Villefranche-sur-Mer

The bay at Villefranche is one of the deepest natural harbours on the Mediterranean, dropping to around ninety-five metres close inshore, which is why navies used it for centuries and why cruise ships anchor in it now. The old town rises straight from the water in ochre, pink and yellow, and the Rue Obscure runs about a hundred and thirty metres beneath the houses as a vaulted passage built in the thirteenth century, used as a shelter in wartime. Jean Cocteau decorated the seafront chapel of Saint-Pierre in 1957 with scenes from the saint's life and the local fishermen. A sixteenth-century citadel holds municipal museums.

What you actually see

• The Rue Obscure - a vaulted medieval street running under the houses.
• The Cocteau chapel - Saint-Pierre painted by Cocteau in 1957.
• The coloured waterfront - ochre and pink facades rising from the harbour.
• The citadel - a sixteenth-century fort with free museums inside.

When to go

April to June and September to October; cruise ship days crowd the small waterfront heavily, and the tourist office publishes the schedule. The train from Nice is the easiest arrival.

Honest expectations

The town is small and busy when ships tender in. The Cocteau chapel keeps limited hours and closes some months. The beach is narrow and packed in summer.

Nearby

Cap Ferrat lies east; Nice is west.