Villefranche-sur-Mer

Villefranche-sur-Mer is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera.

Villefranche-sur-Mer adjoins the city of Nice to the east along Mont Boron, Mont Alban and Mont Vinaigrier, and 10 km south west of Monaco. The bay (rade) of Villefranche is one of the deepest natural harbours of any port in theMediterranean Sea and provides safe anchorage for large ships.

The city limits extend to the hills surrounding the bay climbing from sea level to an altitude of 520 m at Mont-Leuze, reflecting on land the features found offshore. The three "Corniches" or main roads linking Nice to Italy pass through Villefranche.

Places of interest

• Église Saint-Michel (Saint Michael's Church) in the heart of old town, was built in the 1750s in the baroqueItalian-style where originally stood a more modest early fourteenth century church.
• The Chapelle Saint-Pierre (Saint Peter's Chapel) dates from the sixteenth century.
• The old harbour of la Darse dates back to the 17th century.
• The Citadel built in 1557 now houses the Town Hall, a convention centre, three museums and an open air theatre.
• The Rue Obscure or "Dark Street" is a passage way under the harbour front houses which dates back to 1260.
• Villa Léopolda on the hills surrounding was once the residence of King Leopold II of Belgium and has been tagged as "the most expensive house in the world".

Public beaches

• Plage des Marinières is the main beach and is located at the north end of the bay. It stretches for 1 km under the track of the railway line linking Nice to Italy.
• Plage de la Darse is a smaller pebble beach located behind the main jetty of the harbour of La Darse.