A captivating village set in a magnificent bay
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| Villefranche-sur-Mer |
The small hillside harbor of Villefranche is truly a picture-perfect jewel of the French Riviera, known to the French as Côte d'Azur.
Villefranche is only a few kilometers away, east of Nice. Hidden deep in its bay, Villefranche is a
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| A painter's corner |
place offering a natural harbor. It has remained a picturesque village set away from the assaults of the pirates of yesteryear or the angry whims of Neptune.
A magnificent bay and a fascinating medieval village remain its best two assets. Villefranche is filled with a great Mediterranean charm.
From Nice to Italy, the coast is known as la Corniche. It is where the Alpine mountain range encounters the blue Mediterranean in a spectacular coastline. The bay of Villefranche is not only naturally protected, but it is also the deepest anchorage in the whole area. Already known to the Greeks and the Romans, it has now become a favorite place for visiting cruise ships and a favorite harbor for the US Navy in the Mediterranean.
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| Jean Cocteau |
The bay is tightly stretching between Mount Boron on the western side and Cap Ferrat, a long and narrow peninsula on the opposite eastern side. The Cape has long been a notorious resort for the rich and wealthy. This is the case with Tina Turner (Villefranche) or Bill Gates (St.-Jean-Cap-Ferrat). Roger Moore (1917-2017) was also a former resident. Some of the most extravagant villas on the Riviera have been built there and they still seem to be out of a Francis Scott Fitzgerald's novel (1896-1940) like 'Tender is the Night' (1934). Indeed, there is still La Villa Mauresque where the British writer Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) lived at the end of his life. The Renaissance-type Villa & Garden Ephrussi at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is another example of past grandeur. A visit to Villa Kerylos at nearby Beaulieu-sur-Mer, recalls that the Greeks were familiar with the whole area. After all, the Greeks founded the city of Nice in 350 B.C., calling it Nikaia (Νίκαια) in honor of the Greek goddess of victory, Nike (Νίκη).
Protected by an imposing fortress, the old village has remained remarkably authentic. In the Middle
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| St.-Jean-des-Pêcheurs |
Ages, it was granted as a 'free town' (hence its name in French, 'Ville franche'). But its fame suddenly flourished at the turn of the century, when some Parisian or foreign personalities started to settle here either to live or simply on holiday. Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) may have been the top celebrity to help to make it famous. He designed, in particular, a chapel on the harbor seafront (Chapelle Saint-Pierre-des-Pêcheurs). Villefranche is also the place where his movie 'Le Testament d'Orphée' was made.
But since, the natural geography of the place, as well as its relative seclusion, have restrained its development, it has remained one of the most picturesque places on the French Riviera. The colorful house row on the seafront may have inspired Walt Disney, but it remains a great place
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| At the harbor side |
to chill out at a café, sitting right next to the harbor fishing-boats. The old, traditional village with its narrow alleys and hill-stairs is totally deprived of any traffic, making it a visitor's haven. Yet some ignore the existence of a remarkable underway almost entirely covered by old constructions recalling a souk out of the northern coast of Africa rather than the Riviera! A totally unexpected oddity that many simply bypass for ignoring its existence!
What truly makes Villefranche-Sur-Mer so captivating is the fact that it is deprived of all the urban glamor found on other Riviera's resorts like Cannes or Antibes. It has retained the quiet and pleasant atmosphere of a fishing port in spite of it all.
Christian Sorand
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| A typical hill street |
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| Uphill stairs |
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| Colorful façades on the harbor quay |
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| At the uphill Church square |
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| Down at the fishing harbor |
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| Town architecture |
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| A hidden street passage |
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| Light pit among ancient houses |
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| Another covered alley |
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| Partial view of the Bay of Villefranche |
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