Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat: tickets, hours and access

Updated on 24 September 2026

Between Nice and Monaco, on the isthmus of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild is one of the most visited sites on the Côte d'Azur, and one of the easiest to reach without a car. Here is what you need to know before you go: 2026 hours, prices, tickets, access and visit duration.

The villa and its nine gardens

Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild, heiress to the Rothschild family, had her villa built from 1905 to 1912 on a rocky promontory that first had to be blasted with dynamite. The general plans are by Marcel Auburtin, and construction was supervised by the Nice-born architect Aaron Messiah.

On her death in 1934, the baroness bequeathed the residence and its collections to the Académie des Beaux-Arts (Institut de France); the museum opened to the public in 1938. The villa and its gardens have been listed as historic monuments since 1996.

Around the pink palace, nine themed gardens: French, Spanish, Florentine, Sèvres, lapidary, Japanese, exotic, Provençal and rose garden. They spread over terraces on either side of the crest, with the water pool and the rose garden facing the sea. The Nice Côte d'Azur tourist office gives an average visit duration of 120 minutes; with photos and a break in the tea room, allow closer to two hours.

Hours for 2026

The villa is open every day of the year. According to the official website:

• From 2 February to 1 November 2026: 10am to 6pm, until 7pm in July and August;
• From November to late January: 10am to 4:30pm on weekdays, 10am to 6pm at weekends and during school holidays (2026-2027 calendar to be confirmed on the official site);
• Last admission 30 minutes before closing; no visit time slot is imposed, the time printed on the ticket is indicative.

The restaurant and tea room welcome visitors from 11am to 5:30pm, with lunch served from 12pm to 3pm. For any exceptional closures and detailed hours: access conditions on the official website.

Prices and tickets for 2026

• Full price: 18 €: visit to the villa and gardens, audio guide included (French, English and eight other languages);
• Reduced price: 12 €: children aged 7 to 17, students aged 18 to 25 on presentation of a valid card;
• Free for under-7s, jobseekers, recipients of social minimum benefits, holders of the Pass Éducation, journalists, and holders of a Mobilité Inclusion disability card at 80% (with a companion);
• Combined ticket with Villa Kérylos: 24 € full price, 20 € reduced, valid for 8 days from purchase, sold on site only.

Tickets: the official ticket office is the villa's own (prices page). Online tickets are valid for one day, cannot be exchanged or refunded, give no priority access, and can be shown on a smartphone at the entrance.

Entries are also resold by booking platforms such as GetYourGuide or Tiqets: handy when your preferred day is sold out, but check the date, time and type of entry before paying. These prices are indicative: if in doubt, confirm on the official website, especially for evening openings and the Rose Festival.

Getting there from Nice

• By bus: line 15, stop “Passable – Rothschild” (service extended until 11:45pm in July and August), or line 607, stop “Pont Saint-Jean”, then about a 15-minute walk to the villa. The villa is 10 km from Nice and from Monaco. Tickets and maps: tram and bus in Nice.
• By car: the lower Corniche (RD 6098), exit A8 “Nice Centre”, then follow the signs for Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.
• Parking: free on site, but it has only a few dozen spaces and is often full before 11am in season. When it is full, the commune of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat offers a valet parking service at a flat rate.
• On foot: from Beaulieu-sur-Mer, about 2 km along the corniche, with the last stretch uphill.

The Cap Ferrat lighthouse and the view

At the southern tip of the peninsula stands the Cap Ferrat lighthouse, which marks the entrance to the Villefranche roadstead. The current lighthouse, built from 1949 to 1952 after the previous one was destroyed in 1944, is an octagonal stone tower 34 metres high, perched 78 metres above the sea.

Automated and listed as a historic monument in 2012, it is not open to the public: you admire it from the paths of the peninsula and from the sea. From the villa, the full loop of the cape is an easy walk of about 4.8 km, very flat.

As a complement: Villa Kérylos

In Beaulieu-sur-Mer, just a few minutes away, the Villa Kérylos is a reconstruction of an ancient Greek residence, built by Théodore Reinach from 1902 to 1908. It is open from 10am to 6pm from April to September and from 10am to 5pm from October to March, 15 € full price and 10 € reduced, with tickets sold on site only.

The two sites can be combined with the 24 € combined ticket, valid for 8 days: it is the best option if you are spending two days on the coast. Practical information: official Villa Kérylos website.

Visiting tips

• Arrive at opening time: the car park fills early and the gardens are more pleasant before noon.
• Allow two hours: the villa, the terraces and the rose garden take time.
• Bring water and comfortable shoes: the gardens descend in terraces, and the climb back up is steep.
• Book the restaurant if you want to have lunch on site: places are limited in season.
• Continue along the coast: Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Villefranche-sur-Mer or a boat trip from the port of Nice.
• Compare before you buy: the Riviera villas are included in the French Riviera Pass; is the pass worth it for your stay?

Frequently asked questions