Cap Ferrat Has Been the French Riviera's Quiet Billionaire Address Since the 1900s

Between Nice and Monaco, a pine-covered peninsula juts into the Mediterranean and does its best to stay out of view. Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat has been known locally as the Peninsula of Billionaires since the late 19th century, and unlike Monaco or St Tropez a short drive away, it has largely kept that reputation without turning itself into a spectacle.

A villa built by the Rothschilds

The clearest evidence of the peninsula's old money is Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, built between 1907 and 1912 by Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild banking family. The rose-pink villa sits on its own promontory with seven themed gardens and was donated to the Institut de France in 1934; it is now open to the public and remains the peninsula's most visible link to the era that built its reputation.

Writers and actors who made it home, not just a stop

Somerset Maugham bought Villa La Mauresque on the peninsula in 1927 and lived there for decades, entertaining a long list of literary and political guests while writing some of his best-known work. Actor David Niven kept a home on the peninsula too, at what is now known as Place David Niven, preferring it to his other residences. Both point to the same pattern: Cap Ferrat has tended to attract people looking to actually live somewhere, not just be photographed there.

The hotel that has hosted the rest

The Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, a Four Seasons property on the peninsula's tip since the early 20th century, has been the discreet alternative to Monaco's grander hotels for over a century, with its own private funicular down to a seafront pool cut into the rocks. It remains the peninsula's main hotel address for visitors who don't have a villa of their own.

Traveller tips

• Nice Côte d'Azur Airport is around 20 minutes by road, making Cap Ferrat one of the more accessible old-money enclaves on the Riviera.
• Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is open to the public year-round and is the easiest way to see the peninsula's architectural history up close.
• The coastal footpath around the peninsula is public and free, offering sea views past villa gates that are otherwise firmly private.
• July and August are the peninsula's busiest months; late spring and early autumn offer a quieter, more typical read of the place.