Friday was a perfect day here in Villefranche - the sky was a perfect blue, there was a breeze, and it was about 55 degrees. There could be no better day for a walk around Cap Ferrat. Jane was going to Ventimiglia just over the boarder into Italy for the huge market with some friends, all girls. I had the perfect excuse to skip Ventimiglia and take a walk I had always wanted to do. As I explained in an earlier post, I have wanted to walk this fabulous coast line ever since we first came to Villefranche. Earlier this year we walked the finger of Cap Ferrat (really looks more like a thumb). Now I could walk the main part of Cap Ferrat.
To cut down on the time, I decided I would take a bus from Villefranche to one end of the walk and catch a bus home from the other end of the walk. Since I would be walking around lunch time, I decided it would be very french to buy a pre-made baguette sandwich at a local boulangerie. I packed my camera, water, sandwich and hat into my backpack and set off to catch the bus.
The Route 81 bus runs from Nice to Port Saint Jean on Cap Ferrat through Villefranche with a detour through Beaulieu. I got off at the stop called Passable/Rothschild as you can see below. This stop serves both the Villa Ephrussi Rothschild and the plage de passable (Passable Beach). I thought that I had written a post about the Villa Ephrussi Rothschild, but I could not find it so I will write one someday. For now just know that it is an incredible villa and garden built by a couple one of which was a Rothschild and the other an Ephrussi and the Ephrussi was the richer one. The villa and the gardens are fantastic and change with the seasons. Plage de passable is a public beach.
It is just a short walk from the bus stop down to the beach. I was greeted by the sign below. Note that I am now on the west side of the cap. You will see a similar map at the end of the walk when I arrived at Port Saint Jean on the eastern side of the cap. Please do not be too afraid of the big DANGER WARNING sign. It says that you shouldn't walk on the sentier du littoral (the coastal path) if the seas are high or there is bad weather. If you need that warning, you have many other problems to deal with.
The plage de passable was virtually deserted except for a group of women who were setting out a picnic. In the summer it is wall to wall people. The village you see in the background is Villefranche.
The walk is absolutely gorgeous. Every time I turned around or looked up or turned a corner there was yet another fantastic vista. The one below is about half way out to the lighthouse. I am looking back at Villefranche.
The rocky cliffs are full of these beautiful yellow flowers. I am once again looking back at Villefranche. You can just see a green fence. It is there to separate the people on the path from the billionaires that own the property overlooking the sea.
As you can see the cliffs fall right down to the water. This picture looks across the rade (harbor) of Villefranche to the Cap de Nice, the cap that divides Villefranche and Nice.
As you can see from the next two pictures, if you have a fear of heights you might want to skip this walk. In some places there is barrier of some sort between you and falling into the sea but in many as in the pictures below there is nothing so don't lose your balance. The little ledge at the bottom of each picture is the path not some barrier.
The path itself goes up and down a lot but nothing too steep. The surface of the path can be very sharp rocks where you need to watch where you are stepping or you may end up with a sprained ankle.
Other parts of the path are quite smooth and easy to walk on.
The lighthouse is about half way as it is on the tip of the cap closest to the rade at Villefranche. According to the maps, it is a 50 minute walk from the plage de passable to the lighthouse. It was a little longer than that for me because I stopped to take so many pictures. My first close up view of the lighthouse was the one below as I rounded a bend.
When I reached the lighthouse, I decided I should stop to eat my sandwich. There are benches and places to sit along the way but there were several places by the lighthouse. I looked at this sign while I was eating.
Just past the lighthouse you get the last views of the Cap de Nice and Nice. This one is the Cap de Nice.
This one is the big bay of Nice.
As the walk continues past the lighthouse, the views are no less impressive and the number of visible mansions increases. In this photo I am looking back west towards the lighthouse. It is hard to tell but the house in the foreground is spectacular.
Once past the lighthouse the coast line changes dramatically. This picture is looking east. The path also becomes flat and smooth as you walk towards Port Saint Jean. I should note this part of the path goes in front of the Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat, a Four Seasons hotel, that is surrounded by huge mansions perched on the cliffs overhead. That probably accounts for better path.
As I rounded another bend, I saw this traditional boat slowly heading out to sea. That is Monaco in the background. Amidst all the conspicuous consumption of Cap Ferrat, it was comforting to see someone enjoying a nice boat ride in a simple but beautiful boat.
As I approached Port Saint Jean, I could not resist yet another picture of Eze Village.
Just before I got to the village of Saint Jean, I came across this rather fun decoration of a rock. Proof that there are real people here not just the billionaires.
By reaching Saint Jean, I had completed my walk around Cap Ferrat and here is a picture of the sign to prove it.
From there it was easy. I found the bus stop and took the 81 bus back to Villefranche. What a great and beautiful walk!!
Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal
Beautiful pictures, evocative blog posts. Welcome home.
ReplyDeleteOne comment: The Rothschild was the richer.