The small coastal town of Villefranche-sur-Mer, just east of Nice, is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Riviera. Villefranche is well-protected in the deepest bay on the Riviera, flanked by the beautiful 'millionaire peninsula' of Cap-Ferrat, where kings, princes and other wealthy people have had their holiday residences for centuries.
Read more about Villefranche-sur-Mer All holiday homes in Villefranche-sur-MerAs well as being one of the bases for the French Mediterranean fleet, Villefranche's deep bay makes it a popular destination for cruise ships. The large cruise ships dock here for 24 hours and take their guests by bus to Nice, Cannes or Monaco. Many of the cruise ship guests stay overnight in Villefranche, but fortunately this hasn't spoilt the charm of the town.
The old town, with its tall, pastel-colored buildings in typical Italian style, exudes a French Mediterranean atmosphere. There's plenty of life and atmosphere between the shutters and balconies, in the narrow staircases, under the archways and in the small shady squares. The streets are lined with small, cosy shops, restaurants, and cafés.
By the harbour is a small medieval chapel, the "Chapelle Saint-Pierre", who’s interior and walls are decorated with elaborate frescoes by Jean Cocteau. The "Citadelle de St-Elme" is a 16th century bastion and is protected as a "monument historique". In addition to the town hall and a congress centre, there are several galleries, a chapel, and an open-air theatre. Steep staircases lead up from the harbour and turn into tunnels beneath the densely packed buildings. The "Rue Obscure" under the arches has sheltered the city's inhabitants from bombs for centuries, most recently during the Second World War.
If you venture to the top of the town, you will be rewarded with one of the finest views on the coast, across the bay to the Cap-Ferrat peninsula, which juts gracefully into the sea. Restaurants with their colorful awnings line the beautiful promenade. At the bottom of the bay, there is a small beach with a mixture of sand and pebbles. The water is crystal clear.
It's easy to get to and from Villefranche by public transport - in fact, it's recommended so you don't have to worry about finding a place to park your car, which can be a problem during the summer season. The train station is just above the beach, and it takes just 7 minutes to get to and from Nice.
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The Riviera’s third largest town. The old town in Antibes is highly interesting with its covered market, beautiful marina, Picasso museum and Marineland, with dolphins and killer whales.
A very popular, medieval village in the department of Alpes Maritimes, best known for its glassware. Here one can also find a very interesting Fernand Léger-museum.
Cagnes-sur-Mer, situated between Nice and Antibes, first of all offers a magnificent, fortified old quarter, Haut-de-Cagnes, perched high up on top of a small rock. The town is intersected by steep, winding streets and stairways and a multitude of small, idyllic squares. At the top of the town you will find the ancient Grimaldi castle from the 14th century.
The most fashionable town on the French Riviera with its long elegant promenade La Croisette and the luxurious Hotel Carlton. Lying across from Cannes is Iles de Lérins, two charming flower filled little islands, Ste-Marguerite and St-Honoret. Ste-Marguerite, the island closest to the mainland is almost covered in pine forest. It is particularly renowned because of ”the man with the iron mask” who was imprisoned here and whose identity is still unknown. At St-Honoret there is a beautiful old monastery, dating from the 11th century. In earlier times, St-Honoret was a religious centre for southern Europe and the monastery owned most of the land along the Mediterranean including Cannes. The island is still inhabited by monks. A museum and a church can be visited by the public.
Has almost grown together with the neighbouring town St-Raphaël. In Fréjus one can find a characteristic French promenade with nice, little cafés and a multitude of restaurants, bars and discos, seething with life every night. The marina is the normal meeting point in the evenings, and here there is a really good atmosphere. In Fréjus there are quite a few Roman monuments, among other things a small arena which is still used for concerts and bullfights. One can also find a big amusement park with a Marineland.
Golfe Juan, situated between Cannes and Antibes, offers one of the very best beaches on the French Riviera, an impressive marina, restaurants, cafés and boutiques. It was also here Napoleon landed in 1815, when escaping from Elba. In Golfe Juan there is a 5 hectares public park, Exflora Park, showing different Mediterranean gardens exactly as they were in Roman Times and in the sumptuous 19th century.
Situated between Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Var. The breathtaking canyon, Gorges du Verdon, is one of Europe’s greatest nature wonders - an outstanding nature experience that one must experience. At the Verdon river, which is cutting 700 metres down into the cliff, one can go hiking, climbing, canoeing and rafting.
The French centre for perfumes, producing perfume extracts and essences. Grasse is beautifully situated at 333 metres altitude, in the hinterland of Cannes. The old city is very exciting with a labyrinth of streets and narrow passages. Here, there is a multitude of small, interesting boutiques.
A popular beach resort beside Antibes. Juan-les-Pins is a town for young people with its many boutiques, restaurants, bars, nightclubs and a casino.
Le Cannet is perched high up above Cannes, and enjoys, for this reason, a fantastic panorama of the bay of Cannes and the island group, Îles de Lérins. Le Cannet is especially well known for its artists’ quarter which is dominated by art craft workshops and galleries. It is an extremely nice and picturesque old town with skilfully restored houses, narrow, steep streets with numerous small, homely restaurants and cafés.
Mandelieu-la-Napoule is a beach resort between Cannes and Fréjus. It has good beaches, a nice marina, lots of restaurants and cafés and a huge variety of water sports.
The Principality of Monaco (pop.: 31,842) is a sovereign state lying out to the Mediterranean and surrounded by the French Alpes Maritimes department. Its geographical extent of 2 km² makes Monaco the world’s smallest country. Monaco is nicknamed The Mediterranean Manhattan as it is packed with sky scrapers and sumptuous villas. It is a constitutional monarchy and Prince Albert’s family, the Grimaldies, have reigned in Monaco since 1297. Monaco consists of three towns: The old town, Monaco-Ville, with the Royal Palace on top of a cliff, Monte-Carlo with its very famous Casino and the residential area la Condamine, with its big marina.
A fantastic, medieval mountain village beautifully situated. Here one can also find one of the most famous restaurants in France, Moulin de Mougins.
The main city in the department of Alpes Maritimes, France’s fifth biggest city and the most important city on the Riviera. Famous for its beautiful location by the Baie des Anges, surrounded by mountains, Nice first of all offers a very interesting old city, the magnificent promenade, Promenade des Anglais, the museum of modern art and Chagall and Matisse museums.
The artists’ town, St-Paul-de-Vence, is one of the prettiest and most picturesque villages in the region. Here one can find Auberge Colombe d’Or, one of southern France’s most famous restaurants.
This town has almost grown together with the neighbouring town, Fréjus. Since the middle of the 19th century St-Raphaël has been a popular holiday resort with nice, sandy beaches, marina and good shopping facilities. It was at this place Napoleon landed on his way back from Egypt in 1799, and so did the French- American troupes in 1944. One of the greatest sights in the town is a Templar’s church, dating back to the 12th century.
Originally St-Tropez was a small, humble, fishing village, until Brigitte Bardot, Françoise Sagan and other celebrities discovered the town in the 1950’s and pulled in the whole jet set. In high season (August), around 80,000 tourists arrive at this extraordinary holiday resort. Despite this “big circus” in the summer, the town is definitely worth a visit.
A most charming medieval village, situated between Cannes and Nice, only 14 km from the coast. It is renowned for its culture of violets. Tourrettes-sur-Loup is very much worth a visit.
A nice medieval village in the hinterland of Cannes. The town is enclosed by fortified houses and the streets are laid out in symmetric rectangles, a phenomenon not often seen in this region.
Vallauris has been a city with pottery traditions ever since Roman Times., traditions which were later carried on by Italian potters from Grasse. Picasso has also worked in a pottery in this town. Today the town houses an exciting Picasso museum: http://www.musee-picasso-vallauris.fr/
Vence, like St-Paul-de-Vence, is one of the really big pearls in the hinterland of Nice and Cannes and has also one of the most beautiful locations. The town’s greatest tourist attraction is the Chapelle du Rosaire, better known as the Matisse chapel.