Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Belle Époque Riviera 11 minutes from Monaco

Beaulieu-sur-Mer is one of those towns nearly everyone passes through on the Nice to Monaco train without getting off. I think that’s a mistake, and not just because of Villa Kérylos. It’s the handiest town on the coast if you’re travelling without a car, with a station 11 minutes from the Principality, a beach in the centre and Cap Ferrat within walking distance.

A Belle Époque town between Nice and Monaco

The tourist office puts Beaulieu 7 km from central Nice and the same from Monaco, and is proud that it has the smallest municipal area in the Alpes-Maritimes. Into that space it fits more than 250 shops, two harbours, two beaches and a run of Belle Époque buildings from the days when, as the tourist office puts it, Europe’s most famous crowned heads fell for its charms. La Rotonde, with its dome, was the dining room of the old Bristol hotel and is now a listed monument. The first mayor, in 1891, was Hippolyte Marinoni, inventor of the rotary printing press, and his old olive estate is today the Jardin de l’Olivaie, with around a hundred century-old trees.

What makes Villa Kérylos special?

It’s the reason to step off the train. The Hellenist Théodore Reinach chose a point on the Baie des Fourmis, near an ancient Greek harbour, and built a house modelled on the grand homes of Delos from the 2nd century BC. Everything revolves around a peristyle of twelve Carrara marble columns, and the villa is fully furnished, which to me is its real value, because you don’t walk through empty rooms but through a house that feels lived in. The garden, with olives, pomegranates, oleanders and papyrus, looks out to Cap Ferrat.

Entry is €15, €10 reduced, and its hours run 10:00 to 18:00 from April to September and until 17:00 from October to March. If you’re also seeing Villa Ephrussi across the water, the €24 joint ticket saves money and lasts eight days. No eating in the gardens and no dogs, pushchairs or scooters.

Beaches, harbours and the walk to Cap Ferrat

Beaulieu has two public beaches. Baie des Fourmis is in the centre, beside the casino and the old Bristol garden, and Petite Afrique is by the marina, in a district that earned its name from the mild climate. The tourist office also lists several private beaches with restaurants. The little Baie des Fourmis harbour is run as an association of fishermen and locals, and the Petite Afrique marina has 723 berths.

What I wouldn’t miss is the walk to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. It starts at the end of the Baie des Fourmis, below the Royal Riviera hotel, and follows the water for 1.3 km to the next village. Halfway along you can climb to Villa Ephrussi via avenue Honoré Sauvan. Kérylos in the morning, the walk and Ephrussi in the afternoon is, for me, one of the best days you can have from Monaco.

Beaulieu or Villefranche?

People ask this constantly, and it really comes down to what you want. Villefranche-sur-Mer has more old town, the citadel and the bay, but also the cruise ships at anchor, which fill the village on port days. Beaulieu is quieter, more Belle Époque than medieval, and slightly closer to Monaco. Both have a station. For sightseeing I’d do both; for a base on the train line, I’d choose Beaulieu.

Getting there from Monaco and getting about

The train is the best option. The coastal line runs every 30 minutes on average and takes 11 minutes to Monaco Monte-Carlo and 10 to Nice, according to the tourist office. The ZOU! 600 bus also stops here on its way to Nice, slower but more scenic, and the 601 covers the night run from Thursday to Saturday. Lignes d’Azur bus 15 goes to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and the 83 climbs towards Èze. Timetables and fares for the whole stretch are in Nice to Monaco, and if you’re sleeping here to see the Principality, where to stay in Monaco compares this option with those inside.

For dinner, the Restaurant des Rois at La Réserve de Beaulieu holds a Michelin star in the current guide, and the other starred tables nearby are in Monaco’s Michelin restaurants. On Saturday mornings there’s a Provençal market on Place Marinoni, and on the first Sunday of the month an Italian one. For me Beaulieu proves that sometimes the best way to see Monaco is to sleep just outside it.