One of the Most Beautiful Towns on the French Riviera Villefranche-sur-Mer is a jewel of the French Riviera, at the gates of Nice: an old town with 17th-century houses tiered on the hillside, a small port nestled in a spectacular bay, and on the immediate horizon, the emerald green of the Cap Ferrat peninsula… The Cap Ferrat peninsula, which encloses the bay of Villefranche, is one of the most beautiful sites on the coast. Covered with a magnificent pine forest hiding sumptuous villas, it constitutes a true haven of peace. This seemingly timeless paradise has always attracted many celebrities such as Charlie Chaplin, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Nietzsche, King Leopold II of Belgium (who owned half of the cape for a long time), Otto Preminger, Somerset Maugham, and Cocteau.