- 9 hours ago
Sandi's Great Riviera Rail Trip - Season 1 Episode 3 - Nice To Cap-Ferrat
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00:03The French Riviera. Playground of the rich and famous and one of the world's great dream
00:10destinations. This is paradise. And by taking a simple rail trip of just over 100 miles from
00:16end to end you can see all its sun-drenched glories. And that's what I'm doing. Wow.
00:23It's luxury beyond all measure and I got the best seat in the house. As well as the rather nice
00:31sea,
00:31sand and sun, I want to explore the region's rich past. We're sitting pretty much in the exact spot.
00:39And vibrant present. What a way to toast a new friendship. I'll discover the famous characters
00:44that made the Riviera glitter. You could say that they invented the Cotezio in the summertime.
00:50And I'll visit the places and meet the people that keep it shimmering today.
00:55Oh, I love this. What's not to like about my great Riviera rail trip?
01:07After all those little seaside towns, it'll be quite a shock to hit the big city. My rail trip has
01:13brought me to Nice, the unofficial capital of the Cote d'Azur and the fifth biggest city in France.
01:23I'm not a city person normally, but luckily this is one of my favourites,
01:28with yet another postcard-pretty Old Town.
01:37Even the train station oozes Belle Époque charm. Back in the late 19th century, it was the final stop on
01:45the
01:45legendary Train Bleu that brought all those rich Brits from Calais down to the magical Riviera.
01:53This is not my first time in Nice. And you know one of the things I absolutely love about it?
01:59The ice creams are enormous.
02:06In fact, food's very much the thing in Nice. The Cours Salier market is one of the most iconic
02:12in a region renowned for its gastronomic delights.
02:19The truth is, when I finish filming, I am actually bringing all of my grandchildren and my children
02:24and their partners to Nice for holiday, and I have promised my eight-year-old grandson
02:29that he and I are going to go to the market, buy food, and make dinner for everybody.
02:34So I've just come to check it out, because I want to make sure I do it right.
02:38I don't want to be a good granny, so let's have a look.
02:52It's got a cannon at the door. It's a 12 o'clock thing about me.
02:59It's really good. The cannon going off in the middle is, you know, heart-stopping.
03:11Oh, I'm definitely coming back here. Look, free cherries and change. I mean, what's not to love?
03:20I can't wait to tuck into a lovely lunch at one of the many cafes that line the market.
03:25But first, I think I should learn a bit about the history of this wonderful city.
03:30So I'm off for a stroll along its famous Promenade des Anglais.
03:35Anglais, because the English played a massive role in creating Nice and this promenade.
03:42American expat, local author and tour guide Jean Oliver can tell me more.
03:47When you said the blue chair, I didn't realise it was going to be so big. It's impossible to not
03:51find you.
03:53Why the blue chair? What's it about?
03:55Well, the blue chairs are an iconic feature of the Promenade des Anglais for the last century.
04:02People sit on the chairs, they discuss, they look at the sea.
04:06Philosophise, that's very French.
04:08Philosophise, exactly.
04:10So you say the Promenade des Anglais. I mean, this is the, it's like the heart of British life here,
04:16right?
04:16Oh, most certainly.
04:18We all wind up on the promenade sooner rather than later, and we're pretty grateful to the Brits for having
04:25built it at the beginning of the 19th century.
04:28Why did they?
04:29Well, the Brits started coming here for their health. It was the time of a lot of respiratory diseases.
04:36There was a lot of tuberculosis, wasn't there?
04:38Yes, a lot.
04:40For their health, they needed to stroll. They wanted to...
04:45Breathe?
04:45Breathe. They came in the winter and they wanted healthy air and so forth, but there wasn't a place for
04:53them to stroll.
04:54Right.
04:55The seaside was trees and mud and it was just unacceptable.
05:01All those long dresses, you've got the long dresses.
05:03That's right.
05:04Nice shoes, long dresses.
05:07So who built the promenade then?
05:09So the Brits eventually, in 1822, had congregated in a church community across the river, now the Holy Trinity Church.
05:20And their minister, Lewis Way, started a subscription fundraising drive to build a little path for people to walk on.
05:32It was a way of helping the very, very poor people.
05:37He employed about 150 men, women and children to build it.
05:43It took a couple of years, but then it opened in 1824.
05:47And was it always the Promenade des Anglais or did it just gain that name?
05:51Well, it was initially called the English Pathway in Nice's local language.
05:56Chemin des Anglais.
05:58And then eventually it became the Chemin des Anglais and eventually it became the Promenade des Anglais.
06:05It's like it gets fancier and fancier as it goes.
06:07Yes.
06:07Yeah, it starts as a path, then a way, and then a promenade.
06:09Yes, yes.
06:10I love that.
06:11That's very good.
06:12So it started, it was really only two meters wide.
06:14It was a dusty path and it was only 400 meters long.
06:19So now look at it.
06:20And now look at it.
06:22Incredible.
06:27And if I walk today, is it still the promenade of the British?
06:32Oh, it's the promenade I think of everybody now.
06:35Right, okay.
06:35Yeah, everybody loves it.
06:37There's still a big expat community of Americans and British, is that still a thing?
06:41Most certainly, yes.
06:42We socialize together quite a bit.
06:44There's many, many groups of Anglophones here, of British and American.
06:50And I think it's probably the largest community.
06:53Is it?
06:53Okay.
06:53And what drew you?
06:55Why did you decide?
06:56Well, it's so beautiful.
07:00It's nice, mild winters.
07:02So it's easy to stay active all year round, which I really like.
07:07And I like also that it's not far from Italy.
07:11So if you get a little tired of France, take a trip.
07:14Pop over for a pizza.
07:16Pop over to Ventimiglia, right, for a pizza.
07:27The person who played perhaps the most important role in popularizing the Riviera with her fellow Anglais was Queen Victoria.
07:36She literally fell in love with the region and the well-heeled Simier neighborhood in particular.
07:43Simier sits on the hill overlooking the sea, and this statue pays tribute to the lady who first put it
07:48on the map.
07:51The nearby Excelsior Regina Hotel was built to accommodate her and the many monarchs and aristocrats who frequented these parts
08:00back in the day.
08:01It's been converted into private apartments, but I've been given a sneak peek of its opulent charms.
08:11Oh, my goodness.
08:17Bah!
08:18Did you hear that?
08:20That's the echo of money right there.
08:27This was the foyer of the hotel.
08:33I mean, it's quite nice, isn't it?
08:37Understated.
08:38I'm going to be honest.
08:39It's very like my own entrance hall at home, but, you know, I like it.
08:50So important is Queen Victoria to the history of Nice that I felt I had to get another slice of
08:55local history from Jean, who made me have ice cream.
09:02Merci.
09:03Look at that.
09:05So I imagine Queen Victoria comes to town.
09:08Everybody goes, great, she needs to come to our place because it's good for business.
09:12Do you think that's right?
09:13Oh, most definitely.
09:14I mean, she got an amazing reception when she first came here in 1895 at the train station.
09:23The streets were lined with little girls with bouquets of flowers.
09:27There was a band playing God Save the Queen, the governor made a speech.
09:32I arrived by train.
09:33It wasn't, it wasn't quite like, I don't know, something's gone wrong.
09:37Something's different.
09:38Yeah.
09:39No.
09:39And because we have a sort of, the British have an image of her as being not amused and rather
09:45stiff and formal.
09:46Do you think she responded and was glad to see the people?
10:18Oh, most certainly.
10:19Every year I grow fonder of dear Simier.
10:22Oh, that's so lovely.
10:24I think there's more to her than I had realized.
10:27Yeah, it was a place for her to relax and to have fun.
10:31She took a lot of trips outside of Nice.
10:35Well, she had a lot of relatives to visit on various thrones because nobility was coming to Nice at the
10:41time.
10:42Oh, there's a wonderful bit in her diary where she says she's on the road to Villefranche
10:45and she bumps into her cousin who's Leopold II of Belgium.
10:48I think you just think, oh, that, okay.
10:51Oh, there's another kale hiking.
10:54That's right.
10:55I like that.
10:57She liked to go up to the mountains and she had her little cart drawn by her favorite donkey, Jacko.
11:06Hey, lovely.
11:07Because the lanes were too narrow for horse and carriage, so that's why she got about by donkey cart.
11:15She was passionate about animals, though, because I believe she helped to found the
11:18Animal Protection Society in Nice.
11:21So she was obsessed with making sure the animals were okay in this tremendous heat.
11:25And she was personally very generous with people.
11:28On one of her outings, she caught the attention of a one-legged beggar who got around in a dog
11:34cart
11:34and she gave him money.
11:37And, of course, he appeared then every time he heard,
11:40she was coming by, here I am.
11:43And he would try to race her donkey cart with his dog cart.
11:48Then he got the idea that he was going to put a sign on his dog cart by special appointment
11:55to Her Majesty.
11:55I love that.
11:56Then the courtier said no.
11:58They got a hold of him.
11:59Going a little bit too far.
12:01Yeah.
12:04I've got a photograph here, black and white, of Queen Victoria turning up with her donkey
12:09and in the cart.
12:10I mean, she doesn't look excited, if I'm honest with you.
12:13I hope sometimes she had a laugh here.
12:15The thing I absolutely know is how much she loved it, because on her deathbed she said,
12:20If I were in Nice, I would get better.
12:33If its mild Mediterranean climate made La Belle Nice the choice of 19th century royalty,
12:39its wonderful light quality also attracted many of the world's greatest painters over the years.
12:45And there's plenty of contemporary artists keeping their spirit alive.
12:52This is a bit mad, but it's exactly the sort of thing I do when I travel.
12:56I saw a poster for an artist who I'd never heard of, but I recognised the building in Nice.
13:02I loved the work, and I thought he might be exhibiting near the building.
13:07So I've walked all the way down here, and I think this is him.
13:12I mean, I hope it's okay.
13:13Go and say hello.
13:18Wilma?
13:18Yes.
13:19I'm Sandy.
13:20How nice to meet you.
13:21Okay, welcome.
13:22Omar, look, I saw this poster.
13:23Yes.
13:24This building is here, isn't it?
13:25Yes, it's building here in the old town.
13:27When did you paint this?
13:28This happened in winter time.
13:30Ah, the light is so...
13:31The light is beautiful in this.
13:33Oh, it's incredible.
13:36Omar Lugang has achieved a certain local fame in these parts,
13:39as he and his easel have become almost a daily fixture on the Promenade des Anglais.
13:47He's had his work displayed in prestigious galleries and sells paintings from his lovely little pop-up studio.
13:54Born in Juba in Sudan, Omar studied fine art in Morocco and lived in Madrid before he was drawn to
14:01Nice.
14:02In 2003, I came from Morocco, Morocco direct to Nice.
14:07I see the light, I say, oh my God, this is a beautiful city.
14:13Next year, I say, okay, I will come to a holiday again.
14:17I come to a holiday for three months, painting only the people in the beach, so that I go back
14:23to Madrid.
14:23In 2010, I say, okay, I need to live in Nice.
14:26That's it.
14:27And it was the light?
14:28Yes, the light.
14:33All the artists come to South France to paint the light, like Matisse, Bangor, Renoir.
14:41All the big artists come to South France because the light is beautiful.
14:45Oh, it's incredible.
14:46So is there a time that you like to paint?
14:48Yes, I like to paint it early in the morning, in the evening.
14:52And the people, there's lots of wonderful people on the beach.
14:54At least the people, you know, the people in the beach, this is for me, is, I need to enjoy
14:59my day.
15:00Early in the morning, like in 10 o'clock in the morning, the people come in the beach,
15:04oh, sit there, oh, okay, I take my painting quickly in 20 minutes.
15:09Yeah.
15:09In 20 minutes.
15:10Oh, it's fantastic.
15:11There's no more than 20 minutes.
15:14Omar loves to work in oils and his paintings capture the vibrant life on Nice's famous promenade.
15:21All bathed in that glorious sunshine.
15:25Here, everybody says Omar is, art is very famous.
15:30That is it for me, this is no work for me.
15:33I'm looking for my happiness, you know, that my happiness is painting.
15:39There's a painting here that I just love because of the light.
15:42And I sat there this morning.
15:44It's like, I don't know.
15:45It sort of represents Nice, don't you think?
15:47Yes, because the SES blue, this is something about Nice, you know, that, the single of Nice.
15:54And everybody comes here for another angle, to stay to the SES blue, to stay there,
15:59to eat the breakfast, or to read the newspaper.
16:03May I have a closer look?
16:04Is it all right?
16:04Yes, yes, yes.
16:06But look at the brush, true.
16:07Yes, the brush, yes.
16:08So do you lay lots of layers of...
16:10Yes, the brush, only the brush.
16:11I use the brush.
16:12You can see, you can see there are...
16:14Yeah, many brushes, wow.
16:16There are many brushes, and then I use the brush.
16:17So the people, in the beginning, see, say maybe it's knife.
16:20I said, no, it's not knife, it's brush.
16:22All the painting, you can see, they are very energy, strong.
16:26You know, that I have the guarantee to put the color.
16:31Well, I'm so glad I tracked you down, because I love the work.
16:35I think it is magnificent.
16:37Because Nice is the light.
16:38The Nice is the light.
16:39Right.
16:46The Riviera may be best known for its high life and luxury,
16:49but I'm genuinely impressed by all the artistic activity in Nice.
16:55And to sample a bit more of it,
16:57I'm off to meet yet another American resident, sculptor Kim Beloukos.
17:03Kim moved here over 30 years ago, so she's practically French now.
17:10Her work explores nature, and in particular animals.
17:14And she uses a lot of metal and welding in her creations.
17:18Today, she's kindly allowed me to help her with this antelope sculpture.
17:24Kim, I'm Sandy.
17:27Oh, this is so exciting, thank you.
17:29Nice to meet you.
17:30Nice to meet you.
17:30Look at you, we're all ready for work.
17:32Yes, I've been working all day.
17:33Have you?
17:34Okay, so it's leather, is there going to be some?
17:36Yes, and you're going to have to wear one as well.
17:38I love this, I love this.
17:40What do I need protecting from?
17:42Well, we're going to be using some oxides, so you don't get stains on your clothing.
17:48Oh, that's quite a strong smell of the butcher.
17:50I like that.
17:50Yes, it just came from, I just bought it, so it's not old and used like mine.
17:55No, yours is wonderful.
17:57So, this is your work?
17:58Yes, this is my work.
17:59I love animals and I just love nature.
18:04There's so many artists in this area.
18:06Is there something about the area that inspired you?
18:08Well, for me, because I'm a welder and I weld outside, I like living in Nice because
18:14there are so many sunny days.
18:16So, I could work every month of the year and keep going, so it was perfect.
18:20Also, the colours here are just so vibrant.
18:23Oh, it's magnificent, isn't it?
18:24Yeah.
18:25It's just so, it really is inspiring.
18:29And believe it or not, Kim's going to let me help colour this beautiful creation.
18:35All right, first we're going to heat this.
18:38I don't put acids in my different oxides, so we have to heat it so it sticks to the surface.
18:45What is the effect that you're going to want for, because I think this looks magnificent,
18:49so what is it that you're hoping to do?
18:51Well, I could make it black, like this bronze sculpture, or green, like this one.
18:57You can do any colour you want, basically.
18:58And it's a chemical reaction on the bronze?
19:00It's a chemical reaction at the surface.
19:02I apply one colour first, then I let it sit for 24 hours, then I apply a second colour,
19:08and then a third, and it gives a lot of transparency and depth.
19:12So right now, you see the natural colour.
19:15A little tiny bit of green and even some yellow.
19:17Yes, yes, so this will change as soon as we start heating it and applying the colour.
19:22So I'm a little nervous about acid.
19:24Is acid...
19:24No, there is no acid.
19:25Oh, good.
19:25That's why I'm saying if you want to not heat, then you have to use acid.
19:29Right.
19:29I prefer to heat.
19:30Okay, I'm with you.
19:31Let's do that.
19:32I think I'm probably anti-acid.
19:33I don't know.
19:34Yeah, me too.
19:35That's a thing.
19:35I don't know.
19:35So we have paintbrushes.
19:40And let's turn this on.
19:42Wow, I mean, a lot of trees here, just saying.
19:44Yeah, no, I know.
19:45That's why it's not...
19:46I'm just going to do the legs, for example.
19:48We can just do the legs.
19:49Oh, okay.
19:49So this is how we do it.
19:51Right.
19:51Um, this is a small surface, so it'll heat fast.
19:54Is this your style to always have the elongated legs?
19:57Yes.
19:57I love this.
19:58It's, um, that's what I'm known for.
20:00Okay, could you do a statue of me with the elongated legs?
20:02I'd really...
20:03If you'd like.
20:03It would make me very happy.
20:04It would make me very happy.
20:10Okay.
20:13You don't need gloves or a welding helmet or anything?
20:15Yes, actually, we will put on gloves.
20:17Okay.
20:18Here are new gloves for you.
20:19Oh, you are so lovely.
20:20So where do you then sell your work?
20:22Where is it exhibited?
20:23I do a lot in Switzerland and in New York.
20:28But I have clients from around the world.
20:37Right, so I've got the gloves on.
20:39And now what we'll do is we'll put a little bit of color on.
20:44Mm-hmm.
20:45But then we'll wipe most of it off, actually.
20:47Just creating a reaction, is that the thing?
20:49Yes.
20:49Okay.
20:50And then what we do, although it's not heated enough,
20:52we should hear a little bit of hissing from the...
20:59from the heating.
21:00I mean, I'm seeing red now.
21:02Is it going to be red?
21:03It will be red, but then I always do several colors at a time.
21:06Right.
21:08So at the end, I have no idea what it will be.
21:12I love that, though.
21:13I really love that.
21:14So I have a friend of mine who does a lot of wood sculpture,
21:17but in what they call green wood, you know, fresh wood.
21:20Never quite knows what it's going to be,
21:21because the wood itself has some life in it.
21:24And don't you think that's exciting?
21:26Absolutely.
21:26Yeah.
21:27Absolutely.
21:27And you might say, I want it to be this color.
21:29Yeah.
21:29But then you're working in progress,
21:32and it's like, this is great.
21:33Why would I...
21:34Why do I need to go to the end?
21:35This is what it should be.
21:36And you stop.
21:38So I don't know if you can hear it.
21:39It's not really hissing.
21:40Oh, that one hissed.
21:42That was it.
21:42Oh, there and here.
21:43There's a little bubbly thing happening.
21:52So when people buy a work in bronze, they're buying a whole series of steps
21:57that they don't even realize that have been involved.
22:01But I love that, because it has you in it.
22:03Yeah, it's wonderful.
22:10I like that, you know, it's a woman doing welding.
22:13Go, girl.
22:13That's the other thing.
22:15Because when I used to go to art shows with my former husband,
22:18we would go, and they would immediately run over to him and say,
22:21Oh, we love your piece.
22:23Oh.
22:23And then he'd say, No, it's not me.
22:25It's the woman over there.
22:27It's there.
22:27My woodland has signs up that say, warning, these woods contain women with chainsaws.
22:35That's good, right?
22:36Yeah, absolutely.
22:39Is it a she?
22:40It's a she.
22:41I feel she.
22:42In French, antelope, antelope is female.
22:45Female.
22:45So it's an antelope.
22:47Okay.
22:47So when she's done, please, will you let me know how she got on?
22:52Of course.
22:52I will send you a picture of her.
22:53Would you?
22:54And definitely.
22:55I feel like I have a, I feel just this leg here.
22:58I have a little investment.
22:58Yes, well, absolutely.
23:00And I'm going to tell everyone that you participated in creating this beautiful color.
23:05See, I can see how you can get lost in this because this is a lovely space.
23:11It's so interesting.
23:12I could see how you could do hours and hours and hours of this.
23:16It's great.
23:17Yeah.
23:26I'm leaving the city now and the beaches and clear skies are back as I head through
23:31Villefranche-sur-Mer to the exclusive peninsula of Cap Ferrat.
23:45The peninsula of Cap Ferrat was first settled hundreds of years ago by rulers who wanted
23:50to stop pirates and brigands.
23:52Now it's all pretty much just luxury yachts.
23:55I mean, I suspect there are some pirates and brigands out there that just don't say OR anymore
24:01to make it, you know, obvious.
24:08No wonder they wanted to keep out the pirates as this almost island jutting out into the sea
24:13offers stunning views for anyone rich enough to be able to afford a house here.
24:20And I do mean rich, as this is exclusive even for these parts.
24:25It is one of the most expensive residential areas in the world.
24:31I think we've already established that artists from all over the world are drawn to the Côte d'Azur
24:36because of the light and because of the color.
24:38And in fact, one of those painters was Winston Churchill, a considerably skillful amateur painter.
24:43His paintings now go for millions and indeed it's rumoured that Angelina Jolie owns one.
24:49He liked to stay here at the Voile d'Or Hotel at the Golden Sale.
24:54He likes it so much with such a regular that he made a painting of the hotel and the town
24:59has commemorated this fact with a statue of Winston painting that exact scene.
25:06The only problem is he's facing this way and the scene's over there.
25:10I mean, I know the town spent a lot of money on it. It's just… other than that, fabulous.
25:21No wonder Churchill loved to paint here as the views really are incredible.
25:30And I'm lucky to be staying in a place which may have the best views of the lot.
25:35But perched high on the cliffs above the port stands the grand hotel Cap Ferrat.
25:44This historic hotel has welcomed artists like Picasso, Matisse, Cocteau, Mogdigliani and Rodin over the years.
25:53But it's mostly been a magnet for aristocrats and the very rich.
25:57Suites here can cost over 10,000 euros a night.
26:03Quite frankly, it's the poshest hotel I've ever checked into.
26:08Hi, I'm Sandy.
26:10Nice to meet you. Welcome to the Grand Hotel de Cap Ferrat.
26:13My name is Albina.
26:14Hi, Albina.
26:15Can I accompany you the room?
26:16Thank you so much. That's kind.
26:18This hotel is one of less than 30 in France that have been given a special palace status,
26:24which means it's more than one of those poxy five-star affairs.
26:29I'm seriously worried we won't make the end of this trip now,
26:32as I reckon the producers have just blown the budget on this place.
26:40Oh, wow.
26:49Oh, yeah.
26:51This'll do.
26:53A little champagne.
26:56Oh, my goodness.
27:00Wow.
27:05The bathroom lets out onto the terrace.
27:09Come on.
27:12The bedroom.
27:13I mean, who doesn't want a balcony with bathroom, bedroom and sitting room off it?
27:20Yeah, just need to open that champagne now.
27:26The great Gustav Eiffel himself designed the Great Rotunda here,
27:30and like my room, it offers panoramic views of the Mediterranean.
27:39Its history is part of the hotel's charm,
27:41and General Manager François-Régis Simon has kindly made time to tell me more.
27:48I have been lucky to stay in a lot of five-star hotels around the world,
27:51but this is something else.
27:53What do you call that?
27:54It's the next step up.
27:55Okay, the next step up is called Palace.
27:57We were happy to get that distinction.
28:00We were the first, actually, on the Côte d'Azur in 2015.
28:04Well, I'm not surprised, François, at all.
28:05So, what are the sort of extras that guests who come here might expect?
28:10We need to go the extra mile, you know, compared to a five-star hotel.
28:14Obviously, you need to have your room service running 24 hours.
28:18You need to have the spa available.
28:20You need to tick each box, you know, to benefit from that distinction.
28:23And actually, every three years, we need to present again the hotel in front of a jury.
28:29Okay, do you want me to come and I'll tell them?
28:31You know, if you can, you can ask me to do that.
28:34You know, I'll send you the invite, right?
28:40So, if you have a guest who arrives and says,
28:42I don't eat dairy and my husband is gluten-free and my children like ice cream and things,
28:46you just write it and that's it.
28:48It's all happening?
28:48All the needs of the client is already pre-recorded in a system.
28:53And we have access to that system to see, do you like a feather pillow?
28:57Do you like strawberries?
28:59You know, maybe my son is allergic to this.
29:02You know, I need to pay attention to that.
29:04This is part of what we call the pre-arrival experience, right?
29:07Where my guest experience team will reach out to these guests, you know,
29:12to actually ensure that we haven't missed anything.
29:18When you took over as the manager, it must have been a huge responsibility
29:22because of the incredible history of this place.
29:25True. I mean, what is very interesting about Cap Ferrat, you know,
29:28Cap Ferrat went through a lot of changes.
29:30Basically, before 1900, it was just a fishing village, right?
29:33King Leopold II, King of Belgium, he acquired basically two-thirds of Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat.
29:39Oh, wow.
29:40And what happened, he started to get bored, right?
29:43And, you know, he wanted to invite all the aristocrats, you know, from Europe.
29:47And he didn't have hotels at that time of the quality required, you know, to welcome them.
29:52So, I'm going to guess Leopold didn't start his own hotel.
29:55No, no, no. It's what happened.
29:56He sold basically part of the land to a promoter,
29:58who actually started in 1905 to build the Grand Hotel de Cap Ferrat.
30:03And this is where you can start to see head of states coming,
30:07people from UK, people from Europe.
30:11Especially for Cap Ferrat, 1933 was actually the tipping point where they filmed Don Quixote de la Mancha.
30:19And this is where they started to attract artists.
30:22And you saw all the impressionists coming, painting, and then the development of the Cannes Festival.
30:28And then you start to hear about Cap Ferrat at that time.
30:35So, I imagine you've had a lot of very famous people come to stay.
30:38Yeah, we had a few between politicians, you have people from the show business having their
30:44summer home as well in this area.
30:49Elizabeth Teller was actually a huge fan of us.
30:52Before Elizabeth Teller, Winston Churchill, you know, he liked really to come to Cap Ferrat,
30:57you know, for his painting.
30:58You know, King Charles, you know, paid us a visit four years ago, like a state visit,
31:02you know, with Monaco, and we had a pleasure to welcome him.
31:05You know what's wonderful though, Francois, is that I'm not a movie star or a royal,
31:10but you feel like that when you walk in.
31:12That's good.
31:12Yeah.
31:13Excellent.
31:13So, I need to come back when I'm not working.
31:15Yeah, for sure.
31:15Maybe the second world will be different, you know, and as you will be on vacation,
31:19you know, you might be experiencing something different, right?
31:22Well, also, I'm going to walk through the door and go,
31:24Francois!
31:24I guess we're friends now, right?
31:26Exactly.
31:26Okay, okay.
31:27Thank you very much.
31:31I cannot believe how lucky I am to be here.
31:35What an incredible view.
31:37So, in the 1930s, this was sheer rock face and they wanted a swimming pool.
31:41What do you do?
31:42You get shed loads of Italian engineers to come and blast the rock face.
31:46And pretty soon, people like Charlie Japlin, Picasso, David Niven were doing lengths here.
31:51For 70 years, the same swimming instructor, Pierre Grunberg, taught the great and the good.
31:57Paul McCartney's children, for example.
31:58I mean, he couldn't do it.
31:59The guitar would get wet.
32:01So, I'm going to have a go.
32:03I need a tiny bikini and a very, very small towel.
32:06And I believe the staff have arranged this for me.
32:08Thank you so much.
32:10Obviously, I'm not going to walk down.
32:13Too rich for that.
32:14I shall take the funicular.
32:25We could scramble down the hillside, but we're too rich, so we're gliding.
32:31We glide towards luxury.
32:41I want one of these in my house.
32:42I just, first I need to get a hill.
32:48A lot of those celebrity visitors to this famous pool actually learned to swim here.
32:55It would be hard to overcome your fear of water in such a beautiful location.
33:06This has got to be the ultimate celebrity swimming pool.
33:09It's the sort of place you might have, I don't know, drifted past Robert Redford.
33:13I have to tell you, it is salty enough to put on your chips.
33:16I've never known such salty water.
33:19You can have the place entirely to yourself if you're very, very wealthy.
33:22Or, other top tip, turn up early with a film crew.
33:26That seems to work as well.
33:46I'm staying in Cap Verrat for one more day.
33:48And my motive isn't just to enjoy yet more luxury in my swanky grand hotel.
33:54For it turns out the hotel is just one of a cluster of beautiful houses in what's known as the
34:00Cape of Billionaires.
34:05Today, I'm visiting two of them, and the first offers a spot of high culture.
34:13The Villa Santo Suspiria doesn't just have great art on its walls.
34:18Its walls actually are great art.
34:22All of them are covered by the drawings of Jean Cocteau, one of the leading figures of the avant-garde
34:28movement of the mid-20th century.
34:31So, definitely not your average painter and decorator.
34:50So, I've read about this.
34:51I wasn't expecting it to be so overwhelming and complete.
34:58You know, sometimes your friends are a bit critical, and they say your place needs decorating,
35:01and you're not all that pleased.
35:02But when is Jean Cocteau?
35:03And he decides to do decorating?
35:06This is what you get.
35:07He said this was the skin of the house, and what it needed was tattoos.
35:13And I mean, look at it.
35:20He could tattoo me anytime.
35:21This is extraordinary.
35:24I mean, this is how good it is.
35:26The view out there is magnificent, and I don't care.
35:29I don't care, because I can look at this.
35:32He always described himself as a poet, even though he did film, and he did plays, and he wrote books.
35:39But this is kind of poetry, isn't it?
35:41This is just poetry without words.
35:44Is that a thing?
35:45It is now.
35:58I don't care.
36:00Cocteau didn't own the house.
36:01He was invited to stay here by the actual owner, wealthy arts patron Francis Weissweiler, in 1950.
36:09She must have liked his company, though, as he ended up staying for 11 years.
36:16Instead of rent, he repaid her with possibly the best free wallpapering job in history.
36:27This is the second time on this trip that I've been inside an artwork.
36:32I was inside a Picasso, and now inside Cocteau.
36:37There's something about the air and the Riviera, because, boy, are people creative.
36:43Oh, look here, look, look here, look here.
36:46There's his name signed.
36:48First time, May, 1950.
36:51Love that.
36:53He's still here in the room.
36:56I mean, I don't know how you feel about that as a guest.
36:58He's still here, won't leave.
36:59I don't know.
37:01Charles Dickens once had Hans Christian Andersen to stay, and he stayed forever.
37:06And afterwards, he said, guests are like fish.
37:09They go off after three days.
37:10But I think this I would have been fine with.
37:25It'll be hard to top that experience, but my next villa offers something very different.
37:31In the 1870s, France entered into a period of peace and prosperity.
37:35It was a time of tremendous optimism, technological advancements, and if you had the money, on the
37:40south of France, building of opulent villas, of which I think the jewel has to be the Villa
37:46Eiffrezi, which was the creation and love child of Beatrice de Rothschild.
37:54Beatrice de Rothschild was born into the famous banking family in Paris in 1864.
38:00Her father, Alphonse, was then the richest man in France, and she eventually inherited a share of his fortune.
38:10Inspired by her travels in Italy, she used a pretty big chunk of that cash to create a wonderful palazzo
38:16and a jigsaw of beautiful gardens on this headland that juts out into the sea.
38:27When she died, Beatrice donated the estate to the French Académie des Beaux-Arts.
38:34Lucky me to be getting a private viewing with tour guide Jacqueline Mancier.
38:41Oh, look at this. This is a theatre set. It is. It certainly is. And the villa and the gardens
38:50are theatre stages, really. Social theatre, but theatre stages. I love this. So, I'm not very good
38:56on styles, but Venetian? Feels Venetian? Yeah. For me, it's mostly Venetian, yes. Typical of the Edouard
39:02era, I would say. What we call belle époque in French, eclecticism. And what about the galleries?
39:09Did people walk up there, or...? Yeah, those were meant for the musicians. Ah!
39:14Because she gave garden parties in the gardens and soires here, so the guests couldn't see the
39:20musicians, but they had an impression of music fairly from the sky. So, this is before speakers.
39:24This is like moderns. This is speakers of the time.
39:29What's striking about the place is its wonderful joie de vivre. It's brimming with ornate furniture,
39:35and Beatrice filled its walls with great art.
39:42It made me want to find out more about the surprisingly independent woman of means
39:47who created this architectural masterpiece.
39:52When you stand here, you realise that the garden is an artwork.
39:56It is. All of its own, isn't it?
39:59It is. I'm convinced she wanted to recreate the Garden of Eden.
40:03Ah, okay. So, let's talk about her. What do we know about Beatrice?
40:07So, Beatrice, she was born in Paris. She was born in 1864. She was very lucky because her father was
40:15a
40:16real connoisseur in art. He loved gardens. So, he marries her off to an older man?
40:21Um, well, 15 years. That's okay.
40:2315 years. Oh, okay. That's fine. Yeah. And his name is the name of this villa?
40:27That's right. Mr. Efrussi. So, she was born de Rothschild and she married an Efrussi.
40:33But it wasn't a happy marriage?
40:35Uh, not at all. She had a disease. So, she remained bedridden during 16 months.
40:42You can say it. She had syphilis.
40:44Uh, we're not sure. I'm going to read something nasty anyway.
40:47Okay. Not a good thing. But from, from because her husband was a naughty man.
40:51He, all men have mistresses. Especially in those years.
40:56Okay. I mean, it's, it's, um.
40:59It's a very French sentence.
41:00Nomality. Okay.
41:01Okay. All right.
41:02What show the British?
41:03A bourgeois. Okay, bourgeois. Okay.
41:04A bourgeois has, must have mistresses.
41:07But this house is without him. It's after she divorces him.
41:11That's right.
41:12And so, you can feel it's just her creation.
41:15So, she got separated from her husband, 1904.
41:18And in 1905, her father died and her father was a feminist.
41:22He was.
41:23Oh, wonderful.
41:24He proved it.
41:24Yeah.
41:24Equal share for his daughter and his son.
41:27Bravo.
41:28So, suddenly, she's very wealthy.
41:30That's right.
41:30And with the money that her father left her, she purchased the mule track at the top of the
41:35rocket crest because she realized she could see the sea on both sides.
41:39Wow. So, this was not the kind of wealthiest land in the world at the time.
41:43Not at all.
41:44She paid her square meter six francs 50 and to create the villa and the gardens where she had
41:50the rock blasted, dynamited.
41:52I love her. I love her.
41:53She's so bold.
41:54So do I.
41:54So, six francs 50 for like where we're standing, she paid.
41:58What would you pay now for work?
41:59Eight thousand euros square foot.
42:01Wow.
42:01The estate is estimated half a billion.
42:05And to think of all the people you'd have to hire to keep these gardens looking like this.
42:09You wonder how Beatrice found any time to enjoy herself.
42:12But she most definitely did.
42:18Did she have lovers then after their separation?
42:21She was a lesbian.
42:22Oh, okay.
42:23All right.
42:23I like her better and better.
42:25Yeah, so do I.
42:27To say about the lady, she's a woman, Jewish,
42:29lesbian, playing poker and separated from my husband, born 1864.
42:33A woman after one horse.
42:35I love them because, you know, they kick the door and make a little crack.
42:39And then we just had to follow.
42:41Yeah, I think that's wonderful.
42:42And did she have a long-term lover or just lots of women?
42:46She became extremely discreet.
42:48I had the impression she was successively faithful.
42:51Okay.
42:52I like that.
42:52I think that's a very, very good description.
42:56So the gardens, which we can see from up here, are they divided up into different sections?
43:01Uh, that's right.
43:02So this is the main section, because it's here that she would give gun parties every
43:06Sunday afternoon, to which she invited Queen Victor's son.
43:09So he was a neighbour.
43:10Oh, of course.
43:11He had a little thing nearby.
43:12Of course.
43:13And she had a very special sense of humour, because at the same gun party,
43:17she would invite Miss Keppel.
43:19Oh, very good.
43:20Alice Keppel, the actress.
43:22Yes.
43:23And the mistress.
43:23And the mistress of it, yeah.
43:26That's the mistress of Edward VII, incidentally.
43:29He was, of course, Queen Victoria's son.
43:31So he probably came down here a lot as a kid.
43:35One of my favourites is Princess Guicard.
43:38So, um, Princess Guicard, in a previous life, was the, uh, great horizontal, in French,
43:44we call them Grand Horizontal, Great Horizontal, Lienne de Pougie.
43:47What does that mean, the Great Horizontal?
43:49She was a famous courteous aunt.
43:51Oh, I'm so sorry.
43:52Okay.
43:53It's not punk bits that we're talking about.
43:54I don't know if you're serious.
43:55No, that's fine.
43:56I need to be more French, I think.
43:58Yeah.
43:58I'm afraid so.
44:02I need to see some more.
44:04May we go this way?
44:05Please do.
44:08I'm getting the impression that rather a lot happened in the bedrooms at this place.
44:13Time to take a peek.
44:15I'd like to show you that we might have slept.
44:19Oh, okay.
44:20Don't be jealous.
44:20The waiting list is very long.
44:21Okay.
44:22Is this a guest bedroom then?
44:23It was, uh, nicest guest room.
44:26Oh.
44:28So I can see the sea from the bed.
44:30That's right.
44:31And if I lie this side, I can see the sea from the bed.
44:35Oh, isn't it magnificent?
44:37And the gardens ahead, and you have a tiny balcony.
44:39And these, would these have been a proper old...
44:4218th century.
44:4318th century.
44:4318th century, yeah, yeah.
44:45But what?
44:45So they were electrified in the 20th century.
44:48She wanted to have everything.
44:50Beautiful landscape, refined echo, mostly the 18th century.
44:54And the last one in comfort.
44:55Electricity, running water, central heating system.
44:58Look at the brass waiting.
44:59This is, this is heating coming up.
45:01It had some boilers in the basement.
45:03I love it.
45:04Telephone.
45:04I like her style.
45:05And elevator.
45:06Okay.
45:06Please tell me she liked to have a drink.
45:09Like, was she fun?
45:09She was.
45:11Yeah.
45:11Parties?
45:12Parties.
45:13She gave them going parties every Sunday afternoon,
45:14and she gave soirees in patio.
45:17And don't forget, wine, of course.
45:20Oh.
45:20Yeah.
45:21The, the Potton grandfather is the one that purchased
45:24Lafitte Roughtide.
45:25Right.
45:26And the Myrtle great uncle purchased the other one,
45:28Mouton Roughtide.
45:29So Lafitte on the other side and Mouton on the other side.
45:32So you don't have to put a bit of shops here.
45:34You just have to have one from the family.
45:36That's right.
45:36I love that.
45:37Excellent.
45:38This is, this is my dream room.
45:39I love this room.
45:43I can't help thinking what fun it would have been
45:45to come to one of Beatrice's parties.
45:51To this day, the name Rothschild is synonymous with unimaginable wealth.
45:56Look at this place.
45:57The good news is that you can rent it out for yourself.
46:00A wedding, say.
46:02Of course, we are talking, I think, hundreds of thousands,
46:04not tens of thousands.
46:05So, I don't know, maybe, maybe start saving now.
46:18Ah, well, it's time to leave this headland of ornate villas.
46:22Thing is, where I'm going next is even more exclusive.
46:27See you in Monaco.
46:29See you in Monaco.
46:52See you in Monaco.
46:57You're welcome.
46:59You're welcome.
46:59See you in Monaco.
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