Nice, France
Shore Excursion and Port Information

The Bays of Villefranche and the French Riviera

Nancy Norris

Ahhhh! The French Riviera! I had dreamed about visiting this stretch of coastline for years and the time had finally arrived. Our ship, the Millennium, was anchored in the harbor in Villefranche. Some ships actually moor in the port at Nice, but it is very shallow; and like other large ships, the Millennium needed the option of the deeper harbor that Vilefranche-sur-mer offers. However, this was not a disappointment as Villefranche is a beautiful port and needs to be explored separately from its neighbor, Nice. (Check out my separate review of Villefranche).

Wonderful Eze

A group of 8 of us had arranged for a private tour of Eze, Monaco, Cannes and Nice through Revelation Tours prior to arrival. We were greeted promptly by our very friendly and personable guide Michel. As we had planned to pack a lot in to our day, we were off post haste. From the very start Revelation Tours offered some very personal and pleasant amenities. First we were all given “goody bags” that provided detailed information on each of destinations on the tour. In addition to being an excellent English speaking guide, Michel provided appropriate musical interludes when he was not talking that complemented our surroundings making this a total experience. Complementary bottled water and sodas were also provided along the journey.

Eze as Seen From the Corniche

We traveled along the Grande (upper) Corniche to our first stop, Eze. We were rewarded with awesome views around every corner. Approaching Eze we caught a magnificent view of this medieval village suspended on a peak overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Eze

Our driver dropped us of at the Postern Gate (complete with strategic cannon emplacement), the entrance to the village, and we began exploring this charming village on our own.

View of a Garden at Eze

Perfumeries, antique shops, galleries, cafés and unique hand-crafted boutiques lined the narrow walkways as we wound our way to the top. Reaching the summit, the Jardin Exotique awaits on the grounds of the castle offering fantastic panoramic views. It is well worth the 3 Euro admission as the gardens are splendid! We then wound our way back down the maze, passing the Chapelle de la Sainte-Crois built in the 15th century and the Château Eza, a luxury hotel once the summer residence of the Swedish royal family. Although Eze is becoming quite a tourist attraction, it is certainly worth a visit!

Our next stop was to be Monaco, a short distance away. As was the case with Villefranche on my whirlwind tour of the French Riviera, I am posting a separate review of Monaco and Monte Carlo, so I will move on to Cannes (about an hour drive from Monaco). We had planned to meet a friend for lunch who was taking the train to Cannes, but our time spent in Eze and Monaco, plus a major traffic jam on our journey made us very late arriving in Cannes, therefore we missed connecting. It turned out to be the only flaw in our well-orchestrated plan for sight-seeing, but unfortunate nonetheless.

Cannes Public Beach

Interestingly, my pre-conceived image of Cannes was totally different than reality. Known as the showcase of the Riviera, I was expecting a much more glamorous and idyllic setting. Don’t get me wrong, it was in fact impressive, but not as I had pictured. The beach was extremely overcrowded and the ambiance was one of the hustle and bustle experienced in such places as New York City.

Canne's Croisette (Oceanfront Walkway)

After enjoying a stroll along The Croisette, Cannes’ promenade, lined with sandy beaches (most of them private), restaurants and luxurious hotels, we chose to eat at one of the seaside restaurants, which was actually owned and operated by the hotel across the street. Unfortunately, we found the service abominable, the food to be lackluster and extremely overpriced. My suggestion would be to avoid any of these establishments along the beach and find a local spot for lunch. We took a quick peek at the Palais des Festivals, where the International Film Festival is hosted every April; its surrounding “Star Boulevard”, on which stars have left their imprints; and the Casino Croisette next door. From there we needed to reconnect with our van and guide for a drive-by of some of the more prestigious sites of Cannes, including the Rue du Luxe. Here the most elite designers, exclusive jewelers and real-estate agencies selling the most expensive villas in the world are located. Although I absolutely love my life, and feel extremely blessed that I have been afforded so many wonderful opportunities in life, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to be part of the idol rich.

Nice's Beach

From Cannes, we headed back to Nice for the final leg of our guided tour. Nice, considered the capital of the French Riviera, bounded by verdant hills, with the rise of the first peaks of the Alpine foothills in the background and the Mediterranean Sea it is quite impressive. Its unique typographical situation affords it mild winters and extremely pleasant summers. Linden trees, bay trees, pine trees and palm trees line the expansive avenue that runs adjacent to the beach. Known as the Promenade des Anglais, it stretches about 4 miles, until it becomes Quai des Etats-Unis, which is where you will find some of the best restaurants in Nice. Since time was running short on our journey, we could only do a drive through of Nice, but the drive along this stretch of highway is not to be missed.

Nice's Castle Hill

Even the architecture of the buildings is quite notable. There are several outstanding museums in Nice, such as the Mark Chagall Museum and the Matisse Museum that we did not have time to explore. But, once again, this affords me a reason to return to this port for a closer look. On our return to the Port of Villefranche we took a slight detour from the ocean drive for a brief glimpse of St.-Paul-de-Vence. On my next trip, this is going to be a definite “must-see”. Even more stunning than Eze, I was sorry we did not have time for a visit. It has become quite obvious to me that one day is not nearly enough time to see and experience all that this beautiful part of the world offers. This is definitely going to be a location that I return for an extensive land tour.

We finally arrived back at the port in Villefranche, actually 2½ hours later than originally scheduled. We had hired Revelation Tours for 9 hours, but just one more example of the class this company showed was there was no additional charge for extending our tour. I would highly recommend utilizing the services of this exceptional company on your visit to the French Riviera.

Ask a Question About a European Port

Ever thought of becoming a part time or home based travel agent? Follow this link to see some of the books Tom Ogg has authored.

Home Based Travel Agent

Top