Overview of Some Towns & Villages of the French Riviera
You will love visiting the neighboring towns and villages surrounding Villefranche. Right at your doorstep from a Riviera Experience apartment is the wonderful city of Nice, just to the west of Villefranche not even 3 kilometers away. Nice is like a big village. It is easy to get to know your way around. The sea is on one side (south) and the mountains on the other (north), and from there you can navigate anywhere. You cannot really get lost and it is a very safe city.
Next door to Villefranche are the villages of Beaulieu sur Mer and St. Jean Cap Ferrat — the three form the “golden triangle.” You can walk or take the bus or train to these villages, but honestly they are so close and the walk is so pretty along the beach, that most people walk between them. The other villages in the Commune of Villefranche (there are six), are Eze (don’t miss the cactus garden at the top of Eze village), La Turbie and Cap d’Ail. The Commune of Villefranche is the heart of the French Riviera and spectacularly beautiful. Each one of the villages is worth visiting. When in St. Jean Cap Ferrat, don’t miss the wonderful Villa Rothschild and the spectacular gardens, and when in Beaulieu visit the beautiful Villa Kerylos (we recommend the audio tour for both).
There are also a number of other beautiful options for visiting neighboring towns and villages including: Antibes, Cannes, St. Paul de Vence, Vence, St. Jeannet, Roquebrune, Menton and just over the border are Monaco, and then Ventimiglia, San Remo, Bordighera, Italy. Most of these places make for a very enjoyable day trip, where you can walk around the village and visit the sites and enjoy a delicious lunch and maybe even take in their markets.
The Department of the Alpes Maritimes, of which Nice is the main city, has 147 medieval hilltop villages. In fact SOFT (South of France Travel), the tour company in Villefranche has a day-long tour visiting some of these villages, which is highly worthwhile.