Oosterdam European Adventure, Villefranche sur Mer, France

I was up for our sail in along the French Riviera. We had a change in our port arrival last evening and we tendered to Nice instead of Villefranche sur Mer. One of southern France’s largest port cities, Nice is found on the Mediterranean coast, in the shadow of the French Alps. Our guide Jean Francois was at the tender port to meet us and we headed off to explore some new places. We choose to skip visiting Monaco today instead we went off the beaten path to see something different in the Côte d’Azur area. We had a nice drive from Nice along the French Riviera with its stunning coastline. Our first stop was Roquebrune, the village is perched high above the peninsula of Cap Martin. Roquebrune is a charming medieval hilltop village with narrow streets, arched passages, intimate shady little squares and ancient fountains. We loved this off the beaten path village and no tourists to be seen. After leaving Roquebrune, we headed to La Turbie. La Turbie is a small town high in the hills above Monaco on the spectacular scenic Grand Corniche Road that runs from Nice to Monaco. In the local dialect La Turbie means fog…a very a fitting name as the fog rolled in and we missed some of the great scenic views. This well-preserved medieval village is dominated by the large Roman Monument Augustus Trophy. The monument is 15 stories high and came out of the fog slightly for a short period for us. We entered the village through a medieval stone gateway and discovered lovely medieval streets and alleys lined with flowers, a pretty square in the village center and a small chapel among the colorful houses…another hidden gem. With no control over the weather, we continued to Èze. Located between Villefranche sur Mer and Nice, Èze is basically two villages on three levels. Another medieval village, built on top of a hill, is today one of the places on the French Riviera most visited by tourists because the views…the tourists were out in full force. The village is like a castle, with thick stone walls. We visited the small cathedral and climbed to the Exotique Garden with its amazing cactus arrangements. On our return to the ship, we left the fog behind and enjoyed our costal drive via the Upper Corniche with its scenic views. A terrific day in the Eastern Riviera area…thanks Jean Francois for helping us discover these new places.  Loving going off the beaten track…