Nice, France

Villefranche is a pain in the ass tender port with a shorter docking time to boot.  I don’t understand why we don’t stay longer because it’s a beautiful place with a very accessible train station that takes you to Cannes, Monaco, Monte Carlo and Nice.    But we are always rushing around here to see the sights.  I regularly take the train into Nice, which is less than a 10 minute ride and only costs 3E roundtrip.  Simple!  If nothing else go and stroll the promenade, get some figs or a sandwich at the market and simple walk around the shops.  I really love Nice because it is an actual city.  There is a main downtown business and shopping area but there is also the old town and waterfront.  You can’t really go wrong.

Villefranche itself is very lovely but small.  Nothing wrong with spending a few hours here as well if you don’t want to trek into a city.  There is a small sandy beach at the end of the pier but you can imagine that with the hoards of people who come off of the ship and the local vacationers and inhabitants it becomes crowded very quickly.  

I had the brilliancy to hit the Museum of Contemporary Art this cruise.  Currently the entry to the MOCA is only 10E, but that gets you into 8 other museums in the area for 7 days.  It is the 50^th Anniversary of the opening of the city’s Matisse Museum and the other museums are having simultaneous exhibitions in homage to the artist who spent nearly 40 years in the region Cote D’Azur.  So it was great to see this exhibit as well as the permanent collection of Modern and Contemporary Art. 

The 4^th floor of this beautifully designed octagonal building is actually a terrace with a stunning view of the city.  You can walk the top of the entire building and there are a few outdoor sculptures out on display.