Promenade des Anglais, Nice

In the early 19th century, wealthy English aristocrats began wintering in the mild climate of Nice, then part of the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1822, to give work to the poor during a harsh winter, the English colony funded a seafront walkway, which locals gratefully named the 'Chemin des Anglais'—the Promenade des Anglais. It became the beating heart of the emerging Côte d'Azur, drawing royalty, writers and painters to its Belle Époque hotels like the Negresco. Nice itself became French only in 1860. On Bastille Day, 14 July 2016, the promenade was the scene of a terrorist truck attack that killed 86 people—a modern scar on this symbol of leisure and light.