Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Blue Train) made its first run from Calais, via Paris, to the coast. The train only had 1st-
class carriages and was quickly dubbed the 'train to paradise'.
The roaring twenties hailed the start of the summer season on the Côte d'Azur. Outdoor
swimming pools were built, sandy beaches cleared of seaweed, and sunbathing sprang in-
to fashion after a bronzed Coco Chanel appeared on the coast in 1923, draped over the
arm of the Duke of Westminster. France lifted its ban on gambling, prompting the first
casino to open on the coast in the Palais de la Méditerranée (today a hotel) on Nice's
promenade des Anglais in 1927. With the advent of paid holidays for all French workers
in 1936, even more tourists flocked to the region. Second- and 3rd-class seating were ad-
ded to the
Train Bleu
.
ENTER THE BIKINI
Almost called
atome
(French for atom) rather than bikini after its pinprick size, the scanty little two-piece bathing
suit was the 1946 creation of Cannes fashion designer Jacques Heim and automotive engineer Louis Réard. Top-
and-bottom swimsuits had existed for centuries, but it was the French duo who plumped for the name bikini -
after Bikini, an atoll in the Marshall Islands chosen by the USA in 1946 as a testing ground for atomic bombs.
Once wrapped around the curvaceous rear of 1950s sex-bomb Brigitte Bardot on St-Tropez's Plage de
Pampelonne, there was no looking back. The bikini was born.
WWII
With the onset of war, the Côte d'Azur's glory days turned grey. On 3 September 1939
France and Britain declared war on Germany. But following the armistice treaty agreed
with Hitler on 22 June 1940, southern France fell into the 'free' Vichy France zone, al-
though Menton and the Vallée de La Roya were occupied by Italians. The Côte d'Azur -
particularly Nice - immediately became a safe haven from war-torn occupied France; by
1942 some 43,000 Jews had descended on the coast to seek refuge. Monaco remained
neutral for the duration of WWII.
On 11 November 1942 Nazi Germany in-
vaded Vichy France. Provence was at war. At
Toulon 73 ships, cruisers, destroyers and sub-
marines - the major part of the French fleet -
were scuttled by their crews to prevent the
Germans seizing them. Almost immediately,
Villa Air-Bel: WWII, Escape & a House in Mar-
seille
by Rosemary Sullivan is a compelling book
based on the true story of American heiress Varian
