A small 20 page brochure published by the Vence Tourist Office sometime in the late 1930s.
This is a wonderful little tourist brochure published by the Syndicat d’Initiative (Tourist Office) sometime in the late 1930s. It measures 11cm by 24cm and is 20 pages long. It contains several beautiful drawings by Georges Laurent.
The Vence Tourist Office released various brochures, booklets and books about the town over the years. Some were small and simple, others were much larger and contained tons of information. This little brochure probably falls somewhere in the midddle.
The booklet contains a short introduction to Vence as well as a list of sites, monuments, promenades, excursions, and “distractions” (arts, sports, etc.). It’s clearly aimed at casual tourists who are looking to visit the town for a short period.
Several pages are devoted to listings of various services including:
Autocars
Hotels
Guesthouses
Furnished Rentals
Restaurants, Cafes & Bars
Garages
Real Estate Agents
Banks
Bookstores
Doctors & Dentists
Pharmacies
Grocery Stores & Bakeries
and more
The booklet is in French. One of these days I’ll get around to translating it and I’ll add that version here when I do.
Download a very high quality PDF reproduction of the booklet (17mb)
Download a high quality PDF reproduction of the booklet (2mb)
[click on any image to see sample pages of the booklet]
Just discovered your Posts and read how you got there. I will read more with interest for sure. I have been going to that area since 1988 or so as I worked at IBM until 2005 and until a few years ago, they were over just east of LaGaude. But it wasn’t all work, lots of side trips around there as well as all over France. I live in Austin so we have a connection. Retired for 20 years now and not getting back to that area lately (very sad indeed!), I still dream of driving around as I used to. I have written short pieces on the US writers/expats of the 1920s there in the Cote d’Azur area, especially Fitzgerald and Hemingway. Do you know about the Murphys down at the Cap d’Antibes in the 20s? I have been studying them since seeing their villa there in 1988. Write me if you want to know more. Vence is a great place for sure!! I look forward to reading more of your work. Tom
Hi Tom! Thanks for the message. I look forward to reading some of your work on the writers, I’ll contact you directly. Steve