Cap Ferrat

Cap Ferrat (pronounced [kap fɛʁa]; English: Cape Ferrat) is a cape situated in the Alpes-Maritimes department in Southeastern France. It is located in the commune of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.

Cap Ferrat viewed from Plateau Saint-Michel
View from Villefranche-sur-Mer to Cap Ferrat

Hospitius lived there as a recluse during the 6th century. Thus, the cape is sometimes called Cap-Saint-Hospice or Cap-Saint-Sospis. Once the domain of King Leopold II of Belgium, Cap Ferrat is now graced with a number of magnificent villas, most notably the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild.

Notable properties

Notable properties on Cap Ferrat include the Villa La Mauresque (originally built in 1906 for King Leopold II's father-confessor), bought by the English novelist W. Somerset Maugham in 1928, who lived there before and after World War II and until his death in 1965.[1][2] The Villa Maryland was owned by the co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen.[3]

The Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat was bought by a subsidiary of Leonard Blavatnik's Access Industries in 2007.[4] Prominent former residents have included Paul Hamlyn[5] and Boris Berezovsky.[6]

Notable residents

The English songwriter and playwright Noël Coward referenced the Cap in his song "I Went to a Marvellous Party" from his 1939 revue Set to Music, with the lyric: "Quite for no reason/I'm here for the season/And high as a kite,/Living in error/With Maud at Cap Ferrat/Which couldn't be right..."[7]

Cap Ferrat was named in 2012 as the second most expensive residential location in the world after Monaco.[8]

References
  1. Samuel J. Rogal (1 January 1997). A William Somerset Maugham Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 175–. ISBN 978-0-313-29916-2.
  2. William Boyd (13 September 2009). "The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham by Selina Hastings". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  3. William Booth (16 May 2008). "Cannes, Sweet and Sour". The Washington Post. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  4. Luke Harding (27 March 2007). "Oligarch buys up French hotels". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  5. Bob Gavron (9 September 2001). "Publishing king who gave fine books the common touch". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  6. Karen McVeigh (22 July 2010). "Boris Berezovsky's second wife wins record £100m divorce settlement". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  7. Philip Hoare (21 May 2013). Noel Coward: A Biography of Noel Coward. Simon and Schuster. pp. 316–. ISBN 978-1-4767-3749-2.
  8. London and New York 'to remain world's top cities'
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43°41′15″N 7°19′45″E

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