Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, the villa peninsula a short hop from Monaco

Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is the green peninsula you see to the west when you look along the coast from Èze or La Turbie. It’s 12 km from Monaco, and plenty of people mix it up with Villefranche, which sits across the bay. I think it’s the best place in the area for a day of gardens and seaside walking, as long as you arrive knowing there’s no railway and that almost everything is behind a gate except the coastal path.

From fishing hamlet to villa peninsula

Until 1904 this was a hamlet belonging to Villefranche, a cluster of fishermen’s houses round the church and the harbour. That year it became a commune called Saint-Jean-sur-Mer, and in 1907 it took today’s name. The real change came with King Leopold II of the Belgians, who bought more than 50 hectares on the western side, and with the grand families who put a villa on every headland. Matisse, Chagall and Cocteau all spent time here; Cocteau painted the interior of Villa Santo Sospir, currently closed for restoration.

The practical upshot is a peninsula full of walls and gates. What stays open to everyone is very good, though. A villa museum, the paths around the shore and five public beaches.

Is Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild worth it?

For me, yes, and it’s the main reason to come. Béatrice de Rothschild, daughter of Baron Alphonse, bought the land in 1905, when Leopold II was also after it, and built the villa between 1907 and 1912 for her collection of 18th-century furniture, porcelain and a Tiepolo ceiling. What would bring me back, though, is the gardens, looking over the bay of Villefranche on one side and Beaulieu on the other, carved out of a windswept rock over seven years of work.

Entry is €18, €12 reduced, audio guide included, and its website gives daily hours of 10:00 to 18:00. The tourist office lists shorter winter hours from November to January, so in those months I’d check the villa’s website before setting off. If you also want Villa Kérylos in Beaulieu, the joint ticket is €24 and lasts eight days.

The cape path and Saint-Hospice point

There are two loops and they’re not the same. The Tour du Cap starts on the chemin de la Carrière, runs below the Grand-Hôtel and its seawater pool, reaches the lighthouse and Malalongue point and finishes at Passable beach. That’s 4.8 km of moderate walking, which the local office puts at an hour and a half and the metropolitan one at two hours, and it isn’t advised if heights bother you. The Saint-Hospice loop is shorter, 1.8 km in about 40 minutes from the Jardin de la Paix to Paloma beach, past the 11th-century chapel and the 11.40-metre bronze Virgin from 1903.

If I could only do one, I’d choose Saint-Hospice. It’s easier, fits into any afternoon and has everything I want from a coastal walk. In heavy swell or wind the paths can be closed, and the tourist office asks you to ring first. If you enjoy this sort of walk, the Cap-d’Ail coastal path starts on foot from Monaco itself.

The peninsula’s beaches

There are five, all public and all fine shingle. Cros deï Pin, by the harbour, is the family one, with lifeguards and a jellyfish net in July and August. Les Fossettes, on Saint-Hospice point, is the quietest, and Les Fosses, to the south, has good snorkelling. Passable faces the bay of Villefranche and Paloma looks towards Beaulieu and Èze, and both have a private section with a restaurant from Easter to late September. Paloma is my favourite. If you want sand, it’s right across the water, on the beaches of Villefranche-sur-Mer.

Getting there from Monaco

Saint-Jean has no station. From Monaco the easiest way is the coastal 600 bus or the train to Beaulieu-sur-Mer, then Lignes d’Azur bus 15 to Saint-Jean harbour, which also comes from Nice. The option I prefer is to get off at Beaulieu and walk the 1.3 km of shoreline into the village, about 20 minutes. The whole coastal run, with frequencies and fares, is in the Nice to Monaco coastal route.

By car it’s about 12 km along the Basse Corniche. Parking in the village is free from 1 October to 30 April, and in summer the beach car parks fill up. I’d go by public transport and plan the day like this. Villa Ephrussi in the morning, lunch by the harbour, Saint-Hospice in the afternoon and a walk back to Beaulieu for the train. To compare it with the other outings, they’re ranked in day trips from Monaco.