Impressive 100 page booklet by the Syndicat d’Initiative (Tourist Office) from 1924 jam-packed with tons of information about Vence.
Here’s another extensive guide book to Vence published by the Office de Tourisme, then known as the Syndicat d’Initiative, this one from September 1924. I’ve published a download of another one from the 1930s in the downloads section of our website.
The book is in very good condition though there are some old pencil marks on the cover and the front inside page (looks like a child’s scribbling). It measures about 10.5cm wide by 16cm tall and includes a variety of black and white photos and images.
With 100 pages it is packed full of useful information about Vence. One of the things I find most fascinating about this particular book are the ads. There are a lot of full and partial page ads for various hotels, patisseries, real estate agents, cafés and other businesses. It really gives you a snapshot of what the commercial side of Vence was like at the time and it’s quite interesting to read the ads and see how different businesses were presenting themselves at the time.
The book contains sections and information on:
Vence and its surroundings
The cathedral
The climate
City landmarks
The water
Hotels, pensions and villas
Festivals and celebrations
Nearby hikes and excursions
Sporting activities
Nearby villages
and more
At some point I hope to translate this book and create an English version of it, but that will be a lot of work, so it probably won’t happen any time soon. For now you can download it in its original French form.
Download a high quality PDF of this book (236mb)
Download a very good quality PDF of this book (43mb)
[click on any image to see sample pages]