Nice

Uncovering the hidden underbelly of the French Riviera requires looking past the sun-drenched promenades and pastel facades. Documented tragedies echo through the stone staircases of the old town, dating back to the catastrophic earthquake of February 23, 1887, which leveled buildings across the Alpes-Maritimes and sent tremors of panic through the community. As a paranormal investigator who has spent decades shining ultraviolet light into the darkest corners of European antiquity, I can tell you that Nice holds onto its trauma with a tenacity that rivals any haunted castle in Scotland or abandoned asylum in the United States . The Dark History of Nice # Plagues, invasions, and seismic disasters have shaped this coastline since the Middle Ages. In 1543, a combined Franco-Ottoman fleet laid siege to the city, battering the ancient ramparts and leaving a trail of devastation in their wake. While the fortress on the hill held out—famously defended by the local peasant woman Segurane, who struck down an invading standard-bearer with a laundry washboard—the civilian population suffered immensely from disease and starvation inside the besieged walls.