Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France

Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, French Riviera. Foto: Cătălin Kislinger / Titi Tudorancea Bulletin

Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is a French seaside villa located at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat on the French Riviera. The villa was designed by the French architect Aaron Messiah, and constructed between 1905 and 1912 by Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild (1864–1934).

A member of the Rothschild banking family and the wife of the banker Baron Maurice de Ephrussi, Béatrice de Rothschild built her rose-colored villa on a promontory on the isthmus of Cap Ferrat overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The Baroness filled the mansion with antique furniture, Old Master paintings, sculptures, objets d'art, and assembled an extensive collection of rare porcelain.

On her death in 1934, the Baroness donated the property and its collections to the Académie des Beaux Arts division of the Institut de France and it is now open to the public.

The Gardens

The villa is surrounded by nine gardens, each on a different theme: Florentine, Spanish, Garden à la française, exotic, a stone garden, a Japanese garden, a rose garden, Provençal and a garden de Sèvres. They were created between 1905 and 1912 under the direction of landscape architect Achille Duchêne.

The garden was conceived in the form of a ship, to be viewed from the loggia of the house, which was like the bridge of a vessel, with the sea visible on all sides. It was inspired by a voyage she made on the liner Île de France, and the villa was given that name. The thirty gardeners who maintained the garden were dressed as sailors, with berets with red pom-poms.

The Garden à la française is the largest garden and occupies the area behind the villa. Next to the villa there is a terrace with a formal French garden and topiaries. Beyond the terrace is a park with palm trees and a long basin, ornamented with fountains, statues, and basins with water lilies and other aquatic plants.

On the far end of the park is a hill covered with cypress trees, surrounding a replica garden of the Temple of Love at the Petit Trianon palace. The slope below the temple has a cascade of water in the form of a stairway, which feeds into the large basin.

A stairway from the French garden descends to the circle of gardens on the lower level. The Spanish garden features a shaded courtyard and fountain, with aromatic plants, Catalan amphorae, and a Gallo-Roman bench.

The Florentine garden, facing the rade of Villefranche-sur-Mer, has a grand stairway, an artificial grotto, and an ephebe of marble. Beyond the Florentine garden is the lapidary, or stone garden, with an assortment of gargoyles, columns, and other architectural elements from ancient and medieval buildings.

The Japanese garden has a wooden pavilion, a bridge, and lanterns.

The exotic garden features giant cactus and other rare plants. A rose garden with a statue surrounded by columns adjoins it, where pink, the favorite color of the owner, is the predominant color. On the east side of the villa is a garden of native plants of Provence and a garden with decorations of Sèvres porcelain.

The villa was registered as a historical monument in 1996. (Wikipedia)

Get in

The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild overlooks the Bay of Villefranche and the Bay of Beaulieu. It is located 10 kilometres from Nice and Monaco and 800 metres from the Villa Kérylos. Address: Avenue Ephrussi de Rothschild, 06230 Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France.
Tél : 04 93 01 33 09. Email : message@villa-ephrussi.com

• By road: access by the lower cliff road (RD6098). A free car-park is available on the site. GPS coordinates: latitude 43°6945937 - longitude 7°3292327.

• By bus: line 81, "Plage de Passable" stop.

• By train: Beaulieu-sur-Mer station (www.ter-sncf.com/paca)

• By plane: Nice Airport.

Opening Times

The Villa is open 365 day a year from 10:00 to 18:00

— In July and August: from 10:00 to 19:00
— From November to January: from Monday to Friday from 14:00 to 18:00 / weekends and holidays from 10:00 to 18:00.

Last admission 30 minutes before closing.

Dogs are not allowed in the Villa and the gardens.

Rates

Full rate: 14 euro
Reduced rate: 11 euro

Offers for families: free entry for the second child aged 7 to 17 when two adults and one child entries have been bought.

Reduced rate for children aged 7-17, students, Education Pass holders and unemployed (on presentation of written proof). Free for children under the age of 7 and journalists (on presentation of written proof). A disability card grants free, priority access to the museum. Carers benefit from a reduced rate.

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