Nice to Villefrance Walk

If you’re in Nice, here’s some great walks you should consider doing:

1. Promenade Anglais Walk: A no brainer and a great casual walk on the promenade that runs the length of Nice from the airport to Vieux Nice. You can catch a bus back or make the long walk back. It’s nearly a 5 km walk.
2. Nice to Villefranche Shoreline Walk: This walk begins in the port of Nice at the southerly end, where the ferries dock and leave from. You’ll see a sign for the Nice Yacht Club with a walkway next to it, take this up to Blvd. Franck Pillate. Walk south and you’ll pass the Chateau des Anglais (built back in 1856 by Englishman Robert Smith, this fairtale castle is now used for private apartments. You’ll come to a pathway on your right that leads down along the shore, just past the Hopital d’Anglais bus stop. Take this and enjoy a wonderful seaside promenade, although it is a little more challenging than the first half of the balade; more ups and downs. It was also under repair at the end of 2012, working on the railings and bridges. You can follow this now right into Villefranche along the water. Then you can walk the highway back, take the small bus #82 from the port to get you onto the highway and then #81 or #100, or take the train back.
3. Cap Ferrat Walk – Promenade des Fossettes: Take the #81 bus to Cap Ferrat and get off at the small town/port of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Follow Av. Jean Mermoz through town, past the port and past the restaurant La Voile d’Or, to where it intersects with Av. Claude Vignon. Across the street you’ll see a pathway the Promenade des Fossettes. Short but nice oceanside walk, that makes a circle around the point. On the way back you’ll find Paloma Beach, bring your bathing suit to cool off. For the longer walk, visit this link.
4. Mont Boron to Villefranche Walk: Best way to take this walk is to take the #14 bus from the port in Nice, up to the top of Mont Boron. It’s the last stop. You can walk over into Villefranche or down the front back down to the port of Nice. Both paths are quite nice with great viewpoints.
5. Mala to Monaco: Very pleasant walk along the coast, easy to do and some great views. There’s some places to have picnics as well along the way, with tables and benches.

Here’s a couple of links from a Cote d’Azur blog I recently discovered, with quite detailed descriptions of walks around Nice, and actually around French Riviera:

• Exploring Nice
• Around Old Town Nice

Cap Ferrat Walk

Nice to Villefranche Walk

Monaco Walk

Monaco

Walk to Monaco

Walk to Monao

Monaco Walk

Nice Promenade des Anglais

Nice to Villefranche – Citadel

Nice to Villefrance Walk

Cap Ferrat Walk

Nice Promenade Walk

Nice to Villefranche

Nice to Villefranche Walk

Cap Ferrat Walk

Cap Ferrat Walk

This is a great walk/hike that is actually divided into two parts, one easier and shorter than the other. In some ways these are a continuation of the Promenade des Anglais and Nice/VilleFranche walks – you could actually do them all in a line (but I wouldn’t try to do it in one day).

The shorter is easier, takes less than a 1/2 hour to do and is known as Promenade des Fossette. To get to both of these take the #81 bus from Nice to Cap Ferrat and get off at the small town/port of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Follow Av. Jean Mermoz through the town, past the port to where it intersects with Av. Claude Vignon. Across the street you’ll see a park and the pathway for the Promenade des Fossettes. Short but nice oceanside walk, that makes a circle around the point. On the way back you’ll find Paloma Beach, bring your bathing suit to cool off. By the way, there’s a restaurant with a great terrace overlooking the port with very reasonable prices (6 euros for a 50 cl. pichet  of red, wine or rosé) called the Seaside Cafe. Pizza, pasta and daily specials.

The second intermediate walk takes you around a larger part of the Cap Ferrat peninsula (actually the majority of it) and is called the Chemin de la Carriere. You can continue or begin from the park mentioned above by following Av. Claude Vignon. Turn left on Av. de la Puncia and then right on Chemin de la Carriere. There’s a gate but you just have to walk along it. This path takes nearly two hours but offers some great viewpoints, wonderful places to picnic and even to swim. When the trail ends you can walk back up to the roadway (keep turning left) and there’s a bus stop when you reach the main road, right in front of the Rothschild’s Gardens.

Cote D’Azur Sentiers

Cap Ferrat

Port of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat

Map of Cap Ferrat Walking Trails