Directions
How to get to the LOV?

Access map to the Villefranche Oceanography Laboratory, LOV

Address

Institut de la Mer de Villefranche, IMEV
Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, LOV
181 Chemin du Lazaret
06230 Villefranche-sur-Mer
France

Means of transportation

By Bus
  • From the Port of NICE (Port Lympia stop) – take the line LR100 (NICE -MENTON) direction “Monaco” or “Menton”. Get off at the bus stop “Octroi- Villefranche-sur-Mer” (11th stop). Walk to the street corner; turn hard right to walk down the hill following the sign “Port de la Darse”. Continue for approximately 1 km down to the Port de la Darse to the IMEV building. Caution, watch for traffic, for the last 500 m there is no sidewalk.
  • From MONACO (Place des Moulins stop) – Take the line LR100 (MENTON – NICE) direction “Nice”. Get off at the bus stop “Octroi- Villefranche-sur-Mer” (26th stop). Go to nearest corner, cross the street to the south, then turn hard right to walk down the hill following the sign “Port de la Darse”. Continue for approximately 1 km down to the Port de la Darse to the IMEV building. Caution, watch for traffic, for the last 500 m there is no sidewalk.
By Train

Arriving at NICE Ville station, take the TER (Direction MONACO). The second stop is Villefranche-sur-Mer. From there, allow 20 minutes to reach your destination. Go down the steps in the direction of the seaside. Follow the seafront on the Quai de l’Amiral Ponchardier in the direction of the Port de la Santé. At Place Wilson, take the seaside Citadel walkway towards the Port de la Darse to reach the IMEV building.

By Car
  • Coming from Aix-en-Provence on the A8 “La Provençale”. Take the exit n°50 Nice-Ouest, Direction Promenade des Anglais. Follow the seafront until you reach the Port of NICE (approx 9 Km). Follow the signs direction MONACO, Basse Corniche (low road): in Nice, Boulevard Carnot, it then becomes Boulevard Maurice Maeterlinck; in Villefranche-sur-Mer, it is first Boulevard Princesse Grâce de Monaco, it then becomes Avenue Maréchal Foch. At the Carrefour de l’Octroi in Villefranche-sur-Mer, turn hard right to go down the Avenue du Général de Gaulle towards the Port de la Darse/CNRS. Continue along the Quai de la Corderie to reach the IMEV.
  • Coming from ITALY on the A8 “La Provençale”. Take exit # 55 Nice-Est > Take the Route de Turin Direction Bon Voyage / Palais des Expositions. Continue on the Route de Turin (M2204B) following signs for the “Port”. Arriving at the Port on Rue Arson, t the Port of NICE, turn right onto the “Bass Corniche” towards MONACO. The bass corniche (low road) is named is Boulevard Carnot in Nice, then Boulevard Maurice Maeterlinck and then Boulevard Princesse Grâce de Monaco and Avenue Maréchal Foch in Villefranche-sur-mer. At the Carrefour de l’Octroi in Villefranche-sur-Mer, turn hard right to go down the Avenue du Général de Gaulle towards the Port de la Darse. Continue along the Quai de la Corderie to the chemin du Lazaret to reach the IMEV buildings.
By Plane

From Nice Côte d’Azur airport (Terminal 2), there are 4 possibilities to get to Villefranche-sur-Mer:

  1. By Tramway :
    Line 2: City Centre/Train station/Port > Departure : Terminal 2 Gate A2 or Terminal 1 (Gate A0) > Arrival : Port Lympia (Port of Nice) > At the port of Nice: Take the Bus Line LR100. See “By Bus” directions from the Port of Nice above.
  2. By Train :
    Free shuttle Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 (5 minutes) > On foot (10 minutes) to NICE Saint-Augustin station > Train (TER Direction Italy) to Villefranche-sur-mer station. The third stop will be Villefranche-sur-Mer. See “By Train”, Directions from Nice, above.
  3. By Bus :
    Free shuttle Terminal 2 to Terminal 1. Go to the Airport / Promenade stop. Take bus Line 12 towards Promenade des Arts. At the last stop, walk towards Place Garabaldi, turn right at the single roadway crossing Place Garibaldi and go down Rue Cassini to the Port of Nice (500 m). At the port of NICE: – Take the bus Line LR100 direction MONACO/MENTON. See above “By Bus”, from the Port of Nice.
  4. By Taxi :
    Taxi Stations: Terminal 1 Gate A1, Terminal 2 Gate A3.
By Boat

Arrival at the Port of Nice > Follow the low ledge towards MONACO: Boulevard Carnot > Boulevard Maurice Maeterlinck > Boulevard Princesse Grâce de Monaco > Avenue Maréchal Foch in Villefranche-sur-mer. At the Carrefour de l’Octroi, go down the Avenue du Général de Gaulle towards the Port de la Darse > Continue along the Quai de la Corderie to the chemin du Lazaret to reach the IMEV buildings.

On foot (bicycle, skateboard, scooter) 😉
  • From the Port of NICE (5.6 km). Follow the signs direction MONACO, Basse Corniche (low road): in Nice, it is first Boulevard Carnot, it then becomes Boulevard Maurice Maeterlinck; in Villefranche-sur-Mer it is first Boulevard Princesse Grâce de Monaco and then becomes Avenue Maréchal Foch. At the Carrefour de l’Octroi, turn hard right to go down the Avenue du Général de Gaulle towards the Port de la Darse/CNRS. Continue along the Quai de la Corderie to reach the IMEV.
  • From Beaulieu-sur-mer (2.7 km) > Go to the Pont Saint Jean. Take the Avenue Louise Bordes. At the end, go down the stairs towards the Promenade des Marinières in Villefranche-sur-mer. Continue along the beach to the Quai de l’Amiral Ponchardier. At Place Wilson, take the Citadel’s covered way towards the Port de la Darse. Continue along the Quai de la Corderie to the chemin du Lazaret to reach the IMEV building (Pierre and Marie Curie University Zoological Station – CNRS).