including Robert Louis Stevenson, who was troubled with a bad chest, and fleeing his mother, and Aubrey Beardsley, who spent the final two years of his very short life in Menton, dying of tuberculosis at just 25. Nearby Monaco, by contrast, drew a fast


gambling crowd. Between the granting of the casino franchise in 1863 and the open- ing of the railway in 1868, accessibility improvedÐ but a severe shortage of space had already ensured exclusivity. A total area of only two square kilometres (about two-thirds of a mile) meant that both build- ings and property prices soared. Anthony Burgess called the principality a mini- Manhattan, but not many writers could stay long thereÐ it was simply too expensive.


www.countrylife.co.uk/international


Instead, writers often settled in the more


affordable Cap d' Antibes. Jules Verne moored his yacht there and wrote the scenario for Around the World in 80 Days and Fitz- gerald worked on Tender is The Night. But the cultural heart of the Côte d' Azur


is Nice, and the city' s charming jumble of Baroque and Belle Epoque streets has the plaques to prove it. Guillaume Apollinaire, Friedrich Nietzsche, Raoul Dufy, Henri Matisse and Anton Chekhov all stayed hereÐ the latter saying that, after Yalta, Nice' s weather and terrain made it look like Heaven. Another visitor was Louisa May Alcott, whose descrip- tion of the Promenade des AnglaisÐ the city' s elegant beachfront avenueÐ in Little Women still holds true today: ` The wide walk, bordered


Villefranche sur Mer Set in the hills looking down over Cap Ferrat,


Villa Cascade, owned by writer Penny Pal- meno, has been refurbished to offer outstand- ing accommodation that makes the most of enviable views. It has a self-contained apart- ment, a master bedroom suite, three further double bedrooms, an indoor cinema and spa complex, and a spacious kitchen and sitting room with French windows that look out to the terrace. Outside, the infinity pool has views out to sea, and the landscaped gardens fea- ture a Japanese garden, a children' s play area and an outdoor cinema. There is also a roof terrace with panoramic views. The asking price is €13.5 million through Knight Frank O (020± 7629 8171; www.knightfrank.co.uk).


Country Life International, Summer 2011 49


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