We have come to Villefranche, with our walking shoes and clothes for walking in all-weathers (after our trip to Antibes last month, we hav decided that it’s better to be safe than sorry)
Happily, today was destined to be dry and bright, so after breakfast, we pulled on our shoes and set off to walk across the hills into Nice, aiming to return along the coast.
We have done part of the walk before, and it’s a delighful route that takes us out of Villefranche, under the huge, defensive walls of the Citadelle,
Before climbing up steep steps,
Then long tracks and trails that snake their way through woodland, carpeted with early freeisas and stunning pink flowers too.
It’s a lovely walk up, but its steep too, and byy the time we arrived at the Fort Mont-Alban, we had climbed a little over 200 metres in less than 3km, so we were happy to take a moment to sit down and admire the view.
The fort was built in the late 1500s, and holds an incredible defensive position on the ridge of the hill, with open views along the coast (to the east and the west), but also inland too. It’s easy to understand why it was built here, protecting the border between the old states of Nice and Savoie, following the siege of Nice in 1543.
It was occupied by German and Italian troops in WW2, and was bombed by the allied forces, with restoration starting in 1949.
It is a dramatic building, in a spectacular location, and today, we were happy to spend time sitting on a wall, overlooking Villefranche, whilst we set about bidding in a live online auction for a painting that had taken our fancy.
It really is quite astounding that we can sit on a wall, high above the coast, watching an auction taking place in a city, quite some distance away, and take part in it too, all on a little piece of equipment that we can hold in our hand, weighing no more than a pocket diary.
But the painting was worth interrupting our walk, and we got ridiculously excited when we won it. It will be our anniverasry present to ourselves, and as with our mad adventure to collect a painting (by the same artist) that we had bought in Turin you can read about that adventure here .… the memory of buying it will stay with us forever
After doing a little jig to celebrate our success, we carried on, following the path behind the fort and heading down towards the old Port of Nice.
Here, we treated ourselves to a much-needed second-breakfast, and sat on the harbour wall, watching the brightly coloured boats bob on the tide
And being entertained by life going on in the water below our feet, From a cormorant chasing small fish, in and out of the mooring ropes, to a fish enjoying a second breakfast too, from a slice of baguette that was floating on the surface of the harbour.
It’s the little things like this that we enjoy.
After our refreshment, we walked through the old city, up to the Colline Du Chateau, a promontory between the port and the bay of Nice, which was the site of a military citadel from the XI century until it was taken by French Troops and destroyed under the command of Louis XIV in 1706.
It’s now a large park and garden, with a network of footpaths that offer stunning views over the bay towards Antibes.
It is also home to the Cascade du Chateau, a waterfall built in 1885, as part of the park development..
Below the Cascade is a path and steps that take us down to the Promenade Des Anglais, and a gentle stroll along the sea to the Cours Saleya, where we ambled through the market stalls, making our way towards the Cours Massena, to take a look at this year’s Carnival King and Queen.
These vast, exquisitely constructed floats play a key part in all the Carnival parades, before being transferred to the beach, where they are set on fire to mark the end of the event, with a promise of new characters for the year to come.
We usually watch at least one of the parades, but have decided to just enjoy the walking this year, but it’s always good to see the amazing designs that head the event.
After wandering back towards the Port, we followed a footpath that took us along the water’s edge, around the Cap de Nice. A beautiful path, lapped by the gentle waves
Although the incredibly steep steps (over 220) to climb back onto the road did make us puff a bit.
We then walked back along the road towards Villefranche, hoping to take the coast path that drops below the cliffs, following the waters-edge all the way back into town. We had stumbled across it last year and it was a delightful way to arrive in Villefranche..
You can watch a video from today’s walk here
But unfortunately, this year it is closed for works, so was inaccessible, but we carried on along the road back into Villefranches, where we sat on a bench in the sun, just watching the world pass by.
It was a superb day’s walk, and by the time we arrived back at the apartment we’ve rented, we’d covered just over 19km.
So time to put our feet up for the evening, and plan another walk tomorrow. It really is a great way to explore this lovely corner of France.
Postcards from Provence and beyond 