Famous for its harbor frequented since Antiquity, a popular vacation spot in the 19th centurye century by the Russian and English aristocracy, crossed by the panoramic roads of the three cornices linking Nice to Menton, Villefranche-sur-Mer, in the Alpes-Maritimes, is made up of an upper residential part, a town center and a lower part including the old town, the port and the beaches. Here, recent constructions are interspersed between typical southern houses with colorful facades and Belle Epoque buildings.
With its two turrets, its pink outfit, balconies and shutters, Le Provençal is a jewel of a three-star hotel classified as Art Deco and a remarkable heritage monument. The place has been given a new lease of life since 2022, under the leadership of the founder’s great-granddaughter, Platon Sylvestre. Alexandra Duchateau infuses it with a touch of modernity, through a discreet mix of contemporary and vintage furniture, a contribution of artists’ works and personal elements.
Thus, in the living room with piano, old family photos and vinyl collection sit three nesting coffee tables by ceramist Olivia Cognet. The forty-one rooms are served by corridors lit with shell wall lights by designer Axel Chay. Frescoes by Emma Seneze brighten up each landing. Room 308, which offers a view overlooking the harbor, is decorated with a painting by Alexandra Sylvestre, the great-grandmother, and a pair of 1950s armchairs by Audoux Minet, legendary design signature of the region.
400 meters away: have a drink in an alley
Leslie Geniès from Nice opened La Grande Cave in 2017, falling in love with the location of this small place on either side of a street in the old town. In this tasting counter, the lively owner offers a choice of good bottles to take away or to taste on site for a corkage fee. She selects three wines by the glass every day. Sip with a platter of goat cheeses brightened with fruit or sardines with lemon and olives.
At 450 meters: visit a sacred and profane place
It was in 1957 that Jean Cocteau, faithful to the region since the 1920s, undertook to decorate the Saint-Pierre chapel, property of the town’s fishing prud’homie, at the time more of a shed than a place of worship. By covering the entire walls with paintings, the artist chose to mix scenes evoking Mediterranean life and others relating episodes from the life of Saint Peter, patron saint of fishermen, as here, walking on the waters towards Christ , in the setting of Villefranche.
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