elsewhere in the mediterranean instead of nice (where the train brought you)
Fun Fact #3: very sick people used to travel to nice because their doctors told them it was good for their health
(all facts are oversimplified and id like to share more but i think i killed that over the weekend)
sorry to martn, katy, mark, mom, dad, anyone in vicinity of me over the last week or so and had to listen to me drone on about nice... this book will do that to you, as the author certainly does that to his readers.
Because we are traveling to nice in a week i found this to be a good read. if you are not, it will not be. simple as that.
Fun fact #1: in 1936 france allowed workers their first chance at 2 weeks vacation which brought tourists to nice.
Fun Fact #2: The car actually hurt nice tourism because now people could travel elsewhere in the mediterranean instead of nice (where the train brought you)
Fun Fact #3: very sick people used to travel to nice because their doctors told them it was good for their health
(all facts are oversimplified and id like to share more but i think i killed that over the weekend)
sorry to martn, katy, mark, mom, dad, anyone in vicinity of me over the last week or so and had to listen to me drone on about nice... this book will do that to you, as the author certainly does that to his readers.
Because we are traveling to nice in a week i found this to be a good read. if you are not, it will not be. simple as that.
April 28, 2015
This book is very tedious. I read it at a snail's pace because I kept trying to convince myself that the author would develop some verve and breathe even the tiniest bit of life into the history of Nice, but it never happened.
September 3, 2013
I learned a lot about this area where I've been twice. It's amazing to read how difficult it was to get there at all prior to roads of any kind.
September 2, 2016
Peppered with excerpts from diaries and personal correspondence, this book is an interesting look at the rise of tourism over the years in Nice and the French Riviera.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews