Does anyone know if there are any boat trips from Villefranche in June and what wildlife we might see at that time?

off subject but to me one of Europe's finest walks goes from the Cap d'Ail train station (a few minutes from Villefranche by train or car) and then along paths hugging the coast to Monaco - the well paved flat path goes thru an isolated stretch of coast that has largely vanished from the heavily developed Riviera area so you see the signature Cote d'Azur scenery of the uncannily azure-hued clear water lapping at a rocky coast to which are anchored the typical cypress trees. The Riviera of your dreams. Train back from Monaco to Villefrance or hop the bus from Monaco to Eze like in the other post. (Eze-sur-Mer station is a long uphill walk to the town - the Nietsche path the philosopher once took up to Eze, which to me save for the rave views is a heavily touristed tourist trap. (Opinion)

Uh oh- I'm sorry,kittycat1! I am also hoping you get a response to your great question...I did see that diving and snorkeling are options. But I am also intrigued by the hike suggestion from PalenQ- can you tell us how long it would take, for relatively fit walkers to go the whole way? Is Cap d'Ail a different station than that of Villefranche's? Merci!

AMV (www.amv-sirenes.com) offer boat trips from Villefranche, but in June they are mostly on Wednesdays: a four-hour dolphin trip at 0830 and a two-hour coastal trip at 1500.
There are more trips from Nice, Cannes, and other ports which can easily be reached by train.

sglass:

Villefranche is a station just west of the Cap d'Ail station - the walk is at most 2 miles and flat - about an hour easy to Monaco. can't go wrong - from Cap d'Ail station head down to sea and turn left on the path. Only one way to go, can't get lost.

Oh, more apologies, kittycat1, for joining in on your original question- but it appears you got a good suggestion. So I will continue rudely interrupting, since hopefully this is information you can use, too!

The concept of hiking to Monaco is a perfect example of the kind of expert advice I've received here! To be able to combine Eze would be even better. So would it be feasible to plod along the path in the early morning, before it gets super hot, see the aquarium and cactus garden and peek at the Casino, lunch and then take the bus to Eze?

Is the philosopher's walk essentially a steep hike, or do you gain better insight into Nietsche's ideas somehow by following his path! I have wanted to find out more and it's not been easy...

Many thanks again!

I hiked up and down the Philsopher's Path from Eze-sur-Mer train station. And it was a hot day in August - it seemed more like a staircase with endless flights - can't remember excatly but it's rather steep strenuous hike - i'm fit and enjoy workouts so was no problem. kind of desolate terrain as i remember - i enjoyed it, especially coming down!

bookmark

Thanks for all your wonderful advice - we will definitely we doing the walk into Monaco, it sounds just the sort of thing we would enjoy. The boat trip also looks great and what with the other things we've got planned, I don't think a week will be enough!

Have a wonderful trip, kittycat1- thank you for graciously sharing your space here, and thanks to PalenQ for the terrific hike suggestion!

PalenQ, thank you so much for the suggestion of the walk from Cap D'Ail - it was absolutely delightful and exactly as you described it - we hardly met a sole on the whole of the walk - definitely one to do again!

We also did the walk down from Eze and although we are fit, it was a pretty long and rough track, not at all pretty, and not something I'd recommend, but I guess you win some, you lose some - we had a great holiday anyway!!!

PalenQ,

Glad to hear that that path is still so lovely.

Many, many years ago we fell into step with another walker as we did our regular evening stroll on that path. The chap was a Brit who was really quite charming. Said he lived nearby, and did that walk every day without fail. We stopped at a bar for a drink and continued our chat, where he introduced himself, David Niven.

(We had already guessed!)

Bookmarking. That walk sounds lovely.
Nukemark, how fun - I always liked David Niven!

Kittycat1, although we stayed a week in Villefranche-sur-mer, I can't help with boat trips for you but you wiil just love that area!

PalenQ, thanks for the info about this walk - we will be there in July and will be sure to do it this time.

Nukesafe, such a nice story. I loved David Niven - so elegant and seemed to be such a gentleman! I had read (or was it mentioned on a Rick Steves' show?) a while back that he had a beautiful home in the area.

Have a great trip, kittycat1 - love your name!

kittycat1, where did you stay in Villefranche? I've been to France lots of times, but never to the Riviera, and would like to do it. I've wondered whether to stay in Nice or Villefranche. Would love a little report on your trip!

I just noticed that the OP asked this question a few weeks ago. Yes, it would be great to read a report.

Sue4, the Riviera is fabulous and Villefranche is lovely. You will enjoy a visit there, I'm sure!

Sue4, we stayed in an apartment overlooking the bay in Villefranche in Ave Sadi Carnot. The view was absolutely breathtaking and I'd definitely recommend Villefranche. We did visit Nice and considered staying on the Promenade de Anglais next time, as there is certainly a lot more to do in Nice, but decided that the traffic noise on the Promenade (we like a sea view) would probably be a bit off putting. In any case, we were out most days, and it was easy to get around from Villefranche and the evenings in such a lovely little bay were so lovely. I'll try to do a trip report in the next day or so.

marking

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