The town features medieval chapels and an impressive hilltop fortress built by the Duke of Savoy in 1560. It is close to St Jean-Cap-Ferrat where you can view the Villa Ephrusi and its wonderful art collection and gardens. Villefranche is ideally located for visits to the famous resorts of Nice, Monaco and Cannes on the French Riviera. Villefrance itself is a deep water port which ahs been used by pleasure yachts and navies for centuries. Nice is the largest metropolis on the coast, a thriving commercial city as well as a year round resort, while Cannes is a beautiful resort, famed for the annual film festival which takes place in May. The whole area is generally accepted as one of the most beautiful resort spots in the world. There is an abundance of palm trees, blue sea and beautiful beaches; sparkling cities and villages are set against backdrops of high green mountains. The Cote d’Azur is an extraordinary playground with every kind of amusement. There are excellent museums, historic places dating from the pre-Christian era to the present day, hills, mountains, lakes and rivers, gorges and alpine skiing trails.