April 22, 2023
Villefranche-sur-Mer
Our Villefranche-sur-Mer travel guide covers everything you need to know to plan the ultimate trip to one of the prettiest villages in Cote d’Azur. Villefranche-sur-Mer is just a 10 minute train ride from Nice, making it an easy and delightful day trip in the French Riviera. With its brightly coloured buildings and beautiful views over the Mediterranean from its hillside old town, Villefranche-sur-Mer offers a bit of a reprieve from the busyness experienced in larger surrounding towns. We provide information on how to get to Villefranche-sur-Mer, what to see and do while you’re there, where to stay and the best time to visit.
If you’re looking for more guides to southern France we have plenty available. Guides include a 10 day south of France itinerary (by public transport), city guides to Nice, Menton, Marseille, Cassis, and Monaco, a guide to the best beaches on the French Riviera, and a guide to the best day trips from Nice.
Tip: avoid the biggest mistake we made. If you ask for water at a restaurant they will give you bottled still or sparkling water. They will never bring you tap water. To save yourself the money, ask for a carafe of water by saying the following ‘carafe d’eau s’il vous plaît’.
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In this article
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What to see and do in Villefranche-sur-MerWhat to see and do in Villefranche-sur-Mer
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Where to stayWhere to stay
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What to packWhat to pack
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How to get to Villefranche-sur-MerHow to get to Villefranche-sur-Mer
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Getting around the French RivieraGetting around the French Riviera
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When to visitWhen to visit
What to see and do in Villefranche-sur-Mer
To explore Villefranche-sur-Mer completely you will only need about 2 hours. Add some more time if you’re planning on heading to the beach (it’s a good one, one of the best in the south of France in fact!).
Explore the Old Town
Villefranche-sur-Mer is an incredibly colourful hillside village with beautiful waterfront restaurants at the base. There’s not so much to do here, and it’s quite a small town, so you won’t need too much time. You can spend an hour or two wandering through the pretty alleyways admiring the playfully coloured houses and beautiful pots of flowers lining the streets. The town isn’t overly glitzy and has a much more down to earth atmosphere than other towns and villages in the French Riviera.
You’ll come across plenty of pretty chapels with pastel coloured facades. And as it’s a hillside village there are some incredible streets with views down to the bright blue water below, framed by the pinks and oranges of the buildings. If you’re lucky enough to visit on a Saturday you will find a wonderful food market (also open on Wednesdays on a smaller scale). On Sundays you’ll find a charming flea market where unique antiques are sold for a bargain.
After wandering the old town, head down to the waterfront to sit at one of the many trendy cafes and restaurants that line the beach. Or take the walk along the entire promenade towards Plage des Marinieres which will take about 15 to 20 minutes.
Stroll along the harbour
This is one of the deepest harbours in the area, so a great place to do some yacht-watching! Taking a stroll around the harbour and absorbing the atmosphere is a wonderful way to spend some time.
Plage des Marinieres
This is one of the best beaches in the French Riviera. It’s a sandy beach that stretches for 1km along a wide bay in front of the colorful old town. This is a very easily accessed beach with the train station only steps behind it so it does get busy. The shallow water extends about 10m in, making this a great family friendly beach. Showers and toilets are available onsite also. Unlike most other towns in the French Riviera, there are no private beach clubs at Villefranche-sur-Mer. As the bay curves around so much it offers spectacular views towards the colourful old town of Villefranche-sur-Mer.
For those looking for an adventure activity, consider parasailing for between €65 to €150, or hiring your own boat (even without a boat license) from €80 for 1 hour. If you work up an appetite simply walk to the promenade at the base of the old town where you’ll find plenty of modern and trendy restaurants and bars. If you’re just after light refreshments you’ll find plenty of kiosks open on the beach itself during summer.
There are two other beaches, Plage de l’Ange Gardien and La Darse Beach that are both quieter than Plage des Marinieres. We would suggest checking out Plage de l’Ange Gardien as it’s quite some distance from the port so it’s much cleaner.
Left: Plage des Marinieres, Right: Villefranche-sur-Mur harbour
Visit nearby Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is only a 10 minute drive or 12 minute bus from Villefranche-sur-Mer and is one of the very best things to do in the area. To get there, take bus 15 from just behind the Villefranche-sur-Mer train station, and get off at Passable / Rothschild (€1.50 each way) after about 12 minutes. From there it’s only a 7 minute walk to the villa.
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is open between 10am and 6pm, and standard entry is €15. Tickets can be bought ahead online. Admission includes an audio guide which we highly recommend! Learning about the history of the villa and Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild who built and decorated it is incredibly interesting. She had taste! We have a detailed guide on visiting Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild as this was one of our most favourite activities in the south of France.
Where to stay
While some people choose to stay overnight in Villefranche-sur-Mer, we definitely recommend making Nice your home base and taking day trips. This is especially true if you’re planning on traveling around by public transport. Nice has an incredible amount of connections to nearby towns and villages by train and bus at very affordable rates. In fact, most places on the Cote d’Azur can be reached from Nice.
Nice is a fantastic home base to explore the French Riviera due to its:
- Proximity to international airport
- Train and bus connections to nearby villages and beaches
- Accommodation and restaurant options
- Sightseeing options for your downtime
We suggest that you try to stay in the area between the train station and the old town / beach. These are the areas of Le Carré d’Or (green in map above), Thiers (red in map above) or Carabacel (purple in map above). We split our visit between staying very close to the train station for a few days, and then a few days very close to the promenade.
Hôtel Byakko Nice
At Hotel Byakko Nice we paid €490.50 for 3 nights in August 2022 (the MOST EXPENSIVE time of year to visit Nice). The hotel’s location was perfect for day trips, being only a 6 minute walk to the train station. It was also only a 15 minute walk into the old town and a 20 minute walk to the promenade. We really liked this hotel. The staff were really friendly, the aircon was cold, and the room was perfect for a few nights with enough space to spread out our luggage. An added bonus was the rooftop here, perfect for a rose at the end of the day.
Hôtel de la Fontaine
We also stayed at Hotel de le Fontaine and paid €585 for 4 nights in August 2022. It was only a 2 minute walk to the promenade. This was perfect for our beach days, and sunsets on the beach with a pizza and a bottle of wine. It was a 15 minute walk into the old town, and a 15 minute walk to the train station (or take the tram for €1.50 and you will cut down walking time to just 7 minutes). The distance to the promenade was our favourite thing about this hotel, but again the staff were incredibly friendly and the rooms were super spacious for a few nights.
Where to stay in Villefranche-sur-Mer
Most people visit Villefranche-sur-Mer on a day trip from Nice. However, given its close proximity to Nice it does make a great alternative home base for those not keen on staying in a big city. As a bonus, you will likely find more affordable accommodation options as well (as long as you book well ahead). And from wherever you’re staying in Villefranche-sur-Mer you will only be a few hundred metres from the beach. We think staying in the old town would be absolutely charming but there are also plenty of upscale hotels on the beachfront.
What to pack
For the beach
Unless you plan on only visiting organised beach clubs (note that there are no organised beaches at Villefranche-sur-Mer), you will need to bring your own towel. You will be able to find quite a few stalls, bazaars and shops in the old town of Nice and near the promenade that sell beach towels if you have forgotten to bring one with you.
Most beaches in the French Riviera are pebble beaches. While you can lay on a towel for a little while, you will be uncomfortable if you’re staying for long. This is where a beach mat will come in handy. Some hotels will have beach mats that you can borrow but these will also be available from the same shops you’ll find towels in. The pebble beaches can be uncomfortable to walk on (and hot!). So water shoes or sandals will also be really helpful during your visit for walking around and getting in and out of the water.
Finally, there is more or less no shade at the majority of beaches. Again, a lot of hotels will have beach umbrellas that you can borrow. But if they don’t and you plan on spending a fair bit of time at the beach, you should pick one up (ask your hotel to keep it when you leave and lend it out to future guests so that it’s not trashed).
Universal adaptor
Don’t forget to bring your adaptor! If you don’t already have one, make sure you buy one that has USB and USB C ports so that you can plug in your phone chargers as well.
European sim
All European data and minute plans are interconnected. So if you’re arriving from another European country your sim card will work in France. You will only need to worry about picking up a sim card if you’re arriving from outside of the EU.
Try and pick up a European sim card (like Lycamobile, Giffgaff or Lebara) on your arrival at Nice airport. You can find sim cards at ‘Relay’, a large newsagent which has stores in both terminals at the airport. Relay will close at 9.30pm however, so if you’re arriving late at night you might need to wait until you get into town. In Nice you’ll be able to pick up cheap sim cards at the tobacco stores and corner shops. If you need help installing the sims however, you will be best going directly to a provider’s store such as Orange.
How to get to Villefranche-sur-Mer
You will most likely be traveling to Villefranche-sur-Mer from Nice. If so, take the train towards Ventimiglia (Ventimille) for 10 minutes and get off at Villefranche-sur-Mer (€1-3 each way). You can also catch bus 100 from Nice that takes 12 minutes and will cost €2 each way.
Tours
If you’d rather avoid the hassle of organising your own day trips, you will find plenty of tours leaving Nice that visit surrounding towns and villages including Villefranche-sur-Mer. This tour starts with Villefranche-sur-Mer and also visits Èze, Monaco, Monte Carlo, and Antibes lasting 10 hours and costs €75 per person.
How to get to Nice
You will pick up flights direct to Nice from most destinations in Europe as well as further afield in the US, North Africa and the Middle East. The closest airport is Nice Cote d’Azur Airport, an international airport situated just 8km away from the city centre. It is the third busiest airport in France after the two that service Paris. So that gives you an idea of how popular this destination is!
Getting from Nice airport into the city is soooo pleasant and easy! Inside the airport you’ll see signs directing you to the tram. Take tram line 2 in the direction of Port Lympia for €1.50 each way. There are multiple stops in town depending on where your hotel is. The main stop in the city centre is Jean Médecin. The whole journey won’t take longer than 30 minutes. The tram leaves the airport every 8 minutes and runs from around 4am to after midnight depending on the day. You can find more information including timetables here.
Getting around the French Riviera
As you will most likely be visiting other villages and towns on the French Riviera at the same time as Villefranche-sur-Mer, I wanted to cover off the basics on how to get around the south of France. Southern France is one of the easiest regions to travel around by public transport that I have ever experienced! It’s so well interconnected and affordable. Below I cover all the major options for traveling around southern France including public and private transport.
Public transport
To get to destinations outside of Nice you will want to take public transport. It’s quick, affordable and you won’t have to worry about traffic and parking.
Train
There are two train stations in Nice, Nice Ville and Nice Riquier. If you’re booking your tickets in advance be sure to check which station is closer to your accommodation. Nice Ville is to the north west of the old town. If you’re planning on staying close to the promenade this will probably be the closer option for you. Nice Riquier is further east, just above Quartier du Port. We found using the Trainline app to book our tickets ahead of time to be very easy and convenient. The prices are the same, and the schedule is accurate and up to date.
Bus
You will find that the train will get you to most surrounding villages much quicker than the bus, but there are exceptions. A notable example is Èze. The train station goes to the town on the coast, whereas most people want to visit the village at the top of the hill which can only be reached by bus. Bus tickets can be bought from the bus driver, just bring cash with you (typically a ticket will cost you €1.5 each way).
Car
Realistically a lot of destinations on the French Riviera are much more convenient to visit by public transport due to the lack of availability and high cost of parking in many villages. If you do need to hire a car, there are plenty of options in Nice both at the airport and in town. This is a hugely popular destination, so booking your hire car in advance will help you to secure a good price and the kind of vehicle you are after. If you’re driving make sure you plan your days so that you are arriving at your destination early in the morning so that you can find parking, and also make sure you’re factoring in parking fees in your budget as this will add up.
When to visit
We visited Villefranche-sur-Mer in August and honestly I wouldn’t suggest it. It’s very hot and France isn’t made for the heat. Between the hot trains, the beaches without shade and all of the outdoor eateries, Villefranche-sur-Mer would be much nicer in June or September. There are obviously crowds in summer, but we didn’t find them so bad. In fact, the crowds create a great atmosphere and add to the European summer vibe.
Some of the trains got a bit uncomfortably packed but we didn’t struggle with anything else. If you are visiting in the summer be sure to book restaurants ahead of time, like you would for anywhere in europe. Between November and May a lot of tour operators, beach clubs and some restaurants will be closed. The weather will still be pleasant though, you will just have a quieter time and will have to plan ahead more to make sure what you want to do is possible.
Thanks for stopping by!
We hope we’ve inspired you to visit Villefranche-sur-Mer on your next trip to the south of France. Villefranche-sur-Mer is one of the prettiest villages in the French Riviera and is only 10 minutes from Nice by train making it a great day trip option.
If you’re looking for more guides to southern France we have plenty available. Guides include a 10 day south of France itinerary (by public transport), city guides to Nice, Menton, Marseille, Cassis and Monaco, a guide to the best beaches on the French Riviera, and a guide to the best day trips from Nice.
If you have any questions, please let us know, and please subscribe!
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