Villefranche-sur-Mer is a small town in the Alpes-Maritimes department, on the French Riviera with a population of just under 7,500. Villefranche-sur-Mer is located about 4 miles east of the city of Nice. It has the deepest harbor of any port in the Mediterranean Sea. In 1744, a Franco-Spanish army under the Prince of Conti overran Sardinian entrenchments in the heights above the town (then part of Piedmont).
Built on the terraced hills overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the Promenade des Marinieres stretches along the waterfront of a deep-water harbor that served as the base for the US 6th Fleet until 1967. On the water's edge is a massive wall and Citadel, a fortress built in 1557 by Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy. Today, the Citadel houses the Town Hall, a congress center, three museums, and an open air theater.