The Promenade d’Anglais in the French city of Nice is one of the oldest urban beachfronts in the world. In English, the name translates to Promenade of the English because at the beginning of the early 1800s, primarily British noblemen and aristocrats came here to spend their winter vacations in the warmth of the Mediterranean. Later, the first hotels were built at the sea, and a walkway at the coast came into being. The pictures were shot in February 2019.
The carnival in Nizza has a long-standing tradition, reaching back many decades. Alongside the carnivals in Venice and Rio de Janeiro, it is one of the most famous parades of this kind (Mardi Gras would be another example). It is a festival of lights and flowers, kitschy music, and many weird creatures roaming the streets. There is a lot of dance and fun, and it ends with the burning of a figure resembling a king – the famous burning of the king. Very french. Also, every year, there is another overreaching theme; this time, it was space and sci-fi.
Strasbourg is the largest and most important town of the Alsace region in France, situated at the river Rhein close to Germany. Historically, the region as the town itself was contested between these two major European powers, and both cultures are visible in the urban landscape up until today. Large parts of the old town consist of bourgeois houses with timber framing, which is also characteristic of the neighbouring Schwarzwald region in Germany (pictures 1, 5, 7). On the other hand, other parts of the town, like the Gothic churches and neoclassic museums (photos 3, 4), recall similar buildings in Paris. Strasbourg is a lovely town and indeed an exciting melange of European cultures.
Michael Hoffman Photography 