Belle Epoque Villa

A visit to a local landmark

I Love Cap d’Antibes was lucky enough to be invited inside Eilenroc recently to take some photographs for the blog. Unfortunately the Villa is currently closed to the public due to refurbishment (2018). However the gardens will re-open in time for the annual open day on the 26th of May.

While there I also got to meet and interview the small team of staff who work here for another blog piece to be published soon.

Situated at the end of Avenue Madame Beaumont in Cap d’Antibes, Eilenroc lies in beautiful shady gardens overlooking the famous Billionaires Bay. Once owned by Madame Hélène Beaumont (1895-1988) She gifted the property to the City of Antibes after her death in 1982. The condition of the gift was that the city created a “Beaumont Foundation” to manage the villa. Another condition was that they open the park with it’s olive groves and rose gardens to the public.

The city has kept it’s promise although sadly the Villa is very rarely open to the public. Basically you need to plan carefully if you want to benefit from exploring this beautiful place.

The absolutely best time to visit is in May during the annual open day. The villas rose gardens are in full bloom at this time of year. The colours and scents of the flowers will literally take your breath away. After taking in the amazing rose spectacle you can wander freely around the park enjoying the fabulous views over the bay. The views really are something special.

Entrance is free and only a token 2 euros at other times. Therefore it’s a great place to go if you are visiting with the family or a group of friends. A wander around inside Eilenroc is included in the entry fee so it’s a real bargain day out.

While you are there keep your eye out for Rio the House Cat and Albert the Villas Seagull who keeps the other birds away. If you look carefully you can see Albert in the photograph below 🙂