France · Côte d'Azur
Yacht Charter Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
A wooded peninsula between two bays, with a coastal path at sea level and nine gardens above it.
Cap Ferrat is a headland of pine and holm oak pushing two kilometres into the sea between Villefranche and Beaulieu, and almost everything built on it is hidden behind the trees. The village sits in a sheltered harbour on the eastern side, and a footpath runs right round the point at the waterline — which is the way to see a peninsula whose owners have spent a century arranging not to be seen.
The path and the point
The Sentier du Littoral goes round the whole cape at sea level, about two hours at a walk, with the water on one side and rock on the other. Pointe Saint-Hospice at the eastern tip has a chapel and a Belle Époque tower and the best swimming on the peninsula.
Paloma and Passable are the two beaches, one on each side, which means one of them is always out of the wind.
Villa Ephrussi
Béatrice de Rothschild built a rose-coloured villa on the narrowest part of the cape in 1912 and laid out nine gardens around it — French, Spanish, Florentine, Japanese, exotic, a stone garden, a rose garden — each in a different country's manner, all on a spine of rock with sea on both sides.
It is the single best thing to go ashore for between Nice and Monaco, and the musical fountains in the French garden run every twenty minutes whether anyone is watching or not.
Practical notes
- The harbour on the eastern side is small and sheltered; Villefranche is ten minutes west and Monaco fifteen east
- The Sentier du Littoral runs right round the cape at sea level, about two hours on foot
- Paloma and Passable face opposite ways, so one of them is always out of the wind
- Nice airport is twenty-five minutes by road
Reached from: the Balearics and the western Mediterranean
Where to dine
A table by the water
Paloma Beach
Pointe Saint-HospiceOn the rocks at the eastern tip, where lunch runs long and the tender waits.
Le Cap
Saint-Jean-Cap-FerratIn the Grand-Hôtel on the point, and the most serious kitchen on the peninsula.
La Goélette
Saint-Jean-Cap-FerratOn the harbour in the village, doing fish for people who live here rather than for the season.
What to do
Anchorages & excursions
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
A rose-coloured villa of 1912 with nine gardens around it, each in a different country's manner, on a spine of rock with sea on both sides.
Sentier du Littoral
A footpath right round the cape at the waterline, about two hours, with rock on one side and water on the other.
Pointe Saint-Hospice
A chapel and a Belle Époque tower at the eastern tip, and the best swimming on the peninsula.
Paloma and Passable
The two beaches, one on each side of the cape, so one of them is always out of the wind.
The fleet
Yachts available for Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
Vessels that operate here, from flagship motor yachts to smaller crewed boats. Every rate is quoted on enquiry.
Good to know
Questions we are asked about Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
- What is worth going ashore for?
- The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and its nine gardens, each laid out in a different country's manner on a spine of rock with the sea on both sides. It is the best thing between Nice and Monaco.
- Is the coastal path worth walking?
- Two hours right round the cape at the waterline, with the sea on one side and rock on the other — and it is the only way to see a peninsula built to be hidden.
- What does a yacht charter at Cap Ferrat cost?
- It depends on the yacht, the season, the crew and the positioning, so we quote on enquiry rather than publish a figure that would be wrong for most weeks.
Destinations
Nearby destinations
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