Provence & the French Riviera - Discover France: Experience the Best of France - page 686

The picturesque pastel-coloured, terracotta-roofed fishing port Villefranche-sur-Mer
overlooking the Cap Ferrat peninsula was a favourite with Jean Cocteau, who
painted the frescos in the 17th-century Chapelle St-Pierre . Looking down on the
township is the 16th-century citadel.

ST-JEAN-CAP FERRAT
On the Cap Ferrat peninsula, this fishing-village-turned-playground-for-the-wealthy
conceals an enclave of millionaires' villas, with illustrious residents both present and
past. On the narrow isthmus of the town, the extravagant Villa Ephrussi de Roth-
schild ( www.villa-ephrussi.com ; adult/child €10/7.50;

Village

10am-6pm) gives you an

appreciation of the area's wealth.

Moyenne Corniche
The Moyenne Corniche - the middle coastal road (N7) - clings to the hillside. From
Nice, the Moyenne Corniche travels past Col de Villefranche, through Èze and to
Beausoleil, the French town bordering Monte Carlo.

ÈZE
On the pinnacle of a 427m peak is the medieval stone village of Èze. Once occu-
pied by Ligurians and Phoenicians, today it's home to one-off galleries and artisan
boutiques within its enclosed walls (there's only one doorway in or out of the vil-
lage). The high point is the Jardin Èze (admission €5; 9am-sunset) , a slanting
cliff-side garden of exotic cacti, with views of the Med all the way to Corsica (on a
good day).
On the seaside below is the village's coastal and very belle époque counterpart,
Èze-sur-Mer (where U2's Bono has a villa).

Walled Village