Cap Ferrat (; ) is a

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

situated in the

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...

department in Southeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is located in the commune of Saint-Jean-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 Leopold II (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was the second king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909, and the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908. Born in Brussels as the second but eldest-surviving son of King Leo ...

, 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. The Villa Maryland was owned by the co-founder of

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American businessman, computer programmer, and investor. He co-founded Microsoft, Microsoft Corporation with his childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which was followed by the ...

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

Notable residents

The English songwriter and playwright

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

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..." Cap Ferrat was named in 2012 as the second most expensive residential location in the world after Monaco.London and New York 'to remain world's top cities'
/ref>

References

{{authority control French Riviera Ferrat Villages in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Tourist attractions in Alpes-Maritimes Landforms of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur