Best Gardens on the French Riviera

Perched on the narrowest point of the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat peninsula, the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild surrounds a rose-pink palace with nine themed gardens — French, Spanish, Florentine, Japanese, exotic and more — laid out on a ridge with the sea on both sides. Musical fountains play across the main parterre.

Nearby in Beaulieu, the Villa Kérylos adds a reconstructed Greek villa with its own seafront setting, making the two an easy pairing.

At the top of the medieval village of Èze, the Jardin Exotique crowns the ruins of the old castle with succulents and cacti and one of the most vertiginous sea views on the coast. Monaco's own Jardin Exotique takes the same idea further, tumbling down a cliff face above the principality.

Both reward the climb — or the chauffeur drop-off — with rare plants and panoramas in equal measure.

Warmest of all the Riviera towns, Menton is a garden capital in its own right. The Serre de la Madone, created by an English plantsman, layers terraces of rare species; the Val Rahmeh botanical garden shelters tropical plants; and the Jardin Maria Serena is billed as one of the mildest gardens in France.

Together they make Menton a destination for garden lovers on any Riviera itinerary.

The gardens are scattered from Cap-Ferrat to Menton, often up narrow lanes with little parking. A private chauffeur links several in a relaxed day, dropping you at each gate and waiting while you wander.

It turns a logistically awkward garden tour into one of the most serene days the coast can offer.