Villefranche

Location:
France

Hills, Sea, Luxuary

By misha

I was in Cote’ de Azur for training in Sophia Antopilies (Tech corridor between Canes and Nice). I was there for a whole week. Early September had perfect weather. I would wake up to the buzzing alarm clock and rush to my small bathroom in the small room in the very old but elegant hotel in Sophia. The all you can eat breakfast was so unique (I have been to countries all over the world but I will never forget the smell of the roasted nest café or the taste of the toasted croissant topped with strawberry jam.

The training would run until 5pm, the last hour was always torture everyone tries to concentrate on what the instructor is saying but at the same time thinking of where we would go tonight (Nice, Canes, Antibes or even take the risk and drive for 30 miles to go to Monte Carlo).

One day we went to Ventimiglia and their huge Friday open air crafts market, all less than 40 miles from Nice. If you decide to turn left or west from Nice you come to Cap d'Antibes and then Antibes, the home of the Picasso Museum.

The English first discovered the Riviera/Cote d'Azur in the 17th Century, followed by the Russian aristocracy, and finally in the early 20th Century by wealthy Americans. Palaces. Palatial hotels, gardens, parks, villas, marinas and promenades all evoke the spirit and luxury of pure pleasure.

Nice is the capitol of the French Riviera and is nestled in the Alps Maritimes with a population of 400,000. I could have hopped on a ferry for the islands of Corsica and Sardinia or all the way to the African continent and Tunisia. The six mile long seafront Promenade des Anglais, with the beach on one side, starts at the airport. It is only 5 miles from the center of the city, past the classic deluxe Negresco Hotel, and it's Chantecler Restaurant, with dinner running $100 or $150 price fixed.

I opted to walk to the Chateau stairs (I used the elevator) up to the Castle Hill Park and a sweeping view of Nice. Just around the bend is the War memorial, a colossal edifice commemorating the 4,000 inhabitants of Nice who died during World War II. If I continued walking another 10 minutes I would have ended up back at the Port and my abode. Instead, I returned to Place Massena, the central point for the city with its fountains, promenade and skateboarders, Galeries Lafayette and an enclosed mall and shopping on one side and Old Nice on the other.

Sheltered by the Alps and protected by the Mediterranean, Nice has mild winters and moderate summers (50 to 80 degrees) and its over 4 million visitors enjoy the art and culture, including 19 museums (Matisse & Chagall), convention center, three theatres, opera house and symphony orchestra.

The French Riviera Museum Pass will allow entry to 62 museums and historic sites and range from $10 to $30 for one, three or seven day passes. I was able to walk almost everywhere but bussed to the baths and amphitheatre at the Roman site of Cimiez, just outside of the city center.

My local train to Cannes took only 1/2 hour and left me a few blocks from the twin domed Carlton Hotel, (one of 4 super luxury hotels). Cannes is half-way between Monaco and Saint-Tropez ,15 miles from the Nice/Cote d'Azur International Airport. A good time not to visit Cannes, unless you are a movie or TV star, is May 14-25 when the film festival takes place and the 75,000 residents swell by an additional 120,000 people.

My flight back to US was scheduled to leave on Sunday night, I decided to drive my rental car to Monte Carlo and to spend the day in Monte’ Carlo and spend the night in the Villefranche. The heady mix of French and Italian culture becomes ever stronger as you approach the borders. Hot Italienate hues of pink and orange nestle against the cool misty blue green of the rising hills above the town. Contrasting walls and shutters excite the eye. The faded elegance of the Hotel Welcome. You are in Cocteau's Villefranche.

In Villefranche there are residents, guests and visitors, nothing so vulgar as "tourists". The waiters have designer-sculpted hair and are on first name terms with clientelle. There is no litter. The children are well-behaved. The local police wear shorts and shades, and drive stylish bicycles. Everyone is respectful of the place they love to visit.