The World at Your Fingertips

Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France

Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. Foto: Cătălin Kislinger / Titi Tudorancea Travel Info

Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. It is located on a peninsula next to Beaulieu-sur-Mer and to Villefranche-sur-Mer and extends out to Cap Ferrat. Its tranquillity and warm climate make it a favourite holiday destination among the European aristocracy and international millionaires.

Climate

Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat has a mild Mediterranean climate. Average temperatures range from 9 °C (48 °F) in January to 23 °C (73 °F) in the summer. There is very little rainfall in the summer. Although occasionally the Mistral winds arrive, it is more sheltered by the mountains than for example St. Tropez, so the winds are not as strong.

The temperatures drop below 10 °C (50 °F) for only three months of the year (December to February), winters are balmy on the French Riviera in counterpart to the cold and gloomy weather that predominates in the northern European countries.

Townscape

Nicknamed as one of the pearls on the French Riviera, this quiet fishing village is renowned in the whole world for its peninsula of lush vegetation and rocky beaches, close to other popular resorts such as Èze, the Principality of Monaco and Cannes.

Beaches

Paloma beach southeast of the port, on the north side small peninsula (St. Hospice). Being on a northeast-facing shore and at the base of some tall cliffs. The location is about a 5–10 minutes walk from the port.

Passable beach is on the northwest side of the main peninsula, past the Office de Tourisme and past the zoo (parc zoologique). It's west-facing, with a view across the Rade de Villefranche.

Cro de Peï Pin is the biggest beach, located just north of the port at the Anse Lilong (the bay between the main peninsula and the smaller Ste Hospice peninsula), facing eastward into the Baie des Fourmis and the Tete de Chene. There's a public parking lot alongside the beach.

Le Zoo Parc du Cap-Ferrat

The Zoo du Cap-Ferrat, closed down in 2011 had an impressive collection of fauna and flora. There were over 300 varieties of plants, including succulents and cacti. There were also eucalyptus trees that were over 100 years old. A variety of animals also resided in the zoo.

St. Hospice

There's a very large bronze statue of the Madonna and Child, the early-19th century chapel, and a military cemetery for the 1914-18 war.

Le Phare

A spot of St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is the lighthouse, built in 1862 by decision of Napoleon III who wanted to equip the French littoral with a semaphoric chain. The goal was to ensure a monitoring of navigation, to transmit messages to the ships, to organize the helps in the event of maritime disasters, to take part in the first maritime meteorological observations.

Port de Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat

This is a small marina with 560 berths. It is very well-sheltered and quiet, located on the French Riviera.

Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat

Built in 1908, this stately white palace, hosted many worldwide personalities since it was erected, such as Paul Deschanel, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, Queen Victoria's daughter, who remained a guest for many seasons and was often visited by her brother the Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, who lived for twenty years on Cap Ferrat.

Do

Promenade Maurice Rouvier

An easy and level 1.8km path along the shoreline from near the St. Jean harbour to just before the small Beaulieu harbour. The only place it does not stay along the water's edge is at the private property that used to belong to David Niven.

Tour de St. Hospice

A 4km wavy stone or cement path around the St Hospice headland (the 'thumb' of Cap Ferrat). Begins at the Paloma Beach (facing Monaco) and ends at the Anse des Fosettes. Easy to reach by walking from the village. Also, take the side trip to the top of the peninsula to see the St. Hospice Chapel and cemetary. If you like swimming from rocks, the water here is very clear.

Culture

During the Belle Époque the Cap-Ferrat was already the vacation resort of the world elite: the great names of this world came there, during winter, to profit from its climate and the quality of life. In his song "I Went to a Marvellous Party," Noël Coward included the lyric Living in error/With Maud at Cap Ferrat/Which couldn't be right.

Musée Île-de-France

The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild (or Musée Île-de-France) is an Italian-style villa built between 1905 and 1912 on the request of Baronness Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild. It contains a large art collection and fine furnishing. The villa grounds have an extensive set of seven gardens designed in different styles: French Traditional, Florentine, Spanish, Exotic, Lapidary, Japanese, and Provençal. The villa is located at the northern end (entrance) of the peninsula.

Les Azuriales Opera Festival

The Les Azuriales Opera Festival, founded in 1997, takes place each year in August in Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild.

Local cuisine

With its coastal location, cuisine in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is based around seafood. Dishes include escalope de mérou au citron, which is sea bass steaks in lime; salmon tournedos with truffles; cod and vegetables in garlic sauce; and skate with capers. Meat dishes include estouffade de sanglier (wild boar) and fillet de beef rossini cooked with foie gras.

Economy

One of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat's main sources of income is tourism. The main spots of Saint-jean-Cap-Ferrat is its pleasant climate its history and its circuit of yachts attracts thousands of tourists every year. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat also has a small port of fish.

Another Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat's source of income is the hotel industry and the real estate sector which is dynamic in the region. Cap Ferrat was named in 2012 as the second most expensive residential location in the world after Monaco.

Transportation

Train. The Nice-Ventimiglia train along the coast stops at Villefranche-sur-Mer and Beaulieu-sur-Mer. There are buses to the Cap-Ferrat from Nice's central bus station.

Air. The nearest airports are Toulon-Hyères, Nice-Côte d'Azur, Marseille-Provence. The Nice Côte d'Azur airport, has regular flights to Geneva, Paris, Madrid, New York City and London.