We're going to take you on a walking tour through the medieval town of Vence in the
South of France. This small picturesque village with its pedestrian
zone makes a very worthwhile daytrip. It's an easy bus ride from Nice – it takes
just over one hour to get there, and in the morning the buses leave about every half-hour.
Taking the bus is a very nice way to meet some locals.
Bonjour. It only costs 1 1/2 euro for the bus ticket,
so this is a very good bargain. There's no train service to Vence, so you
need to come by bus if you're coming by public transportation.
The bus will drop you off just outside the Old Town at Place du Grande Jardin.
The tourist information office has got maps and brochures, and friendly people there who
can answer your questions. It's always a good idea to get some local
information from an expert and some free maps. And this lady was happy to tell us about the
Old Town and suggest a walking route for us. Vence is a small village, roughly circular
in shape only about 300 meters across. And here's the route that we will be taking
through the little lanes of Vence. Maybe the size of six football fields, so
you can easily see it in a few hours walking around – which is what we are going to do.
You see this gateway that was part of the original fortified wall around the village,
and any time you have a wall and the medieval village you're likely to find a well-preserved
old town. As we have done once again here in Vence.
You really cannot get lost when you're inside the Old Town of Vence because it's so small,
but you might get a little confused by these twisting foot paths. Just keep in mind there
is one primary route and several plazas, but the village is only 300 meters wide so just
feel free to wander, walk along the main lane and deviate down the little side alleys, come
on back to the main lane and walk both directions – it's interesting whether you are coming
or going. Vence is one of those rare medieval towns
in France that still has its wall all the way around it.
It provides a feeling of safety and protection. Even today some remain vigilant standing at
guard. And this fellow is keeping his eyes out on
the goings-on down below. The Old Town was entirely surrounded by ramparts
built in the 13th and 14th centuries. Within and about the ramparts rose the town,
like a castle of stone, elliptical in shape. When you exit the old town through the stone
gateway and then turn and look back at the outside of the wall, you find that the wall
has been converted into homes. There are windows and it has become a circle of housing that
reinforces the wall that goes all the way around the old town.
Walking outside the wall helps you quickly get from one gate to the next to you can save
a little time and cover more area. For now we suggest you continue outside the walls
for a couple more blocks before plunging back in.
And walking along the busy Avenue de la Resistance gives you a view of the new town of Vence
which is also attractive. You'll find small hotels and restaurants and various shops here,
and a taxi stand. Now we're walking back into the Old Town through
a different gateway in the northwest corner of the wall. This will put you in very good
position to complete your circular exploration of the entire Old Town.
The little lanes that we're showing you here are kind of off the beaten track. Most visitors
would just come down the main central lane and perhaps look at the church, and leave
– but each of these back alleys is quite interesting and worth a look.
When you're in the center of Vence you find yourself in a very special place. These buildings
are made of stone, they're 500 years old, they've got bars and cafés and restaurants,
and they've got shops. Somehow it's modern with all of the latest conveniences and yet
at the same time you're looking back into some deep history. And then we arrive at the
very oldest part of this historic town. The cathedral, Our Lady of Nativity, is the
smallest cathedral in Provence if not all of France.
And yet it is built on the foundations of an ancient Roman temple from the fourth century,
and the current building took shape in the 11th and 12th centuries in the Romanesque
style. Quite remarkably for such a small building
they have an original mosaic mural by Mark Chagall, one of the great artists of the 20th
century, who lived nearby. There's a charming collection of photographs
of all the babies that have been baptized here in the cathedral, showing this is still
very much an active church. And facing it on the Place is the City Hall
of town, the usual pattern forming the main square.
As we walk along these narrow lanes inside the Old Town, it's interesting to reflect
back on the history that led to the creation of such an attractive and yet strongly fortified
village. Crowded with houses of great age.
Within the walls of the town there is much to attract the student of ancient history.
Who first marked out this storied spot for human habitation?
It was at a very earl period, the capital of a primitive Ligurian tribe called the Nerusii.
Vence was occupied in turn by the Phoenicians, Phoceans and Gauls.
By-and-by the town was conquered by the Romans, and under the name Civitas Venticulum, speedily
attained to great importance as a central depot for the army.
At the beginning of the Christian era it was connected by a splendid road, a branch of
the old Via Julia Augusta, with Cimies, Vado, and the southern Italian routes, along with
extensive traffic carried along it. The Place Godeau in the middle, behind a fountain,
is shaded by three large chestnut trees and contains, some ancient houses.
During the Middle Ages Vence was a stronghold of the holy Roman empire.
Much of the medieval still survives in Vence as in other hill towns of the Riviera.
These early years were a time of growth for the little city and she prospered in her medievalism.
High on her hill, she was too difficult to access and suffer greatly from marauding foes.
She was hidden from the sea and did not attract the Mediterranean pirates who were roaming
at large. Vence is a quiet dreamy place.
It was especially nice to visit during the off-season. The program you're watching was
photographed in November and that's a very quiet time of year.
And then we are getting back on the bus and continuing our journey.
It makes a good day's outing to visit Vence along with some nearby villages, especially
St-Paul du Vence which is only about a mile away, and the town of Grasse, another very
beautiful, hillside medieval town that we're showing you in other movies on our
YouTube channel. We will be taking you there in other episodes.
We have created many more movies about this area, the Côte d'Azur, the French Riviera,
that you can find on our channes so have a look. You'll see programs about Cannes, and
Monaco, Monte Carlo St- Paul du Vence, Villefrance, all around through the region including Antibes
and we really enjoy using Nice as our home base to explore this entire region.