The Best Historic Villas to Visit on the French Riviera
The Cote d’Azur is home to some of the world’s most spectacular and architecturally diverse historic properties - from pastel-shuttered villas, to sleek modernist treasures and opulent Belle Epoque estates.
Since the late 19th Century, artists, musicians, writers and wayward socialites have found their way to the South of France, seeking sunshine skies and refuge from the major artistic and cultural capitals of their epochs (and finding inspiration in abundance). Thus “discovered”, the rustic row of sleepy fishing villages from Menton to Cannes was irrevocably transformed by this influx of monied aristocrats and creatives.
Given the exquisite beauty of the French Riviera, with her unparalleled blues and dramatic cliffs meandering steeply to hidden coves and matchstick palm trees below, it is no wonder that so many of the most iconic cultural figures of the past century felt so completely enchanted by her special brand of magic.
Though today you may be more likely to cross paths with a pack of influencers than a set of Bohemian writers and poets, (arguably much of the magic has been lost to times past) I still like to catch a glimpse of the way life was in the early 1900s by visiting some of the special properties dotted along the coast, wishing their walls could whisper to me.
Here are my favourite historic homes open for the public to visit in the South of France, each capturing a unique point of view of the region’s past-behind-closed-doors.
Villa E-1027
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
Villa E1027 and Holiday Cottages - Manuel Bougot
Irish-born Eileen Gray grew up in London and was one of the first women to attend Slade School of Art. She trained in Japanese Laquer in Paris (widely thought to be the first Western artist to do so), becoming known for her sumptuous Art Deco furniture in the early 1920s. By the middle of the decade, under the influence of Le Corbusier, Gray pivoted to become a leading proponent of Modernism. Today she is seen as a pioneer, (literally) carving her own path in the male dominated design world of the time. One of her best known furniture designs is the voluptuous Bibendum Chair (modelled on the body rolls of the iconic Michelin man) - a piece so contemporary it is hard to believe it was conceived in 1926.
Villa E-1027 is a sugar cube rectangular box on the rocky cliffs of Cap Martin, tucked between Menton (and Italy) to the East and Monaco to the West. Eileen Gray’s first foray into architectural design, the villa was built from 1926 to 1929 (when she was 51 years old) in collaboration with her partner and architect Jean Badovici. The villa’s futuristic name is a cryptic amalgamation of the couple’s initials; E for Eileen, 10 for the J of Jean, 2 for the B of Badovici, 7 for the G of Gray. The project is testament to her unique attention to detail, as Gray spent over 3 years perfecting the functional freestanding furniture for which she became known.
Villa E1027 by night - Manuel Bougot
In contrast, eight colourful cubist murals by Le Corbusier sacrilegiously adorn the otherwise neutral space - thought to be an intentional act of defacement and a source of immense frustration to Gray at the time. A friend of Badovici, Le Corbusier was reportedly fixated on E-1027, admiring Gray’s work and even trying to buy it himself. Against Eileen’s wishes, Le Corbusier (as Bodovici’s guest), painted the walls, allegedly bitter that Gray had employed many aspects of his style with her own unique twist. By 1932 Gray and Badovici had separated, and he went on to inherit the house and live there with his future wife. The murals are often cited as a key example of misogyny in 20th Century Architecture.
The house fell into a fairly sad state, its’ walls used as target practise by German soldiers in WW2. Thankfully it is being loving restored by the amazing team at Cap Moderne - hell bent on finally giving Eileen’s work the recognition it deserved during her lifetime. Visits are by guided tour and pre-booking only - the email replies can be a bit blunt (even downright frosty) but it’s absolutely worth it to access this lesser-known gem.
Website / Email / E-1027 Sentier Massolin, 06190 Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France / Tours last around 2hrs - €18 per person.
Le Cabannon de Le Corbusier
Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
© Fondation Le Corbusier / ADAGP – Photo by Manuel Bougot
You might now be thinking, Le Corbusier sounded like a bit of a creep. Maybe so, (to Eileen certainly) but his cabin sitting just above E-1027 is fascinating too. After his failed attempt to purchase the villa, he settled for the little patch of land directly above it and built this radically different, pared back cabin peeking over it’s shoulder instead.
© Fondation Le Corbusier / ADAGP - Photographe Manuel Bougot
© Fondation Le Corbusier / ADAGP - Photographe Manuel Bougot
© Fondation Le Corbusier / ADAGP - Photographe Manuel Bougot
‘I HAVE A CASTLE ON THE RIVIERA, IT MEASURES 3.66 BY 3.66 METRES. IT’S FOR MY WIFE, AND IS EXTREMELY COMFORTABLE AND COSY.’ - Le Corbusier
The tiny wooden Cabannon was prefabricated in Corsica based on principles of economical living, complete with uber-functional built-in furniture and ultra simplicity. The use of flat-pack Plywood in interiors at that time was highly unusual (pas de Ikea mes amis). He also built a teeny-tiny workshop among the luscious gardens, finding inspiration in every little bit of his Mediterranean surroundings.
© Fondation Le Corbusier / ADAGP – Photographer unknown
The cottage was the only space that Le Corbusier ever designed for his own use, he spent every August there for 18 years until his death (sadly in the waves off Cabbé beach just below his property). As with E-1027, visits are by prior booking only (definitely don’t turn up without a booking as there isn’t a human gatekeeper based onsite).
His plot sits adjacent to "L’Etoile de Mer (a simple fisherman’s shack that was run as a restaurant) owned by Thomas Rebutato - who he went on to build 5 holiday cottages for on the hillside land as a prototype for holiday living of the future (restoration pending too).
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
Influenced by the opulent Palazzos of Venice, Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is set within sprawling manicured gardens overlooking Villefranche to one side and the Bay of Beaulieu on the other. Built from 1905 to 1912 by (notably eccentric) Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild, the villa is a flamboyant jewel among an already very extra set of palatial homes on the verdant “thumb” of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat - an exclusive peninsula jutting into the Mediterranean. For Béatrice the project was a creative outlet (inspired by her husband’s cousin’s Greek-style Villa Kerylos built across the water nearby - see below).
For a property so young in relative terms, the villa is deceptively traditional with striking Gothic porticoes and elaborate Florentine style stone carvings transported directly from the Italian Renaissance. The strawberry milkshake exterior was influenced by the duchess’ favourite colour (she was known for dressing head to toe in pink) and the variety of Verona and white Carrara marbles is really exquisite.
Look out for the particularly weird Monkey Room, dedicated to Beatrice’s two pet monkeys. The villa is an exercise in grandiose maximalism and the Dolce Vita spirit is strong. Beatrice herself would probably have balked at the thought of a cafe in her dining room, but it makes for a dreamy coffee-stop (surly service excluded).
Website / Email / (+33) 4 93 01 33 09 / 1 Avenue Ephrussi de Rothschild, 06230 Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
Villa Kerylos
Beaulieu-sur-Mer
One of my favourite places to visit anywhere in the world, Villa Kerylos sits on an outcrop of land overlooking Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, surrounded by abundant gardens and the Mediterranean Sea on 3 sides.
Sweeping views towards Beaulieu from the terrace. Image: My Own (sans filtre - something beautiful happens to colour in the South of France).
Villa Kerylos was built over 6 years between 1902 and 1908 by architect Emmanuel Pontremoli, for renowned archaeologist and Hellenist (the official term for a person who bloody loves Ancient Greece) Théodore Reinach. Painstakingly based on models of noble houses from the Greek island of Delos in the 2nd century BC, the layout of the villa is set around a magnificent central open air courtyard.
Reinach commissioned exact copies of ancient Grecian furniture from the National Archaeological Museum in Naples and with astonishing attention to detail, together they reproduced furniture, tableware, fabrics, prints, lighting and wall coverings. The duo incorporated the modern technology of the early 20th Century with incredible subtlety (designing electric chandeliers to look like oil lamps and even hiding an anachronistic piano behind an authentic cabinet facade), resulting in a place that must have felt nothing short of magical in the early 1900s. This was a house for Bon Vivants; with rooms dedicated to the arts and entertaining - I can only imagine the late nights spent under the stars in that convivial central courtyard.
It is the most thoughtful space I have ever spent time in, and the passion of its creators shows in every tile over a hundred years later. Amelia Curran wrote about the villa for Cereal Magazine and her words capture the gentle atmosphere of the property so beautifully.
Upon his death in 1928, Reinach bequeathed the property to the Institut de France to ensure its legacy. Amazingly, his children and grandchildren remained living there until 1967 (imagine luxuriating in that Octagonal bath up until the swinging sixties). Luckily for us it’s now open to the public (and for weddings! Swoon!). Try to go first thing or late in the day, to have the property as much to yourself as possible. There are guided tours, but I like to pick up an audioguide and drift through the house at my own pace.
€11,50 per Adult / Website / Contact / +33 4 93 01 01 44 / Impasse Gustave Eiffel, 06310 Beaulieu-sur-Mer (named after it’s most well known resident, Gustave Eiffel, who lived next door to Villa Kerylos.)
Chez Gustave - Photo, my own (forever peeping and creeping).
Villa Santo Sospir (The Tattoed Villa)
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
The Villa Santo Sospir on Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat was built shortly after WW2 and purchased by Alex & Francine (an early muse of Yves Saint Laurent) in 1950 as a holiday home. The couple’s good friend and poet Jean Cocteau came to stay for a week after filming an adaptation of his famous novel Les Enfants Terribles. A few days into his stay, dramatically declaring “I’m tired of idleness, I wither here…” Cocteau asked for permission to draw a fresco above the fireplace (as one does when holidaying chez des amis).
He went on to spend 11 years on and off methodically “tattooing” the villa’s walls with wild murals depicting Greek mythology and Mediterranean motifs inspired by the French Riviera - fishermen from Villefranche, typically Niçois bread known as Fougasse, sea urchins and more. Eventually covering the walls then the ceilings in colour, his imaginings and quotes, Cocteau took on large mosaic projects in the entrance patio.
“Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, and my very self, on this coast where Renoir lived. We have tried to overcome the spirit of destruction that dominates the time; we decorated the surfaces that men dreamed to demolish. Perhaps, the love of our work will protect them against bombs.” - Jean Cocteau
Virtually unchanged, the villa has been used as a backdrop for many shoots and was featured earlier this year in Architectural Digest France. It’s currently undergoing extensive renovations.
Houses You Can’t Visit But That I Still Love to Ogle:
Image Courtesy of Le Palais Bulles
The Palais Bulles (The Bubble Palace) in Théoule-Sur-Mer is, for want of a more poetic description, completely mental. With no straight lines at all, the sprawling property was built by Hungarian architect Antti Lovag from 1975 to 1989 and is best known as the holiday home of Pierre Cardin since the early 90s. Each of the bedrooms has been decorated by a notable artist and it was recently listed for sale for a cool 350 million euros.
Few films capture the Cote d’Azur in all her dreamy 50s glory like Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief. The famous house from the film can be seen on your left, just above the roadside after driving through perilously steep medieval village Eze (in the La Turbie direction heading East).
La Pausa in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin is the former home of Coco Chanel. I once worked for a real estate agency that had this home listed for sale and still treasure the physical brochure I have of it - a rare glimpse inside. Sadly it was given a garish 70s makeover by subsequent owners so there remains little feel of the original space.
La Fleur du Cap (Image My Own)
Pink Panther Actor David Niven’s pink villa Lo Scoglietto (now known as La Fleur du Cap) in Beaulieu, where Grace Kelly used to play Pétanques by the pool under ancient olive trees, has it’s own tiny port for arrival-by-boat and makes me ache for the Riviera as it must once have been.
For more exquisite background reading, a book that I think really captures the Cote d’Azur is Virginia Johnson’s Travels Through the French Riviera (An Artist’s Guide). Her bright illustrations and nuanced insight into the region’s most unusual best-loved characters and off-the-beaten-track places make for one of my favourite guidebooks ever.
P.S. If, like me, you dream of writing in a tiny cabin and are thus fascinated by tiny homes in beautiful places - some of my favourite beach cabins ever are dotted along Plage Mala in Cap D’Ail. They are one of the only examples I’ve ever seen of family cabins right on the waters edge that are lovingly opened up each Summer. They tend to be owned by multiple generations who quite rightly wouldn’t sell for all the money on earth, and are one of the few places on the Cote d’Azur that still embody easy-going rustic shoe-less living.
For more tips on the best places to visit on the French Riviera where I grew up, look out for my City Guide to Nice coming soon. In the meantime, read my Weekend Guide to Provence & My Favourite Cocktail Bars in Paris.
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