Day 2523 (Sunday) 5th May 2024

This is Menton

and this is the Promenade des Anglais in Nice.

It was lovely and sunny this morning and we decided to park the scooter in Beaulieu and walk to Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat. Town was absolutely packed so Huw went on the scooter alone to get through Rue du Poilu and I met him on the seafront. I got stuck behind a big group of American tourists and the guide was talking rubbish.

There were a few people on the beach in Beaulieu and one of the private beaches is open already.

We had a look at the menu in the Royal Riviera, which is a five-star hotel.

The Cote de Beouf Heritage (steak) is 120€ and the most shocking item of all is a Croque-Monsieur Truffle at the outrageous price of 65€. Can you imagine if you didn’t know what a croque monsieur was and you ordered it, the shock of getting a ham and cheese sandwich with a few bits of truffle on it would be horrible.

This is Villa Kerylos in Beaulieu.

Villa Kerylos in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France, is a house in Ancient Greek Revival style built in the early 1900s by French archaeologist Theodore Reinach. It has been listed since 1966 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture. 

A Greek word, kerylos means halcyon or kingfisher, which in Greek mythology was considered a bird of good omen. 

History

The villa was built in the early 1900s by French archaeologist Theodore Reinach, and his wife Fanny Kann, a daughter of Maximilien Kann and Betty Ephrussi, of the Ephrussi family. Madame Fanny Reinach was a cousin of Maurice Ephrussi, who was married to Béatrice de Rothschild. Inspired by the beauty of the Reinachs' Villa Kerylos and the area, they built the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild at nearby Cap Ferrat. 

Reinach admired the architecture, interior decoration and art of the ancient world and decided to recreate the atmosphere of a luxurious Greek house in a new building. He purchased land surrounded on three sides by the sea on the tip of the Baie des Fourmis at Beaulieu-sur-Mer, which he felt offered a location similar to that of coastal Greek temples.

Reinach selected as architect Emmanuel Pontremoli, who drawing on his travels in Asia Minor designed a reconstruction of the Greek noble houses built on the island of Delos in the 2nd century B.C. and laid out the building around an open peristyle courtyard. 

Features

Construction of the building began in 1902 and took six years to complete. The interior integrated influences from Rome, Pompeii and Egypt with the interior decoration overseen by Gustave Louis Jaulmes and Adrien Karbowsky. Stucco bas-reliefs were created by sculptor Paul Jean-Bapiste Gascq. 

Reinach commissioned exact copies of ancient Grecian chairs, tabourets and klismos furniture kept in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples from the cabinetmaker Bettenfeld. Other decorations were to original designs by Pontremoli. 

The building incorporated all the latest early 20th century features, including plumbing and underfloor heating. 

Present day

Upon his death in 1928, Reinach bequeathed the property to the Institut de France, of which he had been a member. His children and grandchildren continued to live there until 1967. It is now a museum open to the public.

The next big villa is David Niven’s 

Article 1

La Fleur du Cap

Due to its beautiful rose facade and a unique position on the Cap Ferrat peninsula, the villa “La Fleur du Cap” is one of the most recognised properties on the French coast. The villa is still often referred to as the David Niven villa.

This pretty peninsula first attracted the son of a Sardinian arms supplier in the 1880s. Albert Bounin, based in Nice, snapped up parcels of land, building a modest villa and private port. The villa, named L’Isolatta became Bounin’s bolt hole, affording him privacy to ride and swim in peace. A small cabin at the very tip of the land links the main villa via a pathway.

The villa passed down a generation to Bounin’s son Paul. The younger Bounin added a floor to the property and renamed it Lo Scoglietto or Little Rock. Its expansive grounds made it attractive to film crews with L’Esclave de Phidias filmed in the 3,000 m² surroundings. 

French films weren’t the only ones filmed on location. A scene from the classic Pink Panther movie made the cut, one year before the death of its star David Niven. Niven had bought the property in the 1960s and kept it until his death more than 20 years later. You’ll find a tribute to the actor at the front of the villa on a small plaque.

La Fleur du Cap 

Superbly restored during recent years, the property is now named La Fleur du Cap and has increased in size from its original form.Please note that this is an article written solely for the history of La Fleur du Cap. The villa is not available for rent and this is not a real estate listing.

Article 2

Villa of the Cote d’Azur La Fleur du Cap

What is the prestigious history of this villa?

The Fleur du Cap is one of the emblematic villas of Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat. Originally named Villa Socoglio by its owner, after its construction in 1880 it has known illustrious occupants.

First of all, the Duchess of Marlborough, the cousin-in-law of Wiston Churchild, who will became a regular at Hotel Royal Riviera. Then Leopold III, king of the Belgians, successor and nephew of Leopold II, who also had many residences in Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat. It is said that Charlie Chaplin also stayed there for a week, as well as at the nearby Royal Riviera. It was then be occupied by David Niven, the famous actor of Pink Panther which earned him the nickname of Villa David Niven for many residents of Nice. Grace Kelly, a friend of David Niven, will have dined at numerous occasions with the Prince of Monaco.

Article 3

Lo Scoglietto – The little rock

‘Lo Scoglietto’. David and Hjördis Niven’s house at St Jean Cap Ferrat, photographed in June 2017. Photo © Paul Thomas

David Niven always seemed to be at his happiest and most comfortable while in residence at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, a peninsula surrounded on three sides by the sea. He was proud to state that he turned down movie roles to be there for the summer months. Their Lo Scoglietto villa was also where Hjördis spent her summers right through to the end of her life when her ashes were scattered into the “tranquil green water” [her words] of the Mediterranean. From the very start, Hjördis preferred the house to the Nivens’ chalet in Switzerland. “It has more of my heart in it. I am proud of Lo Scoglietto – it means ‘The little rock’ –  for it is largely my own creation.”

“More important,” she declared in 1964, “it is a home that likes to be lived in, a happy, sunny place which mirrors my life as it is now.”

This is the beach in Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat.

When we got to Saint-Jean we bought a cordon bleu sandwich from the boulangerie and enjoyed the view.

We saw this villa for sale in an estate agent – I think it’s the most expensive to date at 46,000,000€.