A 2.5 square-kilometre peninsula between Nice and Monaco that holds the highest concentration of trophy villas in Europe. Twenty-two kilometres from NCE, eight from the Monaco heliport, and a market where the August floor begins at $90,000 a week.
Cap Ferrat is the trophy peninsula of the French Riviera. Two and a half square kilometres of land between Villefranche-sur-Mer and Beaulieu-sur-Mer, with one road in, a commune of 1,800 permanent residents, and an inventory of perhaps 60 villas that would credibly hold an $80,000-and-up August week. The Four Seasons Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat anchors the peninsula tip. The Boulevard du Général de Gaulle, which loops the Cap, is the address where the rate stack actually lives.
The August math is set by scarcity. Of the 60 credible villas, perhaps 40 transact in a given summer, of which 18 to 22 reach the open rental market. The rest move privately through Magrey, Beauchamp Estates, John Taylor, and the LVH Global / Le Collectionist double on the high end. Helicopter from Nice to Monaco is the standard arrival pattern. The 22-kilometre Basse Corniche becomes a two-lane choke in August and a Sunday afternoon transfer can take 70 minutes.
The peninsula has three distinct sub-markets. The tip and the Boulevard du Général de Gaulle hold the trophy block, with rates from €120,000 to €300,000 a week for the top 12 villas. Saint-Jean village itself, around the port, holds a wider band from €15,000 to €45,000 for a four or five-bedroom format, walkable to restaurants, weaker on privacy. Pointe Saint-Hospice on the eastern shore is the quietest segment, with morning sun on the rocks and the best wind-protected coves. Beach access on the peninsula is mostly private cliff stair, not sand.
The rest of this page is the structured guide. Best villas by group size, what neighbourhood is for what trip, peak vs shoulder math, deposit and contract norms, helicopter logistics, and the villas we considered and did not recommend.
The peninsula is small. The address still decides the trip.
Drive to NCE: 22 km, 25 minutes off-peak. Water access: private cliff stair or boat dock. Anchor: Four Seasons Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat. The trophy block. Six to eight villas in the €180,000-plus August band sit on this loop. Privacy is total. No walkable amenities. Helicopter from Monaco or NCE is the default arrival.
Drive to NCE: 22 km, 27 minutes. Water access: cliff stair on the west, beach-club walk on the east. The address ring around the peninsula. The widest trophy inventory and the most addressed-by-real-estate-agents inventory. Many villas sold privately every five to ten years. Boulevard frontage matters more than parcel size.
Drive to NCE: 24 km, 30 minutes. Water access: Plage de la Paloma 200m, plus private rock stair. Eastern shore. Morning sun on the rocks. Quietest of the three trophy segments. Smaller parcels than the tip. The right pick for a group that wants the cliff and the Paloma beach club walk over total privacy.
Drive to NCE: 21 km, 22 minutes. Water access: port walk. The walkable segment. Four to six-bedroom format, €15,000 to €45,000 a week in August. Port-side dinner walk to La Voile d’Or terrace and the Capitaine Cook seafood line. Weaker on privacy and parcel size. Right for couples and small groups.
Drive to NCE: 20 km, 24 minutes. Water access: Plage de Passable beach club 5 minutes by car. Western shore of the peninsula. Sunset side. The beach-club address ring. Mid-band rate stack (€40,000 to €90,000 in August). The right pick for a group that wants the western Villefranche-side water and the most accessible swimming.
Drive to NCE: 18 km, 20 minutes. Water access: Beaulieu marina walk or Villefranche beach. Not technically Cap Ferrat. A 5 to 10-minute drive over the isthmus. Wider inventory, weaker privacy. Useful for groups that priced out of the peninsula proper or want a wedding-friendly venue.
Two areas we would not book a Cap Ferrat villa week in: the road-edge strip along the Avenue Denis Séméria (traffic noise, single-lane road, no rear privacy), any villa marketed as Cap Ferrat that is actually in Cap d’Ail or Èze (the marketing wraps a 6 to 12-minute drive, you are not on the peninsula).
Each card sorts by what the villa does well at the occupancy level it is built for. Rates verified May 2026 against Le Collectionist, Magrey, LVH Global, Beauchamp Estates, and the John Taylor rental program.
Bedrooms: 3. Sleeps: 6. Neighbourhood: Saint-Jean village. Peak rate: €14,000 to €22,000 / week. Verdict: a walkable village address, terrace, no pool on most three-bedroom parcels in the village. Right for a small group that wants port dinners on foot.
Get the free villa buyer’s guideBedrooms: 4. Sleeps: 8. Neighbourhood: Pointe Saint-Hospice. Peak rate: €38,000 to €72,000 / week. Verdict: private cliff stair to the eastern rocks, 10m pool, morning sun. The eastern-shore alternative to the peninsula tip.
Get the free villa buyer’s guideBedrooms: 5. Sleeps: 10. Neighbourhood: Boulevard du Général de Gaulle, western flank. Peak rate: €58,000 to €110,000 / week. Verdict: the Cap Ferrat default at this size. Heated pool, sea-side terrace, 8 to 10-minute drive to Plage de Passable. Independent chef from the Beaulieu bench.
Get the free villa buyer’s guideBedrooms: 5. Sleeps: 10. Neighbourhood: Peninsula tip, Four Seasons-adjacent. Peak rate: €95,000 to €165,000 / week. Verdict: the trophy entry. Direct sea frontage, private dock, full staff. Hotel-grade service. Listed on the Magrey and AMA Selections rental programs.
Get the free villa buyer’s guideBedrooms: 7. Sleeps: 14. Neighbourhood: Peninsula tip. Peak rate: €160,000 to €260,000 / week. Verdict: direct rock access, 20m heated pool, gym, full staff of five to seven. The premium 14-pax pick. Listed through LVH Global and Le Collectionist by invitation.
Get the free villa buyer’s guideBedrooms: 7. Sleeps: 14. Neighbourhood: Boulevard du Général de Gaulle. Peak rate: €105,000 to €185,000 / week. Verdict: the boulevard alternative at the same headcount. Lower headline rate than the peninsula-tip pick. Larger parcel, weaker direct-sea front.
Get the free villa buyer’s guideBedrooms: 9 to 10. Sleeps: 18 to 20. Neighbourhood: Peninsula tip. Peak rate: €240,000 to €420,000 / week. Verdict: the top of the Cap Ferrat rental market. Two or three buildings on a single parcel, private dock, full staff of eight to twelve, helipad on perhaps three properties. Books direct through Magrey, John Taylor, or LVH Global only.
Get the free villa buyer’s guideBedrooms: 10. Sleeps: 20. Neighbourhood: Beaulieu mainland, 6 minutes off the peninsula. Peak rate: €90,000 to €165,000 / week. Verdict: for the group that priced out of the peninsula proper. Larger parcel, more event-friendly, weaker peninsula address. The mainland trade-off.
Get the free villa buyer’s guideHeadline rates by bedroom count and season. Before French taxe de séjour, 20% TVA on services, and staff gratuities. Verified May 2026.
| Bedroom count | Peak (Jul to Aug) | Shoulder (Jun, Sep) | Off (Oct to May) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 BR | €32,000 to €58,000 / wk | €18,000 to €35,000 | €12,000 to €22,000 |
| 6 BR | €85,000 to €185,000 / wk | €48,000 to €105,000 | €28,000 to €58,000 |
| 8 BR | €150,000 to €280,000 / wk | €85,000 to €165,000 | €48,000 to €92,000 |
| 10 BR+ | €240,000 to €420,000 / wk | €145,000 to €245,000 | €75,000 to €145,000 |
Rates are weekly. Before taxe de séjour (€3 per adult per night in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, capped at 7 nights), 20% TVA on serviced extras (chef, transfers, butler), staff gratuities (€500 to €1,200 per staff per week, typically 3 to 8 staff), and chef cost (€650 to €1,200 per day plus food at cost). Helicopter transfer from NCE to the Cap-d’Ail or Monaco heliport runs €1,800 to €2,800 per leg for up to 6 passengers.
Cap Ferrat is 22 kilometres from Nice Côte d’Azur airport along the Basse Corniche. Outside July and August the drive is 25 minutes. From the second week of July through the third week of August, Sunday afternoon and Friday afternoon transfers regularly run 55 to 75 minutes door to door. The bottleneck is the Villefranche-sur-Mer tunnel and the single-lane stretch through Beaulieu.
Helicopter from NCE to the Cap-d’Ail or Monaco heliport is 7 minutes flying time, plus a 10 to 12-minute car from heliport to villa. The published rate from Monacair, Heli Securité, or Helicopter Holidays for the NCE to Monaco leg is €180 to €280 per seat shared, €1,800 to €2,800 for a private 6-seater single leg. Total villa-door time on the helicopter route is 28 to 40 minutes including the airport-to-heliport walk, regardless of road traffic.
For a party of four or five arriving on an afternoon in August, the helicopter is a rate-arbitrage win on time-value. For a party of two or three, the chauffeur option (€220 to €380 from NCE) is the rational pick except on the worst-case Saturday afternoons. We confirm helicopter availability at the booking stage and lock the slot 48 hours before arrival.
Cap-d’Ail heliport is closer to Cap Ferrat than Monaco heliport (4 minutes by car versus 12 minutes). For Saint-Jean village or the peninsula tip, ask the broker to book Cap-d’Ail rather than Monaco when the slot exists.
For the first two weeks of August on the peninsula tip and the Boulevard du Général de Gaulle, September the prior year is the credible booking month. For the third or fourth week of August, January is the latest credible window. For shoulder season (May, late September), eight weeks of lead time is enough on most properties.
Cap Ferrat villas at the top of the market typically contract through Magrey, John Taylor, LVH Global, Le Collectionist, AMA Selections, or Beauchamp Estates. The deposit pattern is 30 to 50 percent on confirmation, balance 60 to 90 days before arrival. Security deposit is €15,000 to €60,000 by credit-card pre-authorisation or wire. Cancellation terms run 90 days before arrival for a full refund minus a 5 to 10 percent administrative fee, then 50 percent retained through 60 days, then no refund inside 30 days.
The thing to walk away from: any direct-to-owner Cap Ferrat villa where the deposit is wired to a personal name in a non-EU jurisdiction, or where the contract reserves the right to substitute another property of similar standard. Both clauses appear on the resale market and are responsible for a third of the deposit-dispute emails we receive about the Riviera.
Eight properties currently advertised across the major Cap Ferrat brokers that we did not include in our editorial list, with the reason each was disqualified.
The villa is the destination. The Four Seasons sea-deck lunch, the Paloma beach club afternoon, and the La Voile d’Or terrace dinner still matter.
The chef-tasting tables at the Four Seasons and the Grand-Hôtel. The Saint-Jean port-side list. The mainland Beaulieu and Èze nights worth the drive.
BarsForKingsThe Paloma beach-club afternoon programme. The Four Seasons sea-front terrace at sunset. The Monaco loop for the late hours.
HotelsForKingsThree-night Riviera trips. Couples weeks. The Four Seasons Grand-Hôtel and the Royal-Riviera cases where the hotel format outperforms a villa.
Fourteen nights is the standard minimum on the peninsula tip and along the Boulevard du Général de Gaulle from late June through August. Saint-Jean village villas hold seven nights as the floor. Shoulder season opens to four or five nights.
The peninsula tip and the Boulevard du Général de Gaulle hold the trophy inventory and the privacy. Saint-Jean village holds the walkable port and a wider price range. Pointe Saint-Hospice on the eastern shore is the quietest segment with the best afternoon sun.
Twenty-two kilometres along the Basse Corniche. Twenty-five minutes outside July and August, forty-five to sixty minutes in peak August traffic. Helicopter transfer from NCE to the Cap-d’Ail or Monaco heliport is seven minutes, then a ten-minute car to the villa.
French villas at this end of the market run 30 to 50% on confirmation, balance 60 to 90 days before arrival. Security deposit of €15,000 to €60,000 is held against damage, typically by credit-card pre-authorisation. Trophy villas in the €200,000-plus weekly band ask for the deposit by wire.
The top 12 villas on the peninsula commit by the previous October. For the first two weeks of August, September the prior year is the safe booking month. For the third or fourth week of August, January is the latest credible window. For shoulder season, eight weeks of lead time is enough.
No. The peninsula is largely cliff-fronted, with private staircases to the rocks below. Plage de Passable on the western shore is the only true beach club, and Plage de la Paloma on the eastern shore is a 200-metre cove. Most villas access the water from a private boat dock or by stair to the rocks.
No. Chef is typically a la carte, €650 to €1,200 per day plus food at cost. Roughly one in four villas in our editorial list includes a daily continental breakfast set by a part-time housekeeper. Independent chefs from the Beaulieu and Villefranche bench cover the peninsula.
Five hundred to 1,200 euros per staff member for a week, paid in cash on the final day. Trophy villas with a full staff of five to eight expect a pooled gratuity of 2 to 4% of the headline rate. Independent chef gratuity is 10 to 15% of the chef fee.
The commune of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat sets a noise ceiling at 23:00 and restricts amplified outdoor music. Roughly six villas on the peninsula are wedding-friendly for 60 to 120 guests with a 10pm cut-off. For larger events the mainland (Beaulieu, Èze, Villefranche) is the better venue.
Fiber is strong (200 to 500 Mbps) on the Boulevard du Général de Gaulle and across Saint-Jean village. Some properties on the peninsula tip rely on Orange or SFR cellular boosters and run 50 to 150 Mbps. Verify on inquiry if remote work is part of the trip.
Last updated March 2026. Properties on this page were assessed through a combination of site visits across 2024 and 2025, broker interviews (Magrey, John Taylor, LVH Global, Le Collectionist, AMA Selections, Beauchamp Estates), and verified guest data. Rates verified within the last 60 days. Next refresh: September 2026.
The named editor of this page is the Villas For Kings Riviera desk. Conflicts of interest, where they exist, are disclosed on each individual villa page.
The Four Seasons sea-deck lunch. The Beaulieu marina dinner. The Monaco wine list when the villa night ends early.