I’m working through my Côte d’Azur Travel Diaries. So far, I’ve covered Nice, Éze, and Monaco.
The next stop in our Côte d’Azur road trip is a place I wish I’d spent more time. That’s a theme, isn’t it, with my trip to France. I just wish I’d had more time. That’s probably why we ended up extending our time in Provence by a day.
We arrived in Villefranche-sur-Mer just a golden hour settled in, casting a rosy orange glow across the French Riviera.
You could ask, why didn’t I pull out my camera for more than a few snaps? That’s a great question, and one I don’t have an answer for. Perhaps I was being present?
Villefranche-sur-Mer Travel Diary
Walking down stone streets, noticing the building to your right dates back to the 1500s, is mind boggling. You think about all the people that have walked down these same paths before you — people who lived over 500 years ago — and who knew a reality that’s incomprehensible today. It’s crazy. And, yet, this decidedly modern town exists within the same footprint, the same buildings.
We grabbed a cocktail at the first place we found that had a table available on the water — Dry Restaurant. Perhaps not the French café of my dreams, but a little trendy boho spot where I had a cocktail that was decidedly in my wheelhouse, the Crème de la Crème. Our table had incredible views of the sun setting over the water and the yachts coming and going — just enough to make us wish we’d had a day on the sea.
But the real highlight of Villefranche-sur-Mer was Les Garçons. This cozy, intimate spot, with twinkle lights and greenery lining its hidden patio, felt like a secret garden. The menu, scrawled on a chalkboard, needed guidance from our gregarious waiter, and every dish and sip of wine felt indulgent, yet refined, in that way that all things French are.
As we made our way back down the stone streets, I wished we’d had more time and, unlike Èze, which I adored but only for a short time, this is somewhere I could visiting and staying for more than a while.
