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St Jean Cap Ferrat Yachts

Nestled between the famous Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Villefranche-sur-Mer, and between Nice and Monaco on the larger scale, the beautiful French Riviera peninsular of St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is a fantastic France yacht charter hotspot. Indeed, Cap Ferrat can be considered the apex of the French Riviera's "golden triangle", of Cap Ferrat, Beaulieu and Villefranche. The peninsular has traditionally been a favourite Mediterranean holiday destination for the European wealthy and their luxury yachts. Visitors come for the superb weather, lovely ocean vistas and French cuisine – and of course for the yachting.

Like most of the famous Mediterranean coastal locations a luxury yacht is the best way to experience St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and surrounding areas. Cap Ferrat is commonly on a Côte d'Azur yacht charter itinerary as The Cap is positioned centrally to other hot spots. A popular place for charter yachts to visit, the peninsula also features a picturesque port where they can stay. Nearby are famous restaurants, beaches, a zoo, and several delightful stone paths to take in the amazing views and the entire peninsula by the sea, There's a small beach near the port, but Cap-Ferrat is famously rocky and jagged, making for excellent views and picture taking.

Port de Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat

This is a cozy marina with 560 berths and good shelter. The marina is pretty - an exceptional port of call in the centre of a fishing village: illustrious, protected, set in a pedestrian environment. Two must do things in Cap-Ferrat are strolling along the peninsula along a rocky path with lovely views and enjoying an inticing meal in the restaurants lining the port, or just above in the town. If you like mingling with the rich and famous, Cap-Ferrat is one of the better places in the world to do so.

The Beaches

The beaches of Cap Ferrat include Paloma beach southeast of the port and Passable beach which is on the northwest side of the main peninsula, past the zoo (parc zoologique). This beach is west facing, with a view across the Rade de Villefranche. Cro de Peï Pin beach is located just north of the port at the Anse Lilong facing eastward into the Baie des Fourmis and the Tete de Chene.

Things to see and do

Built in 1908, the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat is historically one of the glamour hotels of the world and has seen guests like Paul Deschanel, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and Princess Louise the Duchess of Argyll. The magnificent Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild in the Cap Ferrat is another point of interest and it is where the Les Azuriales Opera Festival is held each year in August. Le Zoo Parc du Cap-Ferrat, the Zoological Garden, is located in the northwestern part of the peninsula and St Hospice reveals a large bronze statue of the Madonna and Child and the early-19th century chapel, Le Phare. Another famous spot is the semaphore, built in 1862 by decision of Napoleon III who wanted to equip the French littoral with a semaphoric chain.

Cuisine

The cuisine in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat commonly provides a seafood theme with its coastal location. Some mouth watering dishes worth trying include escalope de mérou au citron (escalope of sea bass in lime); salmon tournedos with truffles, cod and vegetables in garlic sauce or skate with capers. Meat dishes on some of the best menus in town include estouffade de sanglier (wild boar) and fillet de beef rossini cooked with foie gras. This is merely a tiny selection of a huge number of quality French dishes. Gourmet restaurants worth sampling include Le Sloop on the port, Le Panorama with an award winning chef (at Hôtel Royal Riviera), Le Cap which is the main restaurant at the Grand Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat and La Voile d’or with it’s beautiful views over the port itself.

History

Like so much of the Mediterranean, Saint Jean Cap Ferrat has a wonderfully colourful history. It was first known to the ancient Greeks as Anao. The present day Cap Ferrat was initially settled by Celto-ligurian tribes and then by the Lombards at the end of the 6th Century. The Lombards settled much of the Cote d azure coastline. Later a hermit friar, Sant Ospizio (or Saint Hospice) inhabited a tower on the Eastern part of the peninsula. Then in the 8th century the Saracens occupied the site as their base for pirating right up until the 11th Century. However by 1388 the entire County of Nice, including the Cap was gifted by treaty to the Dukes of Savoy. Then throughout the 18th century Cap Ferrat was swapped between Sardinia and France until finally in 1860 the County of Nice was finally ceded by treaty to France.

Famous people associated with Cap Farrat include King Léopold II of Belgium ,Rothschild, Rainier III, David Niven, Charlie Chaplin, Somerset Maugham, Jean Cocteau, Isadora Duncan, Winston Churchill, French Prime Ministers Maurice Rouvier and Raymond Barre. Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat has some of the most expensive real estate in the world and continues to attract the rich and famous and their superyachts.

Climate

The Cap has a mild, delightful Mediterranean climate with an average temperatures range from 9°C/48°F in January to 23°C/73°F in the summer. There is very little rainfall in the summer and shelter can be found from the Mistral winds when they occasionally blow. Summer is the high season for yacht charters and July and august shows heavy demand with many popular yachts booking out the previous year.

If you would like to discuss the charter options in this area please contact us here.

Below is a selection of France charter yachts available for rental in this area as well as the latest news related to France: