What to see in St. Paul de Vence for a day.
St. Paul de Vence is a Medieval village founded in 9th century. It is located among the mountains in France.
I did my Tour Escort duty with a group of cruise passengers of a cruise company I used to work when one of its ships landed at the Berth Rainier III Cruise Terminal in Monte Carlo (Monaco)… wait a minute…”St. Paul is located in France!!”, you might say. Actually, whenever any cruise ship arrives to any port, shore excursions are offered to places or archaeological sites close to the port of call 🙂
We left the port with a local guide by bus which ride took for about one hour. The time might vary due to traffic, I experimented this trip by contemplating the coastal side of Monte Carlo, passing the highway where you see some flats, neighbourhoods, including the Allianz Riviera Stadium where the local football club AS Monaco plays its tournaments, etc. until you arrive to a quiet and mountainous area which tells us that we arrived to St. Paul de Vence.
When you arrive to this enchanting village, you notice that it is surrounded by ramparts. As I mentioned before, this village comes from the medieval times which still keeps its infraestructure and charm. Then, many artists like Picasso came during the Post War as well as other artists such as Leger, Matisse, Soutine, Cocteau, etc.
Hollywood Stars.
In the 20th century, St. Paul de Vence received the visit of some Hollywood stars like Roger Moore. Besides, Michel, the local guide told us that some celebrities had their rented or purchased villas to spend their holidays especially some stars of the ’80’s successful American Serie ”Dinasty”…I wonder if I can also rent my beloved villa at this charming village 🙂
St. Paul de Vence has cobblestone homes and alleyways as well as some chapels which take you back to the 9th century. It has similarities with the Mallorcan village of Valldemosa because of its tranquility although you find visitors getting overwhelmed because of its authenticity. Besides, there are shops, souvenirs, bistrots and also art galleries where one of them showed a photo of Princess Caroline of Monaco visiting that gallery in the mid ’80’s. I indulged myself tasting local marmelades especially the one made of strawberry and rose.
If you are in Nice or around, you can always take a bus to St. Paul de Vence which takes between 30 or 40 minutes. The time might change due to traffic or maintenance along the French Riviera. Besides, this ride is subject to stops because there are also some passengers on the road. This small village is worthy the visit to get lost in time after or before Monaco.
