Two bays from one point
Nice and Villefranche together — the widest view on this coast.
C. Martino — CC BY-SA 4.0 · FrancoisMignard — CC BY-SA 3.0 · X-Javier — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Qdelcamp — CC BY-SA 3.0
By bus from Nice to a nearby stop then a short climb, or entirely on foot through the Mont Boron woodland paths from the city, which takes about an hour and needs proper shoes. The walk is finer but it is not a gentle stroll.
Late afternoon before sunset: the light comes from the west and lights the bay of Nice, and it is cooler for the climb. Avoid midday in summer — the path is exposed and the ascent is hard.
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A sixteenth-century fort on the summit of Mont Alban between Nice and Villefranche, among the best preserved examples of military fortification of its period on this coast. The design explains its purpose: a square building with four corner towers shaped like arrowheads, a form devised to resist artillery, which had recently changed the rules of war. The walls are thick and sloped to deflect shot rather than high and vertical like medieval walls. Its position is the reason for it: from this summit you see the bay of Nice to the west and the harbour of Villefranche to the east at once, so the fort watched two sea approaches together. That view is what brings visitors today, and it is among the widest on this coast. Practical points: reach it by bus then a climb, or on foot through the Mont Boron woodland paths, which is a serious ascent. The interior may open only for events — check. The surroundings and the view are open and free.
Nice and Villefranche together — the widest view on this coast.
Sloped, thick walls because gunpowder changed the rules of fortification.
The ascent through the Mont Boron woods is fine but strenuous — plan for it.
Summit of Mont Alban, between Nice and Villefranche