French Riviera town Villefranche-sur-mer will also ban larger cruise ships, under the same decree that will see neighbouring Nice turn away ships carrying more than 900-guests.
There are almost 90 cruise calls scheduled at Villefrancg-sur-mer in 2025, with French newspaper Le Monda pointing out that two-thirds are from ships that carry more than 900 passengers.
The decree, signed by Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi on 24 January, will see the measure – designed to tackle overtourism – kick in on 1 July. While the mayor lacks the authority to ban cruise ships from visiting, the new decree will stop passengers from larger ships from disembarking via tender.
Nice is also exploring the addition of shore power so vessels can switch off their engines while in port.
Meanwhile, industry body CLIA reacted to the ban, indicating its surprise at such a measure given no large ships are scheduled to call at Nice this year. Of the 124 calls that are scheduled at the port, all are ships carrying fewer than 900 passengers, it said.
Subscribe to LATTE Cruise’s free eNewsletter to keep up to date with everything in the luxury cruise space.Of the calls planned for Villefranche-sur-mer this year, three are large cruise ships and 34 are medium-sized cruise ships, according to CLIA.
The industry body urged Estrosi to reconsider his decision in the interest of local businesses and guests who want to visit, insisting the measure “stigmatises the cruise industry and does nothing to promote sustainable tourism.”
While similar measures are being pondered in nearby Cannes, Monaco has already implemented a similar ruling in a bid to reinforce its position as a luxury destination and to protect the environment.
In 2023, the principality’s government officially limited its acceptance of vessels to those in the luxury and premium category that measured up to 250 metres and carried no more than 1,250 passengers – however these restrictions had already been in place for some time.
Monaco recorded 165 port calls by cruise ships in 2019, with that number down to 110 in 2025 according to Cruise Timetables.
