Walking around Cap Ferrat

One of the good things about living in France is that there are quite a few public holidays (11 in total). Today was one of them (remembrance day). Since the sun was out and the sky was blue, we decided there was no excuse not to go for a hike. Since the weather is getting a bit chilly this time of the year, we decided to play it safe and go for a coastal hike. Since we’ve done the Cap d’Antibes walk recently with some friends, we decided to do Cap Ferrat this time. So, after a solid breakfast, and some bumming about during the morning, we jumped on the train down to Villefranche-sur-Mer.

Before the hike, we fortified ourselves with a dessert and coffee in one of the coffee shops in the picturesque harbor, having a look at the fishermen cleaning their nets, and the azur-blue med. We then started our walk, which took us along the Villefranche beach up to Cap Ferrat. We decided to walk towards Pointe Saint-Hospice, on the Beaulieu side, from where we had some great views towards Beaulieu (and Villa Kerylos) and Italy. I like this part of the Cote d'Azur, the steep cliffs luckily make it hard for the property developers to ruin the landscapes, as they've done between Nice and Cannes.

The walk then took us through the port of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, which is a surprisingly “proletarian place” (considering Cap Ferrat is, among the other caps like Cap-Saint-Martin and Cap d’Antibes, probably the most exclusive place to live in on the Cote d’Azur). Having said that, all the buildings seem to be occupied either by real estate agencies, restaurants or hotels (any self-respecting Cap Ferrat resident lives in a villa!).

The last bit of the walk took us around the Pointe Saint-Hospice, from where we were treated to a bit of rugged cliffs and more amazing views. Having made the tour of the Pointe, we headed back towards Beaulieu to catch our train back. All in all, a walk like this is pretty much the perfect day to spend an autumnal public holiday in the South of France. I can’t help but add that autumnal days like this are a bit like summer days in Finland… ;-)