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Villefranche-sur-Mer Villefranche-sur-Mer is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-AlpesCôte d’Azur region on the French Riviera. Villefranche-sur-Mer adjoins the city of Nice to the east along Mont Boron, Mont Alban and Mont Vinaigrier, and 10 km (6.2 mi) south west of Monaco. The bay of Villefranche is one of the deepest natural harbours of any port in the Mediterranean Sea and provides safe anchorage for large ships, reaching depths of 95 m (320 ft) between the Cape of Nice and Cap Ferrat; it extends to the south to form a 500 m (1700 ft) abyss known as the undersea Canyon of Villefranche at about one nautical mile off the coastline. The town limits extend to the hills surrounding the bay climbing from sea level to an altitude of 520 m (1750 ft) at Mont-Leuze, reflecting on land the features found offshore. The three «Corniches» or main roads linking Nice to Italy pass through Villefranche.
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Villa ‘Belle Époque’ Villefranche sur Mer - French Riviera
This 1900’s belle époque villa, which has been in the same family since 1946, is unique in the French Riviera by its history and exclusive location. In 1946, the villa became the residence of the well-known artist and art dealer « Armand Drouant » who had an art gallery in Paris with a worldwide reputation. Armand Drouant’s gallery focused, with great success, on the most famous figural painters of the time. He and his gallery were instrumental in furthering the reputation and career of the French painter « Bernard Buffet ». Many sought-after receptions of the French Riviera were organized in this villa with painters such as Pablo Picasso, Raoul Dufy, Georges Braque, Antoni Clavé or Kees Van Dongen.
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In the early eighties, the villa housed the renowned restaurant « Le Massoury ». This fabulous restaurant was managed by the former director of the « Lasserre » restaurant in Paris. Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco was a regular client of this restaurant and used to come in once a week with family members, either her husband the Prince Rainier III and their children (the Prince Albert II, the Princess Caroline and the Princess Stéphanie). For over 10 years many other famous people and public figures regularly came to this restaurant.
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