The French Riviera on a Beautiful Spring Day

Villefranche, located in Provence on the French Riviera, is a deep-water anchorage that can welcome most cruise ships and even aircraft carriers. It is very close to the town of Nice. As with many other ports I’ve visited so far, Villefranche started with ancient Greeks coming to trade in the 5th century BC, and it was named after the Greek goddess Nike. The Saracens attacked from the sea and kidnapped and sold many women and children into slavery. The rest of the population ran to the countryside for safety and it was 700 years before it was safe to move back to the shore.

The Provence region is where some of France’s finest perfumes are made, with beautiful lavender flower fields all around (in different seasons though – it’s a bit too early for that now). I spent the day touring Nice and Cannes. Nice and Villefranche became a part of France in 1860 and Nice is the fifth largest city in France. Before that the cities were properties of the House of Savoy in Italy. Nice and Villefranche were given to France as a thank-you to Napoleon for helping King Victor Emanuel II, the first king of a united Italy.

The ship in the harbor

There is no flat land in the area; the land goes from the beach to the hills, so land is at a premium. I didn’t get much time to see Villefranche because of a logistical change for excursions. Due to the difficulty getting to the buses in Villefranche (lots of uphill walking, tiny parking lots, lots of people and buses), the ship took us by water shuttle directly to Nice (about 15 minutes away) where we met our bus and started our tour. Once the bus dropped us in the town center, our guide gave us an orientation walk and then set us free to wander and meet back at the bus. I walked through the flower and vegetable market, then along the Promenade des Anglais, a wide boardwalk lined with palm trees along the beachfront. It was a gorgeous, sun-shiny day. The air smelled fresh, the sun was warm, and the breeze was light. Everyone was out and about on a weekday morning. I sat and watched people go by. There were some crazy people ins bathing suits swimming in the sea while other people sat on the shore in winter coats. Cute toddlers walked along with grandparents pushing their empty strollers. Bicyclists abounded. We were warned to watch for both cars and bikes when crossing the road, as neither will stop for pedestrians.

along the Promenade in Nice

Lots of motor bikes here

One of the older style squares in Nice

Flower market showing their wares

Local art

Different flavors of nougat, a very popular sweet

Narrow streets of the old town

Walking along the promenade on a beautiful day

This statue of Apollo was our meeting point

It was time to head back to the bus and on to Cannes (the “s” is silent), playground for the super-rich and super-famous. the host of the international film festival. We had lunch is a seafood restaurant along the boulevard across from the beach. 

Cannes' beachfront boardwalk

Another statue of someone I can't recall.

Lots of shops and cafes

Beautiful architecture

After I wandered down to the film festival headquarters and checked out the movie stars’ handprints cast in metal that line the sidewalk, similar to Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Then I headed for the Promenade de la Croisette, the main shopping street, to do a little window-shopping.

Famous handprints

Cannes Film Festival headquarters

I found some cool art and a cute Patisserie to sit and have a tea and pastry for more people-watching until it was time to head back to the ship. 

Kids playing in the fountain

The fortress in Villefranche

We went to the port in Villefranche and were dropped off at the old Fortress. We walked down through the fortress to the marina where we caught a water shuttle back to the ship. The wind was picking up so it made a fun challenge when getting off the tender onto the ship. I’m getting pretty good at timing the waves. Alas, we have no more tender ports.