HIGHLIGHTS
• Villa Rothschild
• Cap Ferrat Lighthouse
• Cap Ferrat Zoo
• Hiking Trails
• Super Yachts on the Port
The lowdown on St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
The village of St-Jean still retains an aura of quaint charm though there are plenty of pavement cafes peppered around and a string of seafood restaurants along the bay. There is also a small supermarket as well as cute little shops and boutiques.
Cap Ferrat is most popular with beach lovers – here there are three beaches, offering shingle rather than pebbles and gorgeous protected bays. The most touristy and busiest of the three beaches is Cro de Peď Pin where water sports are on offer as well as snack bars. You can find it to the north side of the main Port, Anse Lilong. This is closely followed by the pretty shingled Passable beach with views of Villefranche from both the private and public beaches there. Passable beach is also located near to the visitors’ centre. Paloma beach is the smallest, yet most famous, of the three with a natural windbreaker from the cliffs surrounding it. Paloma beach is also home to Paloma Restaurant (tel 04.93.01.64.71) where tourists and sometimes celebrities can be seen tucking into pizzas and pasta as well as sipping cocktails and renting jet-skis.
A great base to explore, one of the main attractions of Cap Ferrat is the Ephrussi de Rothschild villa. Receiving acclaim by thousands of our guests, the villa and its gardens were registered as a historical monument in 1996. Pretty in Pink was the adage of Baroness Ephrussi who tastefully devoted her immense fortune to good use to design her rose coloured villa and impeccable themed gardens. Art lovers as well as horticulturalists will marvel as they explore the diverse collection of artifacts and the extraordinary exotically themed gardens.
If you happen to be visiting in August, then there is a great opportunity to see the Rothschild Villa in the evening by securing a ticket to the Opera Azuriales. Set in a covered patio in the grounds of the villa, this is an intimate opera offering English subtitles during the performance and dinner afterwards in an awe-inspiring setting.