Villefranche-sur-Mer is a small beach resort and residential town (popn 30,000) on the French Riviera. The deep water harbour is home to Mediterranean cruise boats, whose tenders routinely disgorge several thousand passengers on organised trips to nearby Eze Village and Monaco. It sports excellent restaurants and a coarse sandy beach much favoured over Nice's stony bay. Convenient harbour car parking attracts visitors from Monaco and along the Riviera. The Citadelle st Elme dates back to antiquity and the town offers easy access to the millionaires peninsula of St Jean Cap Ferrat.
The city limits extend to the hills surrounding the bay climbing from sea level to an altitude of 520 m (1750 ft) at Mont-Leuze, reflecting on land the features found offshore. The three "Corniches" or main roads linking Nice to Italy pass through Villefranche and offer spectacular vistas of the coast and surrounding hills.
PLACE TO VISIT
Église Saint-Michel - in the heart of old town, was built in the 1750s in the baroque Italian-style where originally stood a more modest early fourteenth century church. It houses various works of art, notably a large Saint Michael painting above the marble main altar, a recumbent sculpture Christ (18th century) known as the”’’’Christ of the Galleys’’’”and a polychrome wooden statue of San Rocco. The organ built by the Grinda Brothers in 1790 is one of the oldest of the County of Nice still in operation. The building was included in the French Historic Sites Registry in 1990.
The Chapelle Saint-Pierre - dates from the sixteenth century. Used as a storeroom for local fishermen's nets and equipment for most of the 19th and early part of the 20th century, it was restored in 1957 with Jean Cocteau adding his now-famous murals depicting the life of the saint and of local fishermen. The building was included in the French Historic Sites Registry in 1995.
The old harbour of la Darse - dates back to the 17th century. Built originally for the galleys of the Duke of Savoy, it is now a marina with dockyard activities for yachts. It is also the site of the oceanographic observatory Observatoire Oceanologique de Villefranche of the Pierre and Marie Curie University of Paris.
The Citadel - built in 1557 now houses the Town Hall, a convention centre, three museums and an open air theatre.
The Rue Obscure - or “Dark Street” is a passage way under the harbour front houses which dates back to 1260.
Villa Léopolda - on the hills surrounding was once the residence of King Leopold II of Belgium and has been tagged as “the most expensive house in the world”.
The Beach - Villefranche is a great day trip from Nice because of its proximity, size and beach. It's still not a fine sand, but much better than the smooth stones that make up Nice's beaches. Additionally, because the town is quite small, there are next to no tourists clogging up the quaint, waterfront town. With this said the beach is very busy in the high season and very narrow so space is limited.
HOW TO REACH
The route by car from the Basse Corniche down to the old town and waterfront is very tricky in the high season due to the narrow streets and heavy traffic, coaches etc. When you arrive you will also find it difficult and expensive to park. The best way to get to Villefranche is by taking a TER train. They run along the coastal towns between Nice and Monaco, making several stops along the way. Tickets are very cheap (for an adult from Nice to Villefranche is 1.50 Euro) and can be purchased and then used at any time, unlike the more strict TGV in France. Trains run everyday and arrive in Villefranche approximately every 20 minutes, depending on the time of day. The station is in the centre and an easy walk to the old town.
