Accommodation info and tourist tips for Vence

About the city

Vence is a small French inland town on the French Riviera, in the hills of the Alpes Maritimes department, between Nice and Antibes. An attractive old town surrounded by a ring of hills, it has a splendid view down to the Mediterranean over Antibes and Cagnes sur Mer. Being protected from the cold front by the hills on the northern side of the town, Vence has a temperate climate the winter months being especially mild.

The small town has always attracted artists, writers and poets, among them Raoul Dufy, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, Maurice Boitel, Henri Calet, James Baldwin, Anthony Mars and D.H. Lawrence are more known. Some of the artists even contributed to the town’s architecture, like Chagall’s mosaic on a chapel’s outside wall, or decorations of stained glass and other fittings by Henri Matisse. Also Vence is famous for its spring water, which can be collected from numerous fountains throughout the town.