Rolling hills and colorful terraces overlooking the emerald Mediterranean sea, Villefranche-Sur -Mer is a stunning village between Monte Carlo and Nice in the French Rivera, a harbor town, and a Mediterranean resort.

History

The harbor is one of the most beautiful ports on the Mediterranean, sitting on Mount Baron founded by Charles II Anjou Count of Provence in 1295, according to the Bureau D’Information Touristique De Villefranche-Sur-Mer. Fishermen border the fishing piers, and the port attracts numerous cruise ships in the summer.

Villefranche-Sur-Mer has the best weather in France, with over 300 days of sunshine year-round. It is also less crowded than Monaco and Nice. Explore the old town with intricate steep, cobblestone streets with limited automobile traffic access.

The massive citadel walls on the water’s edge were built in 1557 by the Duke of Savoy Emanuel Phillibert. The Promenade des Marinieres stretches along the waterfront, lining the north side of the bay.

Villefranche Must-sees

The Eglise Saint-Michel was built in 1750 in the heart of the old town in a baroque Italian style with an interior of various works of art, particularly a large Saint Michael painting above the main marble altar, an 18th-century life-sized Christ sculpture and a polychrome wooden statue of San Rocco.

The Grinda Brothers built the organ in 1790, one of the oldest in town that still works. Up the street in the old town is the 14th-century tiny chapel of Chappelle St. Pierre; the walls are well-preserved chalk frescoes and a mural depicting Villafranche’s people who founded the sea report.

Artist Jean Cocteau restored the old church in 1957 and celebrated with his friends in Villefranche. The art and history museum exhibits the Goetz Boumeester collections of Picasso and Picabia, and the Foundation Musee Volti exhibits contemporary sculptures.

After a day of exploring the town, galleries and exhibits, enjoy the favors of Mediterranean cuisine waterfront restaurants.

Tips to get around Villefranche and the French Riviera

You can walk around the town of Villefranche visting shops and stopping at restaurants within walking distance. You can rent a car or take a train from the Ville-Nice train station to see Nice and Monaco.