A Seaside Village and a lovely Villa

Our final excursion of our Mediterranean Adventure was to the village of Villefranche and the Baroness Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild’s former villa.  After a brief ride through Monte Carlo crossing over the start/finish line of the Monaco Grand Prix and past exclusive shops of this seaside resort, we climbed the roadway through tunnels and twisting turns to be able to see the beautiful Cote d’Azur seas and vistas.  

Our first stop was to the quintessential French Riviera seaside village of Villefranche.  This resort town was just west of the French-Italian border and a lovely spot for a quick visit.   With a history going back over 1,000 years this little village was a treat to explore.   Our guide pointed out a number of interesting sites and eventually Janeen opted for a quick snack at a local shop. To be specific, it is hard to pass up a warm Nutella crepe and mint gelato. 

Once gathered together, we trudged back to the bus and continued on our journey to the Rothschild Villa.  For some reason, the name Rothschild aways conjures money and old-world history.  This spot did not lack beauty and history. Beatrice was of the European Rothschild lineage, and a bit of a feminist. 

Located between Nice and Monaco, overlooking the Mediterranean, the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is a magnificent palace surrounded by nine themed gardens: French garden, Spanish garden, Florentine garden, stone garden, Japanese garden, exotic garden, Provençal garden and rose garden. 

By birth and then by marriage, Madame Ephrussi was to become one of the greatest collectors of her century. For the construction of the Villa between 1907 and 1912, she added the talents of all the experts and merchants, friends of the family …At the age of 19, Béatrice married Maurice Ephrussi, a Parisian banker of Russian origin, 15 years her senior, and a friend of her parents. Their marriage was celebrated in great style on 6 June 1883 at the synagogue, Rue de la Victoire in Paris.

Béatrice’s father died in 1905 and the Baroness inherited his immense fortune. That same year, she decided to construct her dream home in Cap Ferrat. When she first discovered this plot of land, she was immediately seduced by the beauty of the surroundings.  In 1933, a year before her death, Beatrice bequeathed her Villa and the entirety of its collections to the Académie des Beaux-Arts. The Académie also received the 7 hectares of land and some 5,000 works of art. The Académie des Beaux-Arts entrusted the management of the site to Culture Spaces, which redeveloped the gardens, respecting the original plan designed by Louis Marchand and restoring the Villa’s interior. Several events at the site showcasing the Villa’s splendid gardens are created. 

After walking up the driveway, after a quick visit to the interior of the villa Janeen  decided to forego any further exploration inside and focus our time on the gardens of the Villa – which was an excellent decision.

If you have followed our travels, you know that periodically Janeen needs to visit a garden.  Well, today really helped with that need.  With 9 different style areas, it was easy to just wander slowly around and appreciate the beauty of the place.  At each turn of the path there was a new visit to enjoy – both of the garden and its variety of plantings plus the site of the surrounding area, as the Villa is perched on the top of a promontory projecting out into the sea.  

The one thing that continues to amaze both of us is how many of the plants we see in virtually all the Mediterranean gardens were planted in abundance in Alhambra where we lived for a number of years. The blue flowers of Plumbago, lantana, roses, are common in southern California

Once we reconnected with our group, we boarded the bus for the trip back to the ship.  We can now check off Monaco of our list of countries we need to visit and it is a lovely area that we could certainly return, but not to gamble.