Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat

We walked so much I was seeing triple!

Today's plan was to hike along the trails of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, a peninsula located just east of Villefranche-sur-Mur.  It's within easy walking distance from our condo but it's a world away when it comes to cost of real estate.  Saint_Jean-Cap-Ferrat is known as the "billionaires cape" and the "temple of luxury real estate" due to it's beauty and ideal location between Nice and Monaco. It boasts some of the highest real estate prices in the world.  According to one article a "fixer upper" sold for over 40 million euros.  Bloomberg reported one house, the Villa les Cedres is the most expensive residential property on the planet.  It has 14 bedrooms, a ballroom, a stable for 30 horses and a 35 acre private garden that is overseen by fifteen full time gardeners.  If you buy it, your next door neighbor would be Andrew Lloyd Weber.
The homes are mostly tucked away behind gates and walls but we were able to catch an occasional glimpse of a few of them, including one home that had been owned by David Niven (Around the World in 80 Days and The Pink Panther).  Towering high above the other swanky mansions is the Rothschild Villa which took seven years to build.  It was owned by a member of the Rothschild family, a prominent French family that made their money in banking.  The villa and the gardens are now open to the public, for a small fee, of course.

The Rothschild Villa

We left the checkbook at home so we didn't do any house hunting, but we did enjoy the walking  paths that hugged the rocky coast line.  We enjoyed them so much that by the time we retreated back to our cozy condo the little gizmo in my I-phone told me that we covered 12 miles and 41 floors.  I can't vouch for it's accuracy but it felt like at least a twelve mile day!
To get there from Nice:
It's a short ride on either the #81 or #100 bus.
There is a small town that has several restaurants along the marina.  We enjoyed the pizza at Madamepizza.
Maps are available at the visitors center.
The trails are for the most part paved with stones or rocky.  Some are fairly narrow and along cliffs with steep drop-offs.
Here are some pictures we took along the way:

Lunchtime!

Balancing a lighthouse on your head is never easy!