Walking France: Villefranche-sur-Mer to Cap d’Ail
If you’ve been following along for a while, you know I love walking, and this route was one of the most spectacular and memorable walks I went on in France.
I woke up early one morning in Villefranche-sur-Mer, wondering if it was possible to walk over to Eze (Bord-de-Mer, not the hilltop village). I decided to give it a try and thought I’d walk over there, maybe stop for a coffee, and then take the bus back home.
It turned out it was very possible, and quick too, so I kept walking and it turned into a 5-hour promenade that took me to the border of Monaco.
I started out on my usual route over to Beaulieu-sur-Mer, along the streets in old town and Plage des Marinières in Villefranche,
past Plage des Fourmis, the marina, and over to Plage Petite Afrique in Beaulieu.
At that point, you couldn’t walk right by the water anymore, so I went up to the Basse Corniche – the lowest of the three cliff roads that run along the coast from Nice to Menton.
The elevation of the road varies quite a bit; sometimes you’re very close to the water, in other parts, you have a bird’s eye view of the sea. The color of the water is just incredible as the views!
Did you watch “The Persuaders” back in the 70s and 80s? (I loved it!) If you did, you might recognize this part of the Basse Corniche as the road where they shot the car race between Tony Curtis and Roger Moore in the first episode (it was also used during the credits in the other episodes). This is a screenshot from the first episode.
After a few twists and turns, I spotted the Eze-Bord-de-Mer sign.
I walked down to the center of town, taking pictures of things that caught my eye along the way.
At that point, it was still early, and I was surprised at how easy the walk had been, and after walking through the town and past the train station, I decided to keep going.
I had seen a cool little island from the bus to Menton a few days earlier and thought maybe I could get a shot of it from the road. The sidewalk kept getting more and more narrow, and eventually ended, but I was determined to get that shot, and kept walking, basically in the street along concrete barriers with the train tracks behind them, and cars zooming by right next to me.
Not very safe, but at least I managed to get a shot of that island, although not a very good one!
I later found out that it is a private island with a large swimming pool on it, called l’lle d’Isoletta, part of the Villa Isoletta, which used to belong to Alva Vanderbilt Belmont.
Eventually, the sidewalk returned, and the road started climbing upwards a bit, with fabulous views back along the coast.
It was a quiet stretch of road, seemed like little sidetrack from the Basse Corniche (I later found out I was on Avenue Raymond Poincaré), and at the time I wasn’t quite sure where I was, but I came around a corner and saw these beautiful iron gates.
I took a few pictures and kept walking, turned around, and below, I saw a building with a swimming pool in a gorgeous and secluded setting. It turned out to be Hotel Cap-Estel (and those were the gates to the hotel), and like everything on the Riviera that makes you stop and look twice, it has a fairly interesting history, peppered with celebrities. ⠀
From various sources: “Cap Estel was born in 1900 out of pastures, transformed by Irish author and journalist Frank Harris, friend of Oscar Wilde, to a luxurious vacation home for wealthy clients. Then, Frank Harris faced bankruptcy, and the property was sold at an auction to Countess Mery de la Canorgue. She renamed it “Roc Saphir” and added a garden. It was then possessed by Rose Angeline Levieuze, French mistress of Count Sergei, one of the last Stroganovs, whom she married later on. In 1923, it went on to be owned by the heir to an old family of Greek ship builders and an automobile pilot, André Embiricos. In 1951, the property was transformed into an enchanting retreat and blissful oasis for millionaires by Robert Squarciafichi.” ⠀
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The celebs: “The Beatles stayed here numerous times. Paul McCartney wrote the song Michelle while sitting poolside with his acoustic guitar. John Lennon and Yoko Ono honeymooned here after marrying in Gibraltar. Jimmy Page was a frequent guest in the 70’s and 80s. Bono from U2 has spent many visits here. Princess Grace used to use the hotel as an overflow residence when the palace in Monaco was too full, and was known to come for lunch and dinner on occasion. David Niven, Anthony Quinn, Greta Garbo, Humphrey Bogart and Lawrence Olivier were frequent guests in the 1950s. Dean Martin filmed the Matt Helm spy spoof Murderer’s Row here.”
I kept walking, and after a short while, the side street joined back to the Basse Corniche, and I kept following it towards Monaco. It kept going higher and higher, with picturesque scenery on the left, and panoramic views of the Mediterranean on the right.
The colors of the water just kept getting more and more amazing
and I could already see Cap d’Ail with its villas clinging to the sides of the cliffs.
Once in the town center, strolled along the main street and took a few pictures of architecture and random things that caught my eye. Cap d’Ail is a quiet little town of around 4,500 people, next door to Monaco, with beautiful Belle-Epoque villas built at the end of the 19th century for wintering royalty and celebrities, including (among many others) Greta Garbo, Winston Churchill, the Lumière brothers, the Russian imperial family, and the Prince of Wales.
After exploring the town a bit, I started heading towards Plage Mala, one of the most beautiful beaches on the Riviera.
It’s not the easiest beach to get to, you have to either walk the Mala Beach Coastal Path (which starts at Plage Marquet on the border of Monaco and goes along the water to Plage Mala) or the footpath down from the center of town. If you arrive by boat, the beach clubs offer shuttles that will come out and pick you up.
I chose the footpath, a seemingly endless set of stairs called l’Escalier de la Solitude, that winds its way down through a forest of pine and palm trees, and while a bit of a challenge if you have lots of stuff to carry, it’s beautiful.
The beach sits in a small bay surrounded by high cliffs, and has a fairly large public beach area, plus two beach clubs: Eden Plage,
and La Réserve de la Mala ↓
This beach is so special, it feels like a little secluded paradise, and you just don’t want to leave, ever.
Eventually, I tore myself away from the beach and started the long walk back up to town, where I took the bus (#600) back to Villefranche-sur-Mer.
Walking from Nice to Cap d’Ail
Since I was staying in Villefranche-sur-Mer, it was my starting point for this walk, but you could definitely do it from other places too, it would make a great walking day trip from Nice. Just start out with the reverse of my Villefranche to Nice walk and then continue the same route I took here. Or take the bus/train over to Villefranche if you want to follow my steps exactly.
Google maps estimates my route to Cap d’Ail to take roughly 2 1/2 hours (in my case it took 5 hours, since I stopped all the time to take pictures), and little over 4 hours if you start in Nice.
It’s a very easy walk on paved sidewalks all the way (until you get to the path down to Plage Mala), but if those barriers in Eze are still in place (I don’t know if it was a temporary or permanent thing), I’d suggest taking the #600 bus past that dangerous stretch to the Cap Estel stop instead of walking it.
A few suggestions
If possible, do this walk off season and pick a cooler day. Get an early start and put on (and bring) lots of sunscreen. Bring water as well, and stop often to buy more along the way. If at any point during the walk you feel exhausted or overheated, just take the bus (#600) a few stops and when you feel up for it, get back to your walk. The views from the bus are amazing too, and there’s no need to kill yourself, it’s supposed to be a fun outing, not a death march (I often get so caught up in getting the perfect shot that I forget that! But sunburn and pounding headaches are not so fun). 🙂 After enjoying Plage Mala, just take the #600 bus back to Nice. It runs often, and again, it’s a beautiful ride.
If you’re going to Plage Mala during the summer and want to spend some time at one of the beach clubs, make a reservation well in advance.
If you love a particular image in this post that you don’t see in my store, and would like it as a print, just get in touch and let me know which image it is, and the size you would like. I’m happy to make a custom print when possible.
More Walks in France on the blog
PS. Looking for a great pair of walking shoes? My favorites are from Xero – the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn!
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