The showcase gardens of the Riviera fall into two categories: for drama and excitement, you can visit gardens like the Giardini Hanbury near Ventimiglia or Menton’s Val Rahmeh, which were conceived for maximum effect on the grandest of theatrical scales.
But on the local tourist board’s shortlist of famous Jardins de la Cote d’Azur, you can also find gardens that were seemingly designed not so much to impress guests on a fleeting visit but to provide a constant source of delight for the occupiers of the property.
These gardens are not, in principle, different from yours and mine, just .. well, a little bit fancier perhaps.
It was around such a garden that the Parc du Chateau des Terrasses in Cap d’Ail has been laid out. And if the garden is a little on the fancy side, this is because the home which it was meant to adorn and embellish with an idealized subtropical landscape is a little fancier than yours and mine as well.
The Chateau des Terrasses was built in 1890 for William Mendel, a London-based financial wizard (with an ego apparently matching his talents, as testified by the marble entrance floor) …
… who had specialized on the arrangement of deals to develop department stores, these exciting novelties of the late Victorian era. (His main client at the time was a certain Charles Harrod.)
William Mendel also appears to have used his Riviera property for some 19th century Airbnb business, renting it out to the Russian Imperial family who then, in turn, sub-let it to the French President and Queen Victoria. (I hope William and his primary tenant did not get in trouble for this – from what I hear, Airbnb is rather strict on that sort of thing.)
The garden of the villa is full of discreet charm and exotic lushness …
… but does not shy away from using some optical trickery, too.
The space into which the garden had to be fitted is actually not that large, after all, and the architects decided to make it seem larger by suggesting size through landscaped terraces and piles of rocks.
This strategy appears to echo the principles of commercial property development or, not to put too fine a point on it, department store design: if you need a lot of floor space but only have a small piece of land, go vertical.
Because in that direction, only the sky is the limit.
In today’s Parc du Chateau des Terrasses, you will encounter an interesting blend of original features such as the picturesque pond …
… with elements that were added after the municipal administration took over in the early 2000s, following many years of neglect – years during which the Chateau had locally become known as the Belle Endormie, the Sleeping Beauty.
These new elements include a children’s playing area and a small collection of modern art works …
… as well as a large number of benches from where you can contemplate how all that fits together.
The park, after all, is not really made to experience by walking through. It is more of a place to sit in, enjoying the views of your colourful surroundings …
… and the mountain scenery in the back as well as the sea view in front.
For a change in outlook and perspective, you can walk across the road, the Avenue de General de Gaulle, to explore a smaller municipal green space which may or may not have belonged to the original Chateau’s territory.
But this municipal garden is also relatively small, and I am the first to admit that you will not get to do much walking on this trip, making it the laziest of lazy day-outs – not least because the nearest bus stop (called Beaverbrook, after the founder of the Daily Express who also owned a property around here) is just a few steps away.
This is a pleasant 60-to-90 minute walk and should round off your day perfectly.
So, if your feet are still itching after visiting the Chateau des Terrasses, we recommend you cross the local high street – the Avenue du Trois Septembre – and walk down the Avenue de la Gare to the train station and then to Mala Beach from where you can take the Sentier du Littoral in the direction of Monaco (turn to the left).
