Villa & Jardins
Ephrussi de Rothschild
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
also called Villa Île-de-France,
is a French seaside villa located at
Saint Jean Cap Ferrat on the
French Riviera.
The villa was designed by the French architect Aaron Messiah, and constructed between 1905 and 1912 by Baroness Béatrice de Rothschild. Hundreds of workers were brought on to complete the project, which took 7 years to finish! The villa contains nine gardens of various homelands from around the world.
The Nine Gardens
Rose Garden
The garden furthest away from the Villa is the Rose Garden. Numerous types of roses grow here, including one that has the name of the Baroness!
Exotic Garden
Provençal Garden
The Exotic Garden is the kingdom of succulents and giant cacti that grow to hugely impressive sizes. Some of them will collapse from the weight of their flowers when in bloom.
Olive and pine trees bent by the wind, lavender, and agapanthus border the paths of the Provençal Garden.
Japanese Garden
Stone Garden
The Stone Garden is home to exquisite works of art from diverse origins and eras. Arches, fountains, canopies, bas-reliefs from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, monstrous gargoyles, stone grotesques, carnivalesque gnomes from Provence, and more fill the Stone Garden with history and a sense of gratitude.
The Japanese garden is known as “Cho-Seki-Tei”, which means “garden where one can calmly listen to the pleasant sound of the waves at twilight”. This garden features the traditional wooden pavilion, bridge, lanterns and basins which echo over a thousand years of Japanese tradition.
Florentine Garden
French Garden
Béatrice designed the French Garden (the main garden) in the shape of a ship's deck. It is filled with waterfalls and ponds, and features the Temple of Love at the bow.
Sèvres Garden
The luxurious vegetation of the Florentine Garden surrounds a grand staircase that contains a neoclassical marble angel. This is the only remnant of the huge Italian garden Béatrice had planted.
Spanish Garden
The Spanish Garden is home to a covered patio and a narrow channel filled with plants. Corinthian arcades surround much of the Spanish Garden, giving it an oriental feel.
The Sèvres Garden is to the east of the Villa, providing a stunning view from the dining room. It contains a few large porcelain pots and doubled as part of the tearoom when weather permitted.
Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
Take a Tour
of the Villa!
Click the map to begin. Explore the villa and gardens by dragging the
yellow human (see red arrow) to one of the blue lines at the villa. Take a virtual, self-guided tour around the estate!
Did you know that you can still visit the Villa today? Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild's legacy lives on through tours of the villa's many gardens, tea service in a gorgeous dining room, evenings of live music and more!