Today I may live in Tourrettes sur loup, but I feel just as much a resident of Vence as of Tourrettes 🙂.
For several reasons:
The start of our story in the south began in Vence 👉 Read the article on the subject.
Vence was our favorite town ❤️ and we gave priority to Vence and the surrounding area when looking for our house in the south.
And of course, the proximity between Vence and Tourrettes sur Loup makes it a natural link in our daily lives. The two towns are very different and therefore complementary 🤝 in our everyday lives.
So it’s only natural that I’ve decided to devote an article to the town of Vence, sharing with you my general impression, my favorites and my advice as a newcomer.
I’ll be updating this article as I make new discoveries. Of course, your recommendations are more than welcome on the subject, so meet me at the bottom of the article to exchange 😀 !
Vence, where is it ?
Situated in the heights of Nice, I find the town of Vence to be ideally located if you like nature and peace and quiet, while being at a reasonable distance from the heart of the metropolis and its infrastructure.
Of course, depending on where you live, the timings will differ, but if we take the Place du Maréchal Juin as a benchmark (outside busy periods), you’ll be in the car at around :
-15 minutes from the Polygone shopping mall and 25 minutes from Cap 3000 🛍
-25 minutes from Nice Cote d’Azur airport ✈️
-35 minutes from Nice (place Massena) 🌞
-35 minutes from Sophia Antipolis technology park 🏢
-40 minutes from Antibes ⛱
-45 minutes from Cannes 🌅
-50 minutes from Monaco 🇮🇩
A cité and a town, between sea and mountains
We’ve been lucky enough to live in two different parts of Vence. And I can assure you that our vision of the town and our habits really evolved when we changed houses.
This is of course due to the fact that we were still in the discovery phase 🙂 but also to Vence’s very diverse geography, just like the other towns in the Nice metropolitan area.
For me, this is a real asset that Vence offers its inhabitants.
If you’d like to live here, this brief summary may help you to understand its main geographical features.
Vence is all of these things :
–A historic fortified town in the heart of the city 🏰. Visit the official website to find out more.
–Numerous neighborhoods that would take too long to list. Personally, we loved the Vosgelade / Malbosquet district where we began our Venetian adventure.
–A wide range of altitudes, depending on where you live: from 40 to 1030 meters above sea level at Col de Vence ⛰ the highest point!
–Several rivers: the Lubiane, the Malvan and the Cagne 💦.
–A forest – the Bois de la Sine 🌲 – where you can enjoy beautiful walks.
–And an exceptional panorama 👁 since the town is surrounded by major points of interest: the Baous, the village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence and, of course, the Mediterranean Sea. If you’re lucky, you might even have the privilege of overlooking one or more of them from where you live.
Main infrastructures
The town’s official website remains a reference point for up-to-date information.
Neither too big nor too small, Vence is what I would call a well-developed medium-sized town. The advantage is that you’ll find a large number of infrastructures and shops to manage your daily life without having to travel many kilometers.
To sum up, you’ll find :
–La Mairie 🏛, located on Place Clémenceau. We were married there in June 2022 💍😊. For info, Vence’s Etat Civil department is authorized to issue identity cards and passports.
–Schools 🎓: The town is equipped with 8 nursery/primary schools, the collège de la Sine and the lycée Matisse.
–Early childhood 👶: There are 3 crèches to cater for 0-3 year olds. Public gardens and playgrounds are also present in the town.
–Health 🩺 : Vence is home to numerous doctors and specialists, as well as several pharmacies. Two medical analysis laboratories are also located here.
–Animals 🐶: There are two veterinary clinics in Vence.
–Sport 💪 : Vence has three gymnasiums, a swimming pool, a skatepark and a municipal tennis court.
–Culture 🎨: The town has a small cinema, an exhibition venue – the Galerie Bleue – as well as a performance hall, the Salle des Meules.
–The Tourist Office 😎 is located in the Villa Alexandrine, near the Place du Grand Jardin.
–Food outlets 🛒 : In addition to the many shops, you’ll be spoilt for choice as the town boasts a small E.Leclerc hypermarket (with Drive service) as well as several supermarkets: Utile, Casino and Carrefour contact. Vence also boasts a Picard store.
–Service stations ⛽️ : Two stations serve Vence, one Carrefour Contact and one Total.
–Safety 🚨 : The town has a national gendarmerie, a police station and a fire station.
–The waste collection center ♻️, located on the route de Saint Paul.
Our habits and favorites in the city
Restaurants, shops, shopping…check out the article dedicated to our favorite places and habits in Vence!
Events not to be missed
School vacations
Vence regularly organizes activities and events to delight its residents, especially families.
Easter, Halloween, Christmas 🎅…if you love these festive periods, you’ll be well served by the town’s decorations, shows, workshops…
The Nuits du Sud Festival
In July, don’t miss the Nuits du Sud festival! The town pulls out all the stops, welcoming a host of renowned artists to the Place du Grand Jardin.
We had a great time at the 2022 edition, sitting down at Le Kashmir restaurant to listen to Benjamin Biolay 🎶.
The festival is taking a break in 2023 but will return in 2024, so stay tuned!
The Salon des Antiquaires
In August, the Place du Grand Jardin welcomes local antique dealers for the Salon des Antiquaires. If you love to hunt for old furniture, knick-knacks or objets d’art 🖼 run there in the early days!
We found some little treasures there, which you can discover in the blog post on the 3 renovation projects!
Keep up to date with city news
The town newsletter
Visit the Vence official website and subscribe to the newsletter to receive official information from the town (the form is at the bottom of the home page).
Facebook communities
If you’re new to the area, I encourage you to follow the Facebook communities dedicated to the people of Vence.
They’ll be useful not only for receiving information, but also for asking questions, sharing anecdotes… 📣
The main communities:
The AVF Vence and Pays Vençois
L’Accueil des Villes Françaises (AVF) is an association dedicated to welcoming newcomers; and good news 😀 there’s an AVF dedicated to Vence and Pays Vençois!
On the AVF Vence et Pays Vençois website, you’ll find news about the association, its proposed outings and activities and, of course, contact and membership details.
As I write this article, I realize that we still have so much to discover in Vence, what are your suggestions 😀?
See you soon!
Julie
