The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
April 30 - Villefranche sur Mer
As it turned out, all we really did today was wander around town a bit. This is a small but pleasant place.
Villefranche is, quite naturally, oriented toward the water. From town you look across the harbor to St. Jean Cap Ferrat. There are several cruise companies operating in town. We later saw this group take over a local restaurant so perhaps it was a company happening rather than just a casual tourist event.
The waterfront is dominated by a citadel built in 1560. One of the main squares was given over to an antiques market today. Some houses in the old part of town have an almost Italian feel to them ... but then, this part of France was once part of Italy.
Villefranche sur Mer from the beach toward Cap Ferrat. It is a shame that the photo can't show the detail of some of the palaces on the side of the hill. The waterfront is lined with restaurants and bars. This is the restaurant we ate at on our first night in town.
The Souris Gourmande is a true "hole in the wall" restaurant. The tiny kitchen is all that is enclosed. Customers either take the food with them down to the waterfront or perch at one of two tiny tables set along the narrow stepped street. OK, so I have two photos of the same place. The first was intended to show the relationship of the restaurant to the water. The second was to show more of the kitchen area. (Plus it was a good way to sneak in two photos of Margene!)
© 2006 Restaurant Doctor
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