Cap Ferrat has always attracted nobility from the time when Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy built a fortress in an effort to deter pirates.
From 1860, after the County of Nice ceded to France, Cap Ferrat gained momentum as a peaceful place of seclusion with a mild climate and therefore gained popularity among the wealthy.
There are around 600 mansions on the Cap Ferrat peninsula with the top few commanding staggering real estate sale prices close to 500 million euros!
Here’s a profile of 13 of Cap Ferrat’s famous villas and mansions:
1. Pink hued Fleur du Cap, previously known as La Scoglietto or ‘little rock’ in Italian, is surprisingly easy to see from Place David Niven on the Promenade Maurice Rouvier pathway and is best known as the former home of Charlie Chaplin then actor David Niven.
2. Villa Baia dei Fiori, christened as Villa Sylvia after the daughter of the original owners Barry and Lisa Curtis, is famous for its green tiles and ornamental garden. Facing the bay of Villefranche, the Curtis family entertained U.S Marines who were anchored in the bay during World War I. The property was bought by His Excellence Ilhamy Hussein Pasha in the 1960’s, a Turkish nobleman who met his second wife when he stayed at the Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo. He lived in Villa Baia dei Fiori until his death in 1992, after which time his extensive collections of rare antiques and art were auctioned.
3. Villa Les Cèdres, formerly known as Villa Pollonnais, is regarded as fitting among Cap Ferrat’s grandest properties.It was bought by King Léopold II of Belgium who originally purchased Villa Iberia near Passable Beach so he could moor his private yacht there. After he acquired Villa Pollonnais he built another villa onsite (now Villa Radiana) to house his mistress, Baroness Vaughn. The King subsequently went on to own most of the western side of Cap Ferrat, instructing Jules Vacherot who was the Head Gardener for the city of Paris including the gardens of the Eiffel Tower to rework Les Cèdres’ garden to make way for a tea room and a horse riding area so he could ride the length of the property without onlookers. In 1924, Les Cèdres was bought by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle, the producer of the Grand Marnier liqueur. His son nurtured an interest in developing the garden and today it has over 20,000 plant species. From 1976 onwards, it has been owned by Société des Produits Marnier-Lapostolle, which grows plants used for its famous drink in greenhouses on the estate.
4. La Vigie is one of the most unique mansions on Cap Ferrat being an oval/circular shape. It was built in 1898 on the site of a former grain mill by Lyonnais industrialist Emile Crozet-Fourneyron and has a beautiful reception room with 5-metre high windows affording magnificent views. It is frequently mistaken for other villas of the same name in Monte Carlo (Karl Lagerfeld’s ex-residence) and Juan les Pins (next to Hôtel Belles Rives).
5. Villa Maryland is the spectacular villa owned by Microsoft co-founder, billionaire and philanthropist Paul Allen who anchors one of his megayachts Octopus at nearby Villefranche-sur-Mer. Unfortunately, despite having two helicopters on his yacht the local council doesn’t permit him to land on his own lawn in case it creates a flood of similar requests from other homeowners.
6. Villa La Mauresque located facing avenue Somerset Maugham, was christened ‘Mauresque’ due to its Moorish architectural style and has had a colourful history being built by a personal chaplain to King Léopold II of Belgium and then purchased by novelist W. Somerset Maugham in the 1920’s. For nearly forty years until his death, he hosted every literary and celebrity figure of the day who came to the French Riviera including T.S. Eliot, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Rudyard Kipling and Winston Churchill. Maugham employed renowned American architect Barry Dierks who is well known for landmark properties in the French Riviera region including Villa Hier and Villa Aujourd’hui on the Cap d’Antibes, Château de l’Horizon in Golfe Juan and his own home, Villa Le Trident in Théoule-sur-Mer. Although most of the North African architectural elements were removed from La Mauresque, you can still see the North African symbol Maugham put on the gateposts to ward off the evil eye that became his insignia on all his books.
7. Built by Countess Therese de Beauchamp in 1917, Villa La Fiorentina remains one of the largest properties on Cap Ferrat with two swimming pools, forest and gardens still covering a colossal 30,000 m2. Inspired by a Florentine palace, Villa La Fiorentina sits on the far edge of the Sainte-Hospice peninsula with commanding views across to Cap d’Ail, Monaco and Italy. The Countess sold the villa to Sir Edmund Davis, a diamond magnate with mines in South Africa and he was influential in building the coastal pathway round Cap Ferrat. Various owners have renovated Villa La Fiorentina over the years, as well as stayed at a smaller residence nearby named Le Clos Fiorentina owned by Count Hubert de Givenchy. The public is still permitted to walk outside the perimeter due to the French Coastal Law so security is maintained via cameras, radars and six full-time guards year round. The current owner of Villa La Fiorentina is Curt Engelhorn, a German pharmaceutical heir.
8. A curvaceous vision of retro luxury built in 1968, Villa Nara Mondadori designed by Brazilian modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer stands out among the more classical mansions for its flowing lines and tiled pool house with amoeba-shaped swimming pool.
9. Château Saint Jean, built in 1899 for an Italian-German banker is a neo-gothic Venetian villa with its own private harbour and boathouse. It was originally called Château Wedekind but was renamed Château Saint Jean when it was purchased by the Hungarian princess Wilma Lwoff-Parlaghy in 1909.
10. Villa Primavera was constructed in 1880 by Ernest Cunard, founder of Cunard shipping. Today, this prestigious mansion located on the strip of land separating Fossettes and Fosses beaches is owned by Russian oligarch Gavril Yushvaev who earned his fortune from a range of investments including real estate, casinos and gold mining.
11. Award winning British architect Lord Norman Foster’s La Voile is a strikingly modern architectural imprint on a landscape decorated with Belle Époque columns, porticos and entranceways. Look for the huge arches and shade sails if you follow the Chemin des Douaniers coastal walkway.
12. Historically listed Villa Santo Sospir, so named in honour of a 6th century monk who lived on Cap Ferrat, was purchased after World War II by Francine Weisweiller. She invited French playwright, poet and artist Jean Cocteau to stay and he lingered for 11 years. Over that time he decorated the Villa’s walls, ceilings and entrance patio with mosaics, frescoes of Greek mythology and Mediterranean images. Guided tours (€12 per person) can be arranged by reservation. Cocteau also decorated the Chapelle Saint Pierre in nearby Villefranche-sur-Mer and the Salle des Mariages in Menton, which is also the location of Musée Jean Cocteau, a beachside museum containing over 1000 of his works.
13. Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild occupies a prime site that allows wide panoramic views to the east and west of Cap Ferrat and it is a splendid Belle Époque homage to Baroness Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild, the daughter of the Governor of the Banque de France. Visitors will be charmed by her opulent mansion of Venetian, Florentine and Spanish influence displaying antique furniture, porcelain, and an immense art collection. The villa is surrounded by beautiful themed gardens designed in traditional style: Spanish, Exotic, Florentine, French Traditional, Japanese, Lapidary, and Provencal.
Cap Ferrat is a wonderful place to go walking with a number of well-maintained pathways following both residential roads and the coast past parasol pines, bougainvillea and olive trees. Cap Ferrat’s walks allow views of the sea and glimpses of the spectacular real estate and peninsula hotels.
