In the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of the French Riviera

 "The Mediterranean is in my DNA. I'm fine inland for about a week, but then I yearn for a limitless view of the sea, for the colors and smells of the Italian and French Riviera.” — Alain Ducasse

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(in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of the French Riviera) The harbor town and Mediterranean resort of Villefranche-sur-Mer is found on the wooded slopes surrounding the magnificent roadsteads, southwest of the Principality of Monaco, which is just west of the French-Italian border. Dominated by Mount Boron. the town is connected by a cliffside road with Beaulieu to the east and with Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat to the southeast -- on the scenic Cap Ferrat peninsula, where notable properties include the former Riviera residence of Leopold II, once the king of the Belgians. Thanks in part to its deep harbor, and an imposing citadel overlooking the Cap Ferrat peninsula, this place is a prime port of call for cruise ships. The 14th-century Old Town, with its tiny, evocatively named, streets broken by twisting staircases and glimpses of the sea, is a delight to explore on foot -- enabling visitors to a vision of small-town Mediterranean life (so unexpectedly close to Nice, the cultural capital of the French Riviera).