On the far side of Mont Boron lies Villefranche, a beautiful natural harbor developed in the early 14th C. by Charles II of Anjou. The town is surrounded by olive-clad hills and has such a mild climate that even bananas ripen here. In the south of the picturesque Old Town stands the Citadel (1580; fortifications on the seashore). In the Church
of St-Michel, built in the Italian Baroque style, is a figure of Christ carved in elm and another of St-Rochus (16th C.)
The remarkable Rue Obscure runs beneath huge shaded arches. By the harbor stands the fishermen's Chapel of St-Pierre (often closed) - the interior of which was decorated by Jean Cocteau - and the Palais de la Marine. Cocteau often stayed at both Villefranche and St Jean Cap Ferrat and a scene from his film "Le Testament d'Orphée" is set in the Rue Obscure.