Villefranche Sur mer can only be described as a pastel paradise by the sea. This is one of the most charming small towns you could ever hope to see. It is an absolutely lovely base if you’re visiting the French Riviera. Personally, I find the small town charm, boutique feel, and ease of getting around, makes this town one of the better base options on the French Riviera. Read on for my mini guide to Villefranche Sur Mer. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.
How to get to Villefranche Sur Mer
By Plane
The closest airport to Villefranche Sur Mer is Nice Airport (NCE). From there it is an easy uber ride or train ride to Villefranche.
By train
Train is the easiest way to get around the French Riviera. The great thing about Villefranche is that anywhere in town is an easy walk from the train station. However, I do not recommend bringing difficult or heavy luggage, you still do have to walk and it involves ramps, stairs, and stones.
You can reach Nice within 10 minutes from here, Eze in about 4, Antibes in about 35, Menton in about 30, and even get into Italy (Ventigmilia) in about 40 minutes. This area is so well connected to anything you want to see.
By Car/Uber
You can absolutely rent a car if you want to explore deeper into this area. If you were to rent a car, my hotel recommendation #3 of Versailles Hotel would be best for you. It’s a small walk from the town, but MUCH easier for attempting to navigate parking.
Uber is also very easy in this area. I did find that if I knew where I wanted to go and what time, I had better luck booking an advance uber. Sometimes the wait times were long or the car would just keep dropping when I did it in real time. However, I was able to get one any time I needed, sometimes it was just a bit more annoying than others.
By Bus
There are busses that pass through Villefranche as well. They may at times be easier for getting to specific destinations. For example, the train into Nice takes you pretty deep into Nice and away from the beach, port, and Old Town areas (about a 20 minute walk). If you take the bus, you can be dropped off down closer to the main scene. So you just have to decide where you are going and what makes the most sense. Also for Eze, if you take the train you are dropped off at Eze Sur Mer and you need to hike about an hour up to town, or take a bus from the train station up to town. You can save yourself the trouble by just taking a bus to begin with.
You can walk!
It is also worth noting that you can walk to Nice from Villefranche and I actually did this multiple times. It takes a little over an hour at a reasonable pace. Walking back to Villefranche from Nice is STUNNING. You can take in gorgeous views almost the whole walk. You can also walk onward from Villefranche to Beaulieu Sur Mer and even further to Eze Sur Mer. It is a stunning stretch of coastline to walk and I highly recommend it.
Where to stay
Hotel Provencal
This stay is perfect if you’re trying to keep some type of reasonable budget and still have a nice, welcoming, charming place to be. I was drawn to this hotel because of its delightful pink decor. I loved the garden and bar areas here, they were such nice places to relax. I had a stunning balcony overlooking the sea and the town. My room was small but clean and the air conditioning worked great, which is very important in the hot summer months. It took about 5-6 minutes to walk into the center of town and it was a nice peaceful oasis to come back to. I also loved one of the beaches down by the port (I’ll mention further along in this post) and the hotel was nearby to that area as well. The staff here were really kind and helpful with anything I needed. Overall, I can highly recommend this spot for your base in town.
If you’re interested in booking this hotel for yourself, you can use the link here ——> Hotel Provencal
Welcome Hotel
This is what would be considered the “iconic” hotel of this town. It is front and center and has balcony views in all directions. You literally can’t miss the big glowing sign on the building, and I honestly think this hotel is worth the hype. I wasn’t able to stay here since I was traveling solo and it really would have blown the budget. But with my husband or a friend I would 100% splurge for this spot. I will admit, I had an aperitif at the wine bar every day I was in town, and I think this would be the perfect place to stay.
If you’re interested in this spot, you check it out here —–> Welcome Hotel
Hotel Versailles
I did not personally stay here, although I ran by a few times. However, my friends did, and they found it to be an excellent stay. One thing that’s great about this hotel is that it is on the edge of town (about 15 minutes walk to the center) so if you are driving and needing to park, it would be a lot less stressful. This hotel also has a lovely pool area and a very modern style. It has incredible views over the sea and the surrounding area, and has onsite food and drink. This would be a great option if you’re doing a road trip in this area.
If you’re interested in this hotel, check it out here —–> Hotel Versailles
Villa Stay
Another incredible option if you’re traveling with a group is to rent a villa. I had some friends from home who we were actually staying in Villefranche while I was here solo. I popped up to check out their villa and I was BLOWN AWAY. This specific villa is perfect, its location (right above the train station) makes it so easy to get anywhere you need to go in town. You could park here if needed as well. It has TONS of space, is SO well decorated, has the most large and amazing kitchen, and looked so comfortable. The villa also had a side apartment so if you were staying with someone who needed more privacy they could have their own space. The pool and outdoor garden area were stunning and I can see how it would be SO easy to base here for a week!
If you want to see the exact villa they rented, you can check it out here —-> Luxurious Villa with Sea View
Where to Eat
Olivula
This was hands down one of my favorite meals of the whole summer and was no question my fav spot in the South of France. I actually loved it so much that I made my husband take the train back from Nice to eat here again on our last night. I would say it was slightly more expensive than some other meals of the trip, but 100% worth that cost. Over the course of my two dinners here I had: the best red shrimp carpaccio of my life (this includes a week in Sicily), an absolutely amazing spaghetti with SO MUCH seafood, foie gras that my husband said was the best he has ever had, a lovely fish dish with veggies, and a delightful artichoke salad, and he had an excellent steak. The vibe was fantastic sitting right on the waters edge, and the staff were so friendly, kind, and helpful. I do recommend making reservations here, it is a lovely spot in the main area of Villefranche and well worth the hype!
Lou Bantry
My taxi driver recommended this spot and said he comes into town from Nice every once in a while to eat here. I was thankful for this recommendation because the food was delicious. This spot has basically the same views of the water and main drag as Olivula, so the scenery is good! I had a fritto misto here that was fantastic. Often there are a lot of what I call “filler fish” in a dish like this and they just are there to take up space. Sometimes, they’ll even throw fries into it so it looks like you have more than you do. Not here, I had an entire basket FULL of all the good stuff. The price here was very reasonable, the rosé was lovely, and I would recommend this for a nice easy dinner in town!
Alma
I had a nice peaceful lunch here on my first day overlooking the beach scene. I had a niçoise salad and a glass of rosé. This was a lovely place for lunch with nice views and a peaceful vibe. It is also really close to the train station if you’re heading in or out of town.
Ancora
This spot was down on the port of Villefranche and this area is a bit more quiet (in a good way). They had a lovely outdoor patio area where I had dinner, there were fairy-lights and it seemed like some of the boating crowd hanging out here. I had a nice grilled squid with veggies and enjoyed a rosé here too. The soft sunsets in Villefranche are so lovely and it was a dreamy view from here.
Dry
This was a really fun and creative spot where I wish I’d eaten more. I stopped here for a quick lunch after a hike during a heat wave, so needless to say I was not in the state of mind for a big meal. I did have the shrimp lollipops and they were truly delicious! This menu is full of fun and unique bites and would be an excellent spot to go with someone else or a group so that you could try and share a number of things. This was also a very popular spot for cocktails and aperitif as the sun started to go down over the town. It has a bohemian decor style and just had good vibes! I definitely recommend and will be back here upon my return someday!
La Praia and Le Voile Bleue
You can’t miss these spots if you’re hanging out by the beach and both are really nice, quick, and easy. You can grab snacks, smoothies, or simple meals that are perfect for a day hanging around the beach.
Things to do
Visit the beaches
Villefranche has one big long stretch of beach that you literally can’t miss from almost anywhere in town. You can even see if from the train station right when you pull in. The beach here is rocky so be prepared, but it is also very lovely. The water is beautiful and peaceful here. Nobody seems to wear water shoes, which I find hilarious because everyone looks so funny trying to stumble in and out of the water, but I guess its all part of the experience. There are a few small beach clubs here where you can rent a chair and spend the day, but most of the beach here is public and you can just throw down anywhere you want.
Over by the port area is another beach that I really loved, another rocky beach, but peaceful and more relaxing since it’s a bit of a walk to get to. You have to actually walk through the port and over the walls to get to this beach, but it’s worth the short walk. There are no facilities here so you need to bring whatever you want to have for the day.
Wander the streets
Villefranche is such a charming little town with plenty of little boutique shops to pop into or places to stop for a an aperitif or a mid day break. There are some lovely churches and stunningly decorated alleyways full of plants and cute decor. It is absolutely worth giving yourself some time to just wander here and enjoy.
Walk to Nice or Beaulieu-sur-Mer
One of my favorite things about Villefranche is it’s location! You could walk on a beautiful coastal path all the way to Nice in about an hour. The best part is, you arrive right at the port area of Nice and when you walk around the corner and into town, you’re right at the Old Town and beach area. Honestly, I highly recommend doing this walk at least once! I ran it a few times as well in the mornings & evenings.
In the other direction you can walk/run to Beaulieu-Sur-Mer and even onward to Eze Sur Mer if you wanted. This is also a gorgeous walk, though part of it is a little bit more inland to start.
Either way you get wonderful views and you could jump in the ocean at the end of your walk. Either way you could also take the train back, which makes it really easy to customize your day however you want!
Do a full day wine tour
Many of the major tours in this area will start from Nice, and this tour was no exception. However, it is SO easy to get to Nice for tours you can still base in Villefrache. I absolutely loved the tour that I did and I highly recommend it. We were picked up in and dropped off in Nice and taken to 3 wineries in Provence over the course of the day. We also were taken to lunch after our first winery, which was FANTASTIC. I sometimes get upset on tours that they take you to very touristy places for lunch, this was not the case at all. The spot they chose was lovely and had fantastic food. This day included a solid tasting at all 3 wineries and I loved that each spot had its own unique vibe. I found the wines to all be delightful and I loved that we got to try some smaller producers that I wouldn’t get to try in the US. Our guide was so knowledgable, kind, and easy to tour with all day. I also really enjoy that the group was small and we were able to have a relaxed experience at each place.
If you’re interested in booking the same tour I did, check it out here —-> All Day Wine Tour
Visit other areas on the train
There are tons of beautiful towns and villages on the same train line as Villefranche. This makes it really easy to take day trips or even half day trips if you wanted. One time during my stay I took the train over to Nice just to get some sushi and then went right back! The world is your oyster from here!
If you’re interested in heading into Italy
If you’re interested in heading into Italy for the day, or moving onward into Italy during your travels, I have a post about Ventimiglia. Ventimiglia is the first stop you’ll have to make when you get into Italy no matter where you are going. From here you’ll switch from the French to the Italian train system.
If you’re interested in staying in Ventimiglia and not just passing through, check out my post here —–> Mini Guide to Ventimiglia
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