A Walk in St. Paul de Vence

 

 

A Walk in St. Paul de Vence

On our previous cruise, we visited St. Paul de Vence, and I fell in love with this medieval village.  When we had the chance to visit it again, I couldn’t resist!!  St. Paul de Vence is found in Southeast France and is one of the oldest villages on the French Riviera.  All sorts of famous people have found their way to this little village, including Pablo Picasso, and Bill Wyman (former Rolling Stones bassist).  But, I love the village for it’s character and flair, not for who lived or visited here!

Before we could visit the village, we had to reach the port of Villefranche, France.  Here you can see that little village as we approached our tender spot, and the pilot who guided us there leaving in the pilot boat that came to pick him up.

On our way to St. Paul de Vence, we drove through Villefranche and parts of Nice.  One of the things that we noticed in this area, were the charming balconies on some of the buildings.

We did get a chance to drive along the French Riviera and see the beach (please excuse the glare from the bus window) and then, a view of St. Paul de Vence from below.

Ah, the charm of St. Paul De Vence is seen from the very beginning, as you can see by looking at windows high above the street that approaches the village.

Once inside the village, all streets are really just walkways (no autos) where you can see various shops, including what looked to be an incredible cheese shop!

Another thing I found fascinating was the beauty of some of the doors, made with what looked like old wood, interesting doorknob placement, and fabulous door knockers on some!

This gives you an idea of why no autos are allowed on the inner roads of the village.  Narrow cobblestone streets, and sometimes, streets that are stairways due to the steepness!  Just fyi, autos are allowed on a street on the outer perimeter of the village.

One other charming thing are the drinking fountains left over from the medieval days!  I don’t know if anyone really tried to drink or fill up water bottles at these two, but they clearly say the water is good enough to drink!

Here are a couple of places you could pause to rest and reflect on the beauty of this charming village.  The shop with the bistro table and chairs out front was a favorite memory from the last time we visited, and I was glad to see it still as wonderful!

There are too many wonderful things we saw while wandering the village for me to share them all, but here are a few – a shop sign hanging from a balcony, a design in the cobblestone street and Jeff and the greenery along one of the side streets.

These are two magnificent views from a couple of the highest points in the village.  The bottom image is of the cemetery in St. Paul de Vence.  Yes, you could walk through it, although I didn’t this time around.  The top image is of the French Alps that you can see from the village.

All good things must come to an end, however.  We had one more touristy site to see on our way back to the ship.  In the image on the left, at the top of a hill (see arrow) we caught a glimpse of Elton John’s summer home (must be nice!).  And, our final image is the view of the lighthouse as we left port.  Our next stop will be in Italy, to see an iconic site!

Enjoy!