Villefranche right now! Villefranche right now! 4k walking tour of the village. Can I travel to Villefranche from U.K now? Walking tour of the whole village and and then I meet some subscribers from the U.K. who tell me how they made it here. Bars and restaurants in Villefranche and Nice, France like restaurant Acchiardo, Per Lei, Lou Bantry, La Mere Germaine, La Corderie, La Baleine Joyeuse, Acchiardo, Les Palmiers, Le Serre, Le Cosmo, Les Garcons, La Belle Etoile, Chez Betty, Roxy, Le Safari, L'aparte, La Cantine de Tiflo, Mayssa, Good Mood cafe, l'oursin bleu, Deli Bo, La Trinquette, Achilles, la Trastevere, la Grignotiere, Pizzeria Marechiaro, Espouma, and hotels like the Welcome hotel and the Royal Riviera and le Versailles and are now fully open. Nearby Beaulieu sur mer is also fully open along with St jean Cap Ferrat and Eze sur mer.
Villefranche-sur-Mer is immediately to the east of the city of Nice, along Mont Boron, Mont Alban and Mont Vinaigrier, and 6.2 mi (10.0 km) south-west of Monaco. The bay (rade) of Villefranche is one of the deepest natural harbours of any port in the Mediterranean Sea and provides safe anchorage for large ships from easterly winds. Reaching depths of 320 ft (95 m) between the Cape of Nice and Cap Ferrat; it extends to the south to form a 1,700 ft (500 m) abyss known as the undersea Canyon of Villefranche at about one nautical mile off the coastline.
The city limits extend to the hills surrounding the bay climbing from sea level to an altitude of 1,893 ft (577 m), the highest point of Mont-Leuze, reflecting on land the features found offshore. The three "Corniches" or main roads linking Nice to Italy pass through Villefranche.
History
The site of what is now Villefranche and surrounding Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat has been settled since prehistoric times. Celto-ligurian tribes roamed the area and established farming communities on the surrounding hills. The Greeks and later the Romans used the natural harbour as a stop-over en route to the Greek settlements around the Western Mediterranean. After the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar, the Romans built an extension of the Via Aurelia (Aurelian Way), which passed through the settlement of Montolivo.
By the fall of the Carolingian Empire, the area was part of Lotharingia and later part of the County of Provence. In 1295, Charles II, Duke of Anjou, then Count of Provence, enticed the inhabitants of Montolivo and surroundings to settle closer to the coastline in order to secure the area from pirates. By charter, he established Villefranche as a "free port", thus the name, granting tax privileges and port fee rights that lasted well into the 18th century.[4]
By 1388, East Provence became part of the Duchy of Savoy as a result of the disputed succession to the heirless Queen Joan I of Naples. For the next 400 years, the area known as the County of Nice was hotly disputed between the Holy Roman Empire to which Savoy was an ally and the French.
In 1543, the Franco-Turkish armies sacked and occupied the city after the siege of Nice, prompting Duke Emmanuel Philibert to secure the site by building an impressive citadel and a fort on nearby Mont Alban. In the late 17th century, the area fell to the French but was returned to Savoy after the Peace of Utrecht.[5]
During the 18th century, the city lost some of its maritime importance to the new harbour being built in Nice but remained a military and naval base. In 1744, a Franco-Spanish army under the Prince of Conti overran the Piedmontese regiments of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia at the Fort of Mont Alban in the heights above the town.
In 1793, the French returned to re-occupy Villefranche and the county of Nice remained part of the Napoleonic Empire until 1814. It was returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia by the Congress of Vienna.
In 1860, as a consequence of the Risorgimento, it was given to France by treaty following a plebiscite.
By the late 19th century, it had become an important Imperial Russian Navy base and the Russians established an oceanographic laboratory in the old lazaret.[5]
Villefranche's bay is notable for reaching a significant depth only a short distance from shore. As a result, it has become an important port over the years. Since World War I, the United States Navy has called on a regular basis, making Villefranche the home port of the U.S. 6th Fleet from 1948 to February 1966, when French President Charles de Gaulle withdrew France from NATO and required U.S. forces to leave. Just prior to 1966, the flagship of the Commander Sixth Fleet rotated between USS Springfield and USS Little Rock.[6] Since the 1980s Villefranche has been used by cruise ships. It is the most visited cruise ship port of call in France.[5]
12 сен 2024
