The goal: Show you how amazing Saint-Paul-de-Vence is.
The hiccup: I narrowed down the photos I want to show you to 88. Yeah.
The solution: Lessen again (and again) and then divide into multiple posts!
Mr. B and I visited Saint-Paul in 2007 for about 45 minutes. I loved it and immediately felt I would return someday. Since we knew we would have a free day when our cruise docked in Monaco, we chose to spend it in Saint-Paul. Even with only 3 hours of sleep the night before, I didn’t hesitate when our alarm rang.
The town dates back at least to 1388. The name helps distinguish this St. Paul from all the others in the world. This one is in Provence! Throughout the 20th century, actors, artists (Marc Chagall) and writers (James Baldwin) made Saint-Paul into an active cultural centre. Since it is perfectly located between Nice and Cannes, movie stars were drawn there and it has been a film set more than once. We were there during the Cannes Film Festival, but I guess the stars were busy elsewhere.
Today Saint-Paul is home to many galleries and working artists’ studios. The winding lanes, the smells of all the fresh herbs, the view to the sea… I think this village is magical. I kept asking the shopkeepers if they know how lucky they are. They said they do.
The French Riviera gets about 300 days of sunshine each year because of mountains block the clouds.
Overlooking the cemetery where Chagall is buried. Snowcapped mountains in the distance.
Where we had lunch at Alain Llorca
Saint-Paul is said to look like a boat from a distance
We’d love to return and stay there for multiple days. There are village walking and biking tours, 5-star restaurants, many cafes, craft shops, markets, wineries, spas, cooking classes, and concerts. I was in heaven having gotten 2 hours there. Imagine multiple days!
Thanks for reading, friends! Do tell if you’ve ever been there!
I have not been there, but I once went to a meeting in Nice, and I admired that very much. I thought that it might even have produced the English word, which describes it. The narrow streets remind me of a trip I made to Sicily too. I loved the picture of you, having fun!
Thank you! That whole neck of the woods is so layered with history and charm.
It looks really lovely. We have not been there but it seems like a place that ewe would like. So glad you got to enjoy it for a second time. Sounds like you’ll get back to its loveliness sometime in the future.
Beautiful place and beautiful photos! I can see why you love it there!
It was one of the options on our cruise, but we went to Nice and Eze instead. Interesting, that’s the post I’m working on today, so I was JUST looking at the photos. There are similarities between Saint Paul and Eze. Heeheehee! I’m lobbying for doing the same cruise again (since there are so many tour options that it would be like a whole new cruise) and will for sure put this on the “must do” list! Great photos!
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