The Old Fishing Village of Villefranche
We left the Lerins Islands on the 24th June heading for Villefranche, bypassing both Antibes and Nice for now. We had very little wind so ended motoring most of the 20NM’s, but still it meant calm conditions in the bay for anchoring and sleeping!
Baie de LÉspalmador
We actually dropped our pick across from Villefranche in a little bay called Baie de LÉspalmador and its posh villas, with rain forecasted during the afternoon, (and it didn’t disappoint), we stayed on board for the afternoon and evening.
Thankfully we woke to sunshine, but were a little dismayed to see this anchored off the bay. We normally avoid going to places at the same time as a cruise liner as they become clogged with tourists, but knowing we were moving on again later that day we had no choice if we wanted to see Villefranche!
Villefranche
So we jumped in the dinghy, in conditions calm enough to risk taking the camera out of our waterproof bag to get some shots as we got closer.
On arriving, we were somewhat relieved when we realised that all the cruisers were heading to the train station to go to Monaco, phew, leaving us to explore the town in peace!
Villefranche is full of quiet walkways, hidden streets running higgledy-piggledy up and down the hillside, joined by paths and shaded by mature trees. Full of ancient houses with old worn shutters, wrought ironwork and chalky paint. Colour is everywhere, with these old ramshackle homes painted in yellows, oranges, and pinks, they are like an imagined Mediterranean sunset dream. Absolutely charming!
The town also has an ancient tale, with the Rue Obscure (the ‘hidden street’) built along the first ramparts of the harbour and dating back to 1260. It was designed to protect the villagers from bombardment, but also came to be very useful for storing wine – bien sûr! It clearly is well hidden as we didn’t manage to find it, probably a closely guarded secret because of the wine!
Years ago, I (David) spent a few hours one lunchtime at this seafood restaurant, along with copious amounts of Laurent Perrier Rose, prior to going to the Monaco Grand Prix the day after, courtesy of a client!
We then wandered up to what we thought was the old fort, which turned out to be the Hotel du Ville!
Then, as a south westerly swell was building up we picked up our anchor to motor around the Cap Ferrat headland to drop our pick again, passing some of the most elegant mansions, (can’t call them villas) with the finest gardens along the coast.
This included “Villa Mauresque”, once occupied by King Leopald II of Belgium, the Duke of Connaught, a Rothschild or two and Somerset Maugham (the writer) from 1927 to 1968. He chose to make this his permanent home because life here was more convivial than his home of birth and no doubt because it shielded him from the censure that homosexuals had placed upon them back then. It is said that he entertained lavishly and an invitation to one of his dinner parties was much sought after!
Another one worth mentioning is “Villa Kerylos”, built by M. Theodore Reinach, not that we know who he is, except he was apparently obsessed by all things Greek, and so imported Carrara marble, exotic hardwoods, and even had a household altar to the Gods built, clearly not short of a bob or two!!!
We finally dropped our pick in the peaceful Paloma Beach, just off Saint Jean, where we planned to stay for at least a couple of days.
25th June 2024
