Written by NiceGinna on 24 Mar, 2009
Vence is a short (less than 1 hour) bus-ride on the #400 from Nice. It's one of my favorite towns and a place I am sure to take all visitors, spending the morning in Vence and then the afternoon in St. Paul de Vence,…Read More
Vence is a short (less than 1 hour) bus-ride on the #400 from Nice. It's one of my favorite towns and a place I am sure to take all visitors, spending the morning in Vence and then the afternoon in St. Paul de Vence, another nearby perched village but with a completely different atmosphere.Vence was an important Roman town, with a road leading up to it from the Roman town in Nice. You can see the remains of this road leading into Vence Old Town. One of the things I like especially about Vence is that there is well-marked walking route to follow around the Old Town with numbered signs in French and in English about what you are looking at, whether it is the tiny Cathedral, with its Chagall mosaic (my favorite Chagall work), or the obelisk that was a gift to the town from the city of Marseilles in the year 230! Yes, 230! The ancient stone gateways and walls of the town enclose the small area of the Old Town where there are pleasant squares with fountains and tables for dining, beautiful pollarded trees forming a canopy over the tables, interesting shops that will lure you in to see their linens, pottery, prepared foods, clothes, and all the other things a tourist will have trouble resisting.On Mondays the Old Town is pretty much closed up, so that isn't the day to go. I love the tiny alleyways through the town, one in particular that sells all the foodstuffs, displayed as only the French can display them. The specialty of Vence is Craquelin, a doughy sweet breakfast bread studded with sugared almonds. Irresistable and worth the trip just to buy!Close
Written by GreenMermaid on 29 Jan, 2001
I had a couple of photos of the two towns to add, so I had to create a new entry to accommodate them. . .…Read More
I had a couple of photos of the two towns to add, so I had to create a new entry to accommodate them. . .Close
Written by JenniferM on 09 Aug, 2004
One MAJOR reason to go to Vence is to visit the Fondation Maeght in nearby St Paul de Vence. This is the most amazing art gallery -- check out their website at www.fondation-maeght.com. Pay the extra euros to take photos...opportunities abound in the large outdoor sculpture…Read More
One MAJOR reason to go to Vence is to visit the Fondation Maeght in nearby St Paul de Vence. This is the most amazing art gallery -- check out their website at www.fondation-maeght.com.
Pay the extra euros to take photos...opportunities abound in the large outdoor sculpture garden, or the Bracque tiled pools, or the Giacometti scultures.
Tip: Save money by parking at the Fondation (free) instead of in the expensive St Paul carpark.