Nice is nice. That’s something I said at least a few times a day during my month in the unofficial capital of France’s Côte d’Azur. But the reality is that Nice is more than just nice. It’s a really lovely city with natural beauty, good food, and some surprisingly cool history and culture. The odds…
Before coming to Nice, this was not an article remotely on my radar. The only Nicoise food I’d heard of was the same-named salad, a monstrosity of a thing with canned tuna, egg, green beans, tomatoes, and olives. I figured the rest was basic provencale, generic Mediterranean, or cliche French. Heck, even after being here…
There are a lot of things that go wrong during travel. The weather doesn’t cooperate and you do one of the most beautiful drives in fog so thick you can’t see more than a few feet. A museum you desperately want to see is closed for refurbishment unexpectedly. A flight gets canceled, illness pops up,…
Editor’s note: I loved Cartagena after spending two full weeks there in 2024. Colonial history, beauty, and stunning coffee made it a destination absolutely worthwhile. You can read my guide here. I am so glad Sam also enjoyed his time! For more of Sam Spector’s awesome writing, click here to visit his index page. I…
By 1946, Pablo Picasso was probably the most famous artist in the world. His career had stretched from the turn of the century to now, nearly 50 years of periods blue, rose, cubist, and surrealist. He had changed art, had mastered all forms he tried, and had achieved the professional acclaim most artists hadn’t found…
“The pain passes, but the beauty remains.” In the early 1890s, famed French painter Pierre-August Renoir developed severe rheumatoid arthritis. Only in his 50s, recently married to his model Aline Charigot, with one son born and another on the way (he would ultimately have three), he was told to seek warmer climates in the south…
It is less than forty minutes by bus from my apartment in Old Nice, but feels like a world away. Life is slower here in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, and I sip a glass of white wine while waiting for my lunch. Sea birds and pigeons vie for aerial supremacy with wispy clouds, the soft sea breeze floats…
It is hard to be in this place and not have an emotional reaction. The colors on canvas are so vibrant, the themes so recognizable, the small details so impactful, that for anyone - art lover, scholar, or even casual observer - there is something to find that can easily create an intense experience. But…
In 1860, the County of Nice - including the city of Nice, obviously - was ceded to France by the Italian Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia in exchange for France’s support during the (failed, mostly) Second War of Italian Independence. The Treaty of Turin between Victor Emmanuel II and Napoleon III made the southern city and its…
Editor’s note: I spent about a week in Panama City back in 2019, and I think I enjoyed the city and found more going on than Sam Spector seems to. But that’s one of the best parts of travel! Two people can have totally different - but still wonderful - experiences in the same place!…