The Chapel of Saint Hospice, the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, the Villa Santo Sospir and numerous villas from the Belle Epoque period testify to the rich history and culture of the area.
There are several kilometres of coastal roads that can be traversed in a couple of hours. It is safe to say that Cap Ferrat, along with Antibes and Monaco, is at the top of most hotel and property rankings for its spectacular natural scenery.
Discover Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, its pleasure boat port and shops. The large breakwater at the end of the old port is a pleasant place to walk, offering unique views of the town and the steep coastal cliffs of the canton. Also discover 14 interesting walking ideas and 11 museums on Cap Ferrat.
#1. To continue exploring the peninsula, take a walk along the Cape St Hospice Trail
Take a short detour to see St Hospice Chapel and its majestic statue of Our Lady and Child. The way back to town is along the coves of Le Fosset and Le Fos. The town's information and tourism office offers free guided tours of the peninsula with commentary and entertaining interactive excursions for the whole family.
#2. If you are travelling with children
The peninsula has 4 playgrounds for children:
- On Cinema Street (rue du Cinéma), there are tables, benches and toilets.
- Cros deï Pin beach has a playground with toilets;
- General de Gaulle Boulevard (Boulevard Général de Gaulle) near house #1 has benches in the shade of the garden next to the children's playground;
- The Avenue of Flowers (avenue des Fleurs) has a playground next to the town school.
For a few days in June the town is decorated in the traditional blue and yellow colours. The programme for these summer days includes morning serenades, fairs, concerts and games for children.
On 24 June a procession of St Johns marches through the town's streets to the old port. Mass is celebrated in St Jean-Baptiste church and the bonfires of St John the Baptist are lit in front of the church.
#3. For lovers of classical music
The porch of St. Hospice Chapel is a magical stage for the wonderful classical music concerts held during summer.
#4. Weekend exhibitions
Collector's Car and Motorcycle Show and Concours d'Elegance. This prestigious weekend event attracts collectors from France and beyond.
#5. Venice Night
This popular festival has traditionally been celebrated every year since the post-war period at the beginning of August. As night falls, there is a parade of participants in Venetian masks and costumes, a torchlight procession, flag juggling and a procession of carnival bands. The parade is followed by a large firework display and then dancing.
#6. Saint-Jazz-Cap-Ferrat Festival and Saint-Jazz Club
Saint-Jazz-Cap-Ferrat proudly takes its rightful place among the jazz events taking place on the Côte d'Azur. Internationally renowned jazz performers take to the stage in the Garden de la Paix in a charming pine grove.
In winter the art of jazz also delights visitors with performances by the Saint Jazz Club in the Salle Charlie Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin Hall. Once every March, from October to May, local and international musicians invite everyone to enjoy a concert with a friendly atmosphere.
The Peninsula also hosts a festival of drawings, caricatures and humour. There are meetings with artists and cartoonists, round tables, exhibitions, heppenings and more.
Mono performances with local talents, up-and-coming young artists and maestros on stage. This monthly event has become a tradition. There is a warm atmosphere with jokes and laughter. For an up-to-date programme of events, contact the Peninsula Tourism Office.
#7. Water fun and beaches
The Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat Yacht Club on Cros deï Pin beach rents sapsurfing boards, kayaks, windsurfing boards, optimist class dinghies, catamarans and pedal boats. You can also learn how to sail and enjoy catamaran trips for beginners. During summer, there are a variety of sporting and leisure activities.
#8. Cap Ferrat Watersports
Cap Ferrat Watersports offers a wide range of marine activities in an exceptional setting:
- Jet Skiing
- Parasailing
- Wakeboarding
- Riding on inflatables
- Peregrine surfing and much more.
Fun and enjoyment guaranteed! Classes are led by qualified, state-certified instructors. Jet ski rides and packages for groups are available at preferential rates on the beaches of Royale Riviera and Be des Furmi.
#9. Cap Ferrat Diving
The old port of Olivier offers a wide range of activities. An introduction to the underwater world aboard the boat Le Cortot: from first dives to professional training. Classes for children from 6 years old, night dives and private lessons.
#10. Villa Beatrice Ephrussi Rothschild
The Villa Baroness Beatrice Ephrussi, born a Rothschild, is a museum of the manners and tastes of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat during the Belle Epoque. The elegant pink palace, surrounded by a suite of seven themed gardens, is a kind of architectural whimsy where the canons of Italian palazzo and European Art Deco are intertwined.
All the rooms on the ground floor, like pearl necklaces, are strung together in a passageway and at the same time lead also to an inner, glass-domed patio with columns of pink marble.
These private boiserie rooms now represent the rich private collection of the Baroness, a passionate connoisseur and collector of High Renaissance Italian art and 16th- and 17th-century French furniture, as well as valuable pieces from the French Academy of Fine Arts.
In the 'Salle Louis XVI' one can see personal items belonging to the French Bourbon royal dynasty. There are 18th-century paintings on the walls, including a canvas by Tiepolo, and a sumptuous carpet from the Royal Chapel at the Palace of Versailles covers the floor.
The main decoration of "Louis XV Hall" is a unique carved table belonging to the Regent Philip of Orleans, the wall decor is made up of tapestries and paintings of the French school of the 17th century, including "Colombine" by F. Boucher.
In the Beatrice Apartment, everything has been preserved as it was when she was a lady of the house
It is a room full of light, furnished in the style of Marie Antoinette, whose belongings can be found in the tiny dressing room next door. The 'Porcelain Hall' showcases a sumptuous collection of service porcelain.
The gardens surrounding Villa Beatrice Ephrussi Rothschild are particularly noteworthy
French, Provençal, Spanish, Florentine, Japanese, an exotic garden and a rose garden. They are open all year round and there is always a surprising display of the changing seasons.
Opening hours and admission tickets
A free audio guide is available in French, English, German and Italian. A special play booklet has been developed for children aged 7-12 years old to help them explore this unique museum complex with fun and enjoyment.
You can also have lunch here (from 12:00 to 15:00) or settle down with a good companion in the cosy tearoom on the terrace (from 15:00 to 18:00 or 19:00 in July and August). The tearoom offers a rich selection of French pastries and cakes as part of a set menu with coffee or tea for 18-20 EUR for adults and 13 EUR for children.
Baroness Ephrussi Rothschild's villa is open 365 days a year:
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
July to August: 10:00 to 19:00
November to January: Monday to Friday - 2pm to 6pm
Weekends and public holidays: from 10:00 to 18:00.
Entrance costs 15 EUR for adults and 12 EUR for children, students and other categories of visitors. Check the villa's website for up-to-date information on the day of your visit to the museum.
#11. Historical roots of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
Around the same time as the heyday of the Côte d'Azur at the end of the 19th century, Cap Ferrat as a beautiful spot near Nice attracted King Leopold II of Belgium. In 1902, he built a villa here for his "lady of the heart", the French courtesan Caroline Lacroix, who, of course, was not his lawful wedded wife at the time.
At the end of his life, shortly before his death, Leopold did marry her, but that's another story. So the donated villa was named "La Leopold" and at one time was considered the most expensive in the world (it was then displaced by another villa, but also a former property of King Leopold, and also on Cap-Ferrat).
The Belgian royal family was the main landowner of Cap Ferrat at the beginning of the 20th century and this influenced the development of the cape and Beaulieu-sur-Mer with expensive and refined Belle Epoque villas.
European monarchs were soon followed by the richest families in Europe and America, such as the Rothschilds. Friedrich Nietzsche lived nearby in the area and did not neglect Cap Ferrat either. Charlie Chaplin, Sommerset Maugham, Jean Cocteau, Isadora Duncan, Gregory Peck and many other luminaries from the worlds of film, art, politics and business built its reputation throughout the tumultuous 20th century.
Interesting fact about the purchase of a famous villa in the city
Some time ago, the French press relished the details of how Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov wanted to buy the famous Villa Leopold, but failed to buy, but paid a record forfeit to the owner in the form of a €39 million deposit not returned to him and another €1.5 million "for the trouble".
#12. Activities at sea
- Nautical Club
- Diving
- Water Sports Centre
- SOS Grand Bleu Association
#13. Private pools available at the following hotels
- Club Dauphin at the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, A Four Seasons Hotel*****
- La Plage at La Voile d'Or *****
- Pool at the Club Hotel Delcloy***
#14. Main hiking routes
- Maurice Rouvier Promenade
- The track around the St Hospice
- The track around the Cap Ferrat peninsula
11 Peninsula museums and cultural heritage accessible to the public
- Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
- Villa Santo Sospire
- Shell Museum
- Saint Hospice Chapel
- Naval Cemetery
- Belgian War Cemetery
- COEXIST fountains
- Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church
- Lighthouse and Signal Tower
- Old harbour
- Underwater trail
How to get to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is accessible by a Signature Sailing Charter catamaran sailing along the sea towards Monaco from Nice or Monaco. Book in advance for the Signature Sailing Charter catamaran to sail from the port of Nice or Monaco in the morning or afternoon of the day of your trip.
We suggest you take a weekend stroll around Cap Ferrat and see what an amazing place it is. You can enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner aboard a catamaran, sunbathing, a boat handling workshop and even some water activities during your boat trip. And all these extras are available for free, with special offers in March, April, May or June.
The Signature Sailing Charter catamaran offers boat trips to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, not only from Nice, but also from Monaco and Cannes.
You can book a boat trip to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat:
Signature Sailing Charter offers boat trips to Cap Ferrat, not only from Monaco, but also from Nice and Cannes. You can book a boat trip to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat online on website:
- It could be a 1-day itinerary to the resort town;
- A 2-day itinerary for a weekend or at a time of your choice with an overnight stay on a catamaran;
- You can also choose an itinerary of 3 or more days for a boat trip to the Côte d'Azur with a visit to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat for 1 day.
Signature Sailing Charter offer a full range of services to organise your holiday on the Côte d'Azur!
Book it now and travel later! Your sea cruise will be in complete comfort, accompanied by a crew of three: a captain, a chef and a stewardess.
Signature Concept for 8 guests with comfortable cabins;
Signature Vision for 10 guests with comfortable cabins.
Find out what you can see in Cap Ferrat in 1 day. Enjoy your holiday on the Côte d'Azur!
Take advantage of our hot offer:
A boat trip to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat for 1, 2 or more days with a discount of 5 to 10%. Find out more at the link.
Our service offers convenient dining options: either on board a sailing catamaran or on the shore in a restaurant recommended by us. Ask our manager about sea cruises organised by Signature Sailing Charter.
We wish you a fabulous holiday!
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