Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
frescoes. You can see this unusual body of work in 45-minute guided tours; book at least
the day before.
Tours are run by Eric Marteau, Francine Weisweiller's former nurse and now the villa's
guardian. Weisweiller was a well-known Parisian socialite and Marteau got to know her
well. His tours are therefore peppered with anecdotes about Cocteau, Weisweiller and
their peers, which makes the visit compelling listening as much as viewing.
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
(
www.villa-ephrussi.com
;
St-Jean-Cap Ferrat; adult/child €12/9; 10am-6pm Mar-Oct,
2-6pm Nov-Feb)
An over-the-top belle époque confection, this villa was commissioned by
the eccentric Baroness Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild in 1912. Béatrice was an avid art
collector and the villa is filled with Fragonard paintings, Louis XVI furniture and Sèvres
porcelain (multilingual audioguides take you through the collection). The villa is famous
for its nine exquisite themed gardens, with wonderful sea views.
They look at their best in spring, but at any time of year you'll enjoy a stroll through
Spanish, Japanese, Florentine, stone, cactus, rose and French gardens. They were land-
scaped to resemble a ship's deck when admired from the villa's balcony. The fountains in
front of the villa 'dance' to classical music every 20 minutes.
Bus 81, which links Nice and St-Jean-Cap Ferrat, stops at the foot of the driveway lead-
ing to the villa (stop Passable).
HOUSE MUSEUM
Villa Grecque Kérylos
(
www.villa-kerylos.com
;
av Gustave Eiffel, Beaulieu-sur-Mer; adult/child €10/7.50;
10am-6pm Mar-Oct, 2-6pm Nov-Feb)
The Villa Kérylos is a reproduction of a 1st-century
Athenian villa, complete with baths, stunning mosaic floors and furniture such as dining
recliners. It was designed by scholar-archaelogist Théodore Reinach in 1902, at a time
when the must-have for well-to-do socialites was an eccentric house on the Côte d'Azur.
HOUSE MUSEUM
Cap Ferrat
There are 14km of eucalyptus-scented walking paths around the cape, with magnificent
views and wonderful coastline all the way. There are various itineraries but all of them are
easy going; the
tourist office
( 04 93 76 08 90;
www.saintjeancapferrat.fr
;
59 av Denis
Séméria;
WALKING
9am-4pm Mon-Fri)
has maps.
