Saint Jean Cap Ferrat | French Riviera - Cote d'Azur

Saint Jean Cap Ferrat on the French Riviera: It is a commune of the Alpes Maritimes département.

The commune has a population of around 2,500 inhabitants and covers 2.48 km². It is located on a peninsula next to Beaulieu sur Mer and to Villefranche sur Mer.

Its tranquillity and warm climate make it a favourite holiday destination amongst European aristocracy and international millionaires.

It is one of the loveliest places on the Mediterranean coast.

The village was known to the ancient Greeks as Anao.

The site of present days was first settled by Celto-ligurian tribes, then by the Lombards at the end of the 6th Century.

Sant Ospizio (or Saint Hospice), a hermit friar, is said to have inhabited a tower on the Eastern part of the peninsula.

In the 8th Century, the history of the village changed when the Saracens occupy the site and use it as a base for pirating until the 11th Century.

By 1388, the territory of the village with the entire County of Nice is given by treaty to the Dukes of Savoy (see also Villefranche sur Mer).

The history of the village tells that Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy builds a fort at Saint-Hospice in 1561 in an effort to secure the coastline from invaders.

The fort is destroyed in 1706 by the Duke of Berwick when Nice is occupied by the French armies of King Louis XIV.

During the 18th Century, the history of the village changed when the area - officially part of the Kingdom of Sardinia - was occupied off and on by the French.

It is returned to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1814 after Napoleon's abdication.

In 1860 the County of Nice is finally ceded by treaty to France and the peninsula becomes a magnet for kings and wealthy visitors; a new era for the village.

The small fishing village of Saint Jean develops and by 1904 is established as a self-standing commune with the rest of the peninsula, separated from nearby Villefranche sur Mer.

At the onset of the 20th Century King Léopold II of Belgium owns an important estate there and builds several residences and an artificial lake.

The main residence is the stately Villa des Cèdres, which has been owned by Marnier-Lapostolle (the makers of Grand Marnier) since 1924 and is now in part a botanical garden called Les Cèdres.

In 1905 Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild also chooses Cap Ferrat to build an opulent and exquisite Tuscan style palazzo, now known as Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild museum.

Today the vilage has probably some of the most expensive real estate in the world and continues to attract the rich and famous.

It is truly one the crown jewels of the French Riviera.

The luxurious properties are nestled amongst lush vegetation.

Discretely built and protected from prying eyes, they often include a private beach and locked gates.

The sort of place you will find behind the steel gates.

Prices if available range from ... million € to the priceless.

Villa Espalmadour here shortly to receive yet another refurbishment, a bit like the yachts in Antibes, constantly polished for the benefit of absent owners.

The villa names are so understated.

"Les Pieds dans La Mer" says it all: we go all the way down to the sea, own the coastline as well and have our own private beach.

Everything is not always what it seems on the French Riviera...!

Some of the estates on Cap Ferrat have hosted a plethora of celebrities among others:

King Leopold II of Belgium,
Baroness de Rothschild,
Charlie Chaplin,
Rainier III,
David Niven,
Somerset Maugham,
Jean Cocteau,
Isadora Duncan,
Winston Churchill,
French Prime Ministers Maurice Rouvier and Raymond Barre and many more.

This wonderful place is the apex of the French Riviera's "golden triangle", of Cap Ferrat, next to Beaulieu sur Mer and Villefranche sur Mer.

Yes, there are trophy homes in Malibu or Beverley Hills, tropical paradises in Barbados or the Seychelles.

But none of those places have real culture, history.

The village of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, villages and other towns on the French Riviera are unique on these two subjects!

People like Cliff Richard and ex-Page 3 kiss-and-tell models have homes in Barbados.

They live in a vacuous pretend paradise where reality is just poor people waiting table for tuppence.

Go back a hundred years and only royalty could afford to reach here.

Now it is open to everyone and you are Welcome, it doesn't matter where you come from!

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Sights

In order to better appreciate the beauty of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat; you can visit on foot by taking the coastal path.

It is signposted for 14 km and divided into 3 parts: the tour of Cap Ferrat, the pine-forest and the Maurice Rouvier walk which links Saint Jean Cap Ferrat to Beaulieu sur Mer.

The whole peninsula offers a great network of trails from which exquisite vistas of the coast can be admired, from Nice and the Baie des Anges to the West to Cap d'Ail and Italy to the East.

The little village of Saint Jean (this is the way we call the village here) is nested around a cove on the eastern side of the peninsula where an expansive marina built in the 1970's shelters some of the most luxurious yachts in the Mediterranean.

Another path from the centre of the village circles the promontory of Saint-Hospice, which forms the eastern arm of the peninsula.

From the top the hill, a monumental (38 feet high) bronze Madonna near a rustic 17th Century oratory overlooks the Bay of Beaulieu sur Mer.

At the tip of Cap Ferrat, you will find one of the most beautiful palaces in the world: the "Grand Hôtel du Cap" which is set in a stunning garden.

You can visit one of the most beautiful villas on the peninsula which is open to the public and is like a palace from "One Thousand and One Nights", decorated with Baroness Ephrussi de Rothschild treasures’: the Villa Ile de France.

This mansion is decorated with the treasures of the Baroness.

More than 5,000 works of art are displayed, together with an impressive collection of furniture, lamps and carpets... it's marvellous!

The visit continues in the gardens of the villa surrounded by the sea.

The Baronness Ephrussi de Rothschild was inspired by her travels to create 7 gardens designed around several themes... Spanish, Florentine or Japanese...garden of the Muses, garden of the Lapidary, the rose garden... impeccable walkways, palm-trees and rare fragrances surround this paradise.

Visitors can also wander along the port, opposite the wharf where a number of restaurants have shady terraces.

What was the artificial lake of King Leopold is now a modern zoo open year round.

It houses 300 animals which live in semi-freedom amongst the Mediterranean and tropical vegetation.

You will discover crocodiles, big-cats, exotic birds... amongst others.

At Saint Jean Cap Ferrat something new now: a museum for seashells; it worth the visit too.

Created by Jean Pierre Sidois, who is the executive officer from the "Association SOS Grand Bleu" (association for the protection of the cetaceans in the Mediterranean).

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Transportation

There is a regular bus service to and from Beaulieu sur Mer and Nice which serves the peninsula.

The main railway station is located at Beaulieu (2 km or 1¼ mile away) with service to and from Nice and Monaco.

The nearby airport is Nice Côte d'Azur (NCE) is 14 km or 8¾ miles away.

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Videos

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Useful Links and Resources

• City council and Tourism official website (French only).
• Le Petit Journal - Local Newspaper (French only).
• The Riviera Times Website (English newspaper).
• The Riviera Reporter Website (English magazine).
• Riviera Radio Website (English radio).
• International Radio Website (English radio).

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