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ABOUT BOOMER CAFÉ

by David Henderson

Imagine a vacation place steeped in history but not crowded with tourists.  A place where the seawater is so clear and so blue that you can see the bottom, 30 feet down.  Where the people of the ancient French town are friendly and slow-paced.  A town laced with narrow walkways, where houses are terraced on the mountains that surround the harbor and ripple down to the beach.  Where every restaurant serves phenomenal gourmet dishes ... for phenomenally reasonable prices.  And, where you can find a hotel room with a view of the harbor for under $100 a night.

Sounds ideal, doesn't it?  The place is Villefranche-sur-Mer on the French Rivera.

Just five miles east of Nice, Villefranche is in a whole different world.  While Nice has always catered to glamour and glitter, tiny Villefranche has quietly remained an exclusive place, relatively little known.  Dating back to the 13th century as one of the deepest ports on the Mediterranean (the harbor is 1,200 feet deep), Villefranche sees itself primarily as a fishing village and port for cruise ships and the yachts of the rich and famous who live across the harbor on Saint Jean-Cap Ferrat, the wealthiest and most exclusive neighborhood on the French Mediterranean.

No matter which way you turn, Villefranche looks like a movie set, like one of those places you see in an Ivory-Merchant film.  And it is.  The town is used often for films, like the James Bond 007 movies with Sean Connery.  Remember Michael Caine and Steve Martin in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels?"  Just one of many films shot here.

But otherwise, it's quiet in Villefranche, with few bright lights in the evening, except for those on a visiting cruise ship.  Humidity is low even though the town sits on the Mediterranean.  There are no insects, the common nuisance of vacation spots.  That's right, no bugs!  Screenless floor-to-ceiling French windows at hotels and homes swing open to let in the constant, gentle sea breeze.  Temperatures are perfect, too, reaching about 85˚ F during the day and 65˚ at night. The colors of buildings are earth tones, and azure blue, just like the water.

What to do in Villefranche?  Relax.  Read on your hotel balcony, lie on the beach, or walk through the Citadel, built in the 16th century and now serving as city hall and outdoor amphitheater for first-run movies and community activities.  You can sit at a tiny outdoor café at the port, drink a coffee and just watch the boats come and go.  There are many activities and things to do, whether you take the kids or just go for romance.

While there is one newsstand in town, Villefranche feels removed from the day-to-day rat race.  It likes itself that way.  The hotels with television in their rooms (and not all of them have it) don't carry CNN.  The rest of the world feels a whole world away from Villefranche, and after a few days there, you begin to understand why.

Remaining relatively unchanged over the centuries, Villefranche has a perfect perspective – the rest of the world will wait as you relax and enjoy one of the best places on the planet.

The best way to get to Villefranche is to fly to Nice.  Then, either take a train or bus for a short ride, or rent a car (recommended because you'll want to make side trips to nearby Beaulieu, Monaco, and St. Paul du Vance).

Don't expect anything fancy in Villefranche, which may just make it the best vacation in your life!

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