What to do in Nice (Villefranche), France?

[livetravelcruise07]

We will be docking in Villefranche on a Friday morning and we are wanting to stay around Nice. We have looked for excursions through Royal and there are only a handful to choose from. We even considered Viator, but a lot of the tours start around 8 am and we don't get in until 10 am. What is there to do at the port? I don't want to take the trains or buses anywhere; we really just want to explore the port. Do you all have any recommendations on what to do near the port that is walking distance and even places to get yummy French food? This is our first European cruise, and we all feel lost on what to do, so any help will be greatly appreciated! 🙂 

[marazul]

@livetravelcruise07

If you want to go to Nice, you need transportation there - buses, train, excursion. It is about 6 miles away and it is not walkable.

UPDATE: A taxi from Villefranche to Nice should be about 20 euros.

 

If you want to stay in Villefranche, look at this post:

 

Edited February 13 by marazul

[edinburgher]

19 minutes ago, livetravelcruise07 said:

We even considered Viator, but a lot of the tours start around 8 am and we don't get in until 10 am

Viator is not a tour operator, but a middleman, so you would not know which company you are booked with and any issues or questions you might have would need to go through Viator  And you would need to read their Ts and Cs very carefully especially re refunds in the event of your ship not making it into port for whatever reason, or having a later than expected arrival.. Viator has been cautioned against in many threads across several boards so you might want to read some of these before booking.

 

And be aware that Villefranche is a tender port, and you would need to allow extra time for tendering both off the ship and to reboard.

 

slightly confused by these comments.

I don't want to take the trains or buses anywhere, and

We are wanting to stay around Nice

 

If you"want to stay around Nice" you will need to take either a taxi, a bus or a train the very short distance to Nice.  If you would prefer to spend your time in Villefranche, there will be lots of tourist information to be found on the internet, in guide books (borrow from a library?), Youtube and Tripadvisor. Also restaurant reviews.  Doing that means you can plan your day around your own interests.

[rhiannon84]

There is loads to do in Nice, and it's only 10-15mins by taxi. It's also really easy to just wander around old Nice and enjoy getting 'lost'.

 

I would take a taxi to Port de Nice (Lympia) where there's all the yachts to look at. Depending on how you feel, you then can walk up, down and around the Colline du Chateau (big hill) for nice views over the sea - it's pretty impossible to get lost and there's a coffee/food stand at the top. Then, at the bottom, walk round the seafront past the war memorial to old Nice. After poking about there, loop back through the gardens (boulevard jean jaures, massive green space on googlemaps) up to Place Garibaldi, then poke about old Nice a bit more before getting a taxi back.

 

Foodwise - Michelin isn't just fancy restaurants (I think the James Beard Foundation is the US equivalent?) as it was originally set up for French truckers to find somewhere for lunch and it will find you good restaurants in every city in Europe.

 

Use their 'routemap' site instead of the 'Michelin guide' and look for the 'Bib Gourmand' restaurants https://www.viamichelin.co.uk/ 

 

Enjoy!

[livetravelcruise07]

7 hours ago, edinburgher said:

Viator is not a tour operator, but a middleman, so you would not know which company you are booked with and any issues or questions you might have would need to go through Viator  And you would need to read their Ts and Cs very carefully especially re refunds in the event of your ship not making it into port for whatever reason, or having a later than expected arrival.. Viator has been cautioned against in many threads across several boards so you might want to read some of these before booking.

 

And be aware that Villefranche is a tender port, and you would need to allow extra time for tendering both off the ship and to reboard.

 

slightly confused by these comments.

I don't want to take the trains or buses anywhere, and

We are wanting to stay around Nice

 

If you"want to stay around Nice" you will need to take either a taxi, a bus or a train the very short distance to Nice.  If you would prefer to spend your time in Villefranche, there will be lots of tourist information to be found on the internet, in guide books (borrow from a library?), Youtube and Tripadvisor. Also restaurant reviews.  Doing that means you can plan your day around your own interests.

I guess I should have said wanting to stay at the port, rather than Nice 🙂 

[Hlitner]

This thread got me thinking since we will be in Villefranche for another port day this April.  What to do?  If the weather cooperates, we are thinking about walking (more like a hike) to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothchild.  Not our usual day (we would normally head to Nice and spend the morning in old town, perhaps rent a car, etc  But the idea of just walking a few miles and not having to deal with the usual buses, trains, rental cars, etc. sounds attractive :).

 

Hank

[marazul]

50 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

This thread got me thinking since we will be in Villefranche for another port day this April.  What to do?  If the weather cooperates, we are thinking about walking (more like a hike) to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothchild.  Not our usual day (we would normally head to Nice and spend the morning in old town, perhaps rent a car, etc  But the idea of just walking a few miles and not having to deal with the usual buses, trains, rental cars, etc. sounds attractive :).

 

Hank

If you want to do more hiking, there is a great trail that goes around the Cap Ferrat peninsula.  Also while there, see if you can visit the Villa Santo Sospir to see all the Jean Cocteau murals. He got invited for a week and stayed for several years. 🤪 It was closed for restoration a couple of years ago but maybe it has reopened by now.

Also interesting is the Villa Kerylos in Beaulieu. It is a reconstruction of a Greek villa.  Lots of good places to eat around the port in St Jean. Plus the usual assortment of Michelin starred places both in St Jean and Beaulieu.

[Hlitner]

22 minutes ago, marazul said:

If you want to do more hiking, there is a great trail that goes around the Cap Ferrat peninsula.  Also while there, see if you can visit the Villa Santo Sospir to see all the Jean Cocteau murals. He got invited for a week and stayed for several years. 🤪 It was closed for restoration a couple of years ago but maybe it has reopened by now.

Also interesting is the Villa Kerylos in Beaulieu. It is a reconstruction of a Greek villa.  Lots of good places to eat around the port in St Jean. Plus the usual assortment of Michelin starred places both in St Jean and Beaulieu.

LOL, our hiking days do have limits :).  But I do love your suggestions and we will just hope that the weather cooperates.  If not, Plan B might be a very good/long lunch in Villefranche or we will trek into Nice where we there are many decent places for lunch.  What is different about this particular cruise is that not only does it do a port day in Villefranche, but also has a different port day in Monte Carlo.  I do not recall ever being on a cruise that stopped in those two relatively close places.  MC is always a challenge (for us) since we are not fans of the town and have often been tempted to just stay on the ship.  Because we also get the port day, nearby, it makes little sense for us to grab the bus from MC over to Nice.  I guess Eze is a possible solution, but it seems like every time we go to that delightful village the shops have become tackier.

 

Hank

[marazul]

31 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

LOL, our hiking days do have limits :).  But I do love your suggestions and we will just hope that the weather cooperates.  If not, Plan B might be a very good/long lunch in Villefranche or we will trek into Nice where we there are many decent places for lunch.  What is different about this particular cruise is that not only does it do a port day in Villefranche, but also has a different port day in Monte Carlo.  I do not recall ever being on a cruise that stopped in those two relatively close places.  MC is always a challenge (for us) since we are not fans of the town and have often been tempted to just stay on the ship.  Because we also get the port day, nearby, it makes little sense for us to grab the bus from MC over to Nice.  I guess Eze is a possible solution, but it seems like every time we go to that delightful village the shops have become tackier.

 

Hank

How about going to Menton instead of Eze? It's the next town on the train from MC. And it is lovely with fabulous restaurants. 

[Hlitner]

56 minutes ago, marazul said:

How about going to Menton instead of Eze? It's the next town on the train from MC. And it is lovely with fabulous restaurants. 

Been there, done that :).  You are right that its a charming town (we actually spent a night in a local hotel).  But definitely worth a thought.  We often decide what we want to do at the last minute and have been known to walk off a ship without a clue what will happen in the next 15 min :).  Sometimes it turns out to be a fun day, and other times no so good.

 

Hank

[marazul]

There is always renting a car and going to Dolceacqua and Apricale. 😉

[Hlitner]

19 minutes ago, marazul said:

There is always renting a car and going to Dolceacqua and Apricale. 😉

I think you know renting cars is something we like to do, but the last time we looked this was a real problem at Villefranche.  At one time we could rent from rentacar.fr and they would have a car right at the tender pier.  That ended a few years ago and than we found that the Avis location in Nice would also deliver cars to Villefranche.  But that ended before the COVID shutdown.  Now, I am not aware of anyone renting cars in Villefranche and its a royal pain to go into Nice or to the airport just to get a car.

 

Speaking of renting cars, here is a tidbit we learned a few months ago.  We have also rented cars at Kotor (another port on our cruise) a few times  We could arrange for a local rental car company to deliver a car to the port (we would meet them on the road right outside the gates).  But a few months ago I noticed that it is illegal for anyone 75+ to drive in Montenegro.  This is not a rental car issue but an issue with the country's own law.  It is rumored that this will change since they plan to enter the EU, but only time will tell.  If I were only 29 (like you) this would not be an issue.

 

Hank

[marazul]

@Hlitner

Love it, although we may be your elders. (Respect, now!)

 

The rental to Dolceacqua would be from MC. If anyone can manage it, it would be you. I should have known you have been to Menton, but that incursion into Italy is really worth it. 

 

We have been hearing about age restrictions here and there, but so far no one has refused to rent us a car.

 

[Hlitner]

10 minutes ago, marazul said:

@Hlitner

Love it, although we may be your elders. (Respect, now!)

 

The rental to Dolceacqua would be from MC. If anyone can manage it, it would be you. I should have known you have been to Menton, but that incursion into Italy is really worth it. 

 

We have been hearing about age restrictions here and there, but so far no one has refused to rent us a car.

 

The thing with Montenegro is I have no clue whether an agency would rent a car (despite the law).  As far as I can determine, they are the only European country with a maximum driving age.  Apparently, it applies to everyone, so I guess once folks reach that age they must stop driving.  I have looked around the Internet and can find no exceptions.  We have enjoyed renting a car at Kotor and exploring the region (and having lunch in Budva).  We were planning to do it again (this April) until I stumbled on this rule/law.  

 

We have never been to Dolceacque so perhaps we need to rethink our day :).  But you are probably aware that renting a car in MC means a trek from the port to get to an agency.   DW is, as I write this, looking at online info on Dolceacque and the site says "not much to do or see."  Sounds like our kind of place :).  With a rental car I guess we could do that an also toss in some time in Menton.  Who knows?  On the other hand, those folks in Montenegro tell me I am too darn old to drive!

 

Hank

 

 

 

 

[marazul]

@Hlitner

Dolceacqua is a medieval, almost vertical town. Monet painted the bridge. Apricale is another medieval mountain village without the tarting up of Eze or St Paul. There is a really good restaurant, La Capanna di Baci (the kissing bell), which is very good. In both, there is plenty to enyoy quietly. Not much to do if they mean shops. Just look around. Tourists have not arrived, yet. They are both in the "most beautiful villages" of Italy list.

 

On the way back you can stop at Ventimiglia, the last town in Italy before France,  where they used to sell $20 "rolexes" at the market. Or continue on to Menton for a very civilized time. But as an experiment, stop for an espresso at both Ventimiglia and Menton.  You will go from  coffee heaven to just very good coffee.

Edited February 15 by marazul