Villa 220m2 – Villefranche-sur-Mer

This pretty villa is laid out over three storeys, offering spacious accommodation including 4 double bedrooms, (3 en suite) and one single bedroom, numerous large common areas, swimming pool, several terraces and balconies – all with dreamy sea views and plenty of privacy – a large living room, designer kitchen and traditional dining area. The villa faces due south, looking out across the bay, and has the sun throughout the day.

Entering the villa through a discreet doorway from street level, steps rise up to the pool area, with a heated salt water pool overlooking the azur waters of the bay, and hidden in its own little arched grotto, private even from the main house, with plenty of space for sun loungers and seating. From there, steps lead up to the main entrance level of the villa, with a large terraced area, ideal for relaxation or socialising with a stunning sea view.

The ground floor of the villa boasts a large open plan living space used as a salon and dining area, with doors leading off to the classic designer kitchen (by Clive Christian) with its own traditional dining area, with two beautiful arched windows and doorway leading onto the sunny terrace, the ever present sea view adding a relaxed and peaceful feel to the room. There are numerous cupboards and plenty of storage space, and from the main living space, stairs lead up to the first floor.

The bedrooms are spread around the two upper floors, with their well-appointed bathrooms and a variety of balconies, terraces and outdoor spaces giving the whole property an open, bright and spacious feel. All the rooms have air conditioning and have beautiful marble or oak floors, giving the house a classic feel of quality. Beneath the property is a large private garage.

The property is currently let for much of the year and yields a very good level of revenue. The new owner may consider the villa in need of some level of refreshment – but without question the villa has enormous potential either as a main family home, second residence, or as an investment.

The location of the property is literally perfect. From the villa, the beach is within a few steps walking distance – one of the most beautiful sandy beaches on the Cote d’Azur, sheltered beneath the cliff and with the most stunning views out to sea. The old town of Villefranche, with its idylic cobbled waterfront is only a few moments away, round the bay from the beach area. Here, you will find restaurants and cafes with one of the Riviera’s most stunning views – across the water to the green slopes of Cap Ferrat, and the beach below the cliffs. The Old Town itself is part of the view from the villa, and is without doubt one of the most beautiful places on this coast, vibrant without being noisy, still inhabited by many locals and boasting a wealth of little shops and boutiques, cafes and restaurants, many of which are open year-round.

Villefranche Mairie, or town hall, is situated in an impressive Napoleonic fortress, which stands guard over the two main port areas of Villefranche – La Darse, with its old school ship repairers and pleasure craft (and who’s vaulted stone ateliers appeared in James Bond’s Never Say Never Again) and Port de la Sante, where you can hire boats, moored up next to the local fishermen’s traditional ‘pointu’ painted wooden boats. The clear azur waters of the bay, the relaxed beauty of the old town – some of the houses still bear the dates (c.1640) carved over the doorways – the elegant curve of the bay (recently proposed as a UNESCO world heritage site) and the near perfect beaches with their small cafes and great summer atmosphere, make Villefranche-sur-mer one of the most lovely places on earth.

Villefranche has a mainline railway station, five minutes’ walk from the villa, which is only a few stops one direction from Monaco and Italy, and in the other, two stops from Nice Centre, where a tram can take you direct to the airport. There are excellent local buses, running throughout the day along the coast from Monaco to Antibes. For those who like to exercise on foot, there are many local walking paths around the cliffs or down at the water’s edge, and access to the famous St Jean Cap Ferrat coastal path begins at the end of the beach, next to the famous villa once owned by Hollywood Great, Errol Flynn, again part of the view from the terraces of the villa.

Facing the Old Town from across the bay, is the legendary Villa Nellcote, a stunning mansion right on the water’s edge that was home for a short while in the early 70s to Keith Richards and the Rolling Stones, where the band wrote one of the decade’s seminal albums ‘Exile on Main Street’. For generations, the world’s well healed have been coming to Villefranche, to enjoy the discreet beauty and peace of this wonderful village – once you’ve discovered Villefranche, you’ll never want to be anywhere else!