E-1027 — Eileen Gray's Modernist Villa
Clinging to the rocks above Cap Martin's coastal path, E-1027 is one of the 20th century's most important houses — designed in 1929 by Irish architect and designer Eileen Gray, then scandalously painted over by Le Corbusier without her consent. Restored and reopened in 2021, it is finally getting the recognition it deserves.
The Architecture and Its Story
Gray designed every detail herself: the adjustable 'E-1027' side table (now a design icon sold worldwide), the built-in furniture, the nautical rope handrails and the pivoting windows that frame the sea like paintings. The name is a code — E for Eileen, 10 for J (Jean Badovici, her partner), 2 for B, 7 for G.
Le Corbusier's unauthorised murals painted on the interior walls in 1938 caused a rift that haunted Gray for decades. Today those murals are preserved alongside Gray's original design, making the house a layered document of two competing modernist visions on the same walls — nowhere else offers anything quite like it.
Planning Your Visit
Access is exclusively by guided tour booked via capmoderne.com — tours last 90 minutes and groups are kept small (max 12 people), so the experience feels intimate rather than touristy. The guide walks you through every room explaining both the design intent and the personal drama behind it.
The villa sits directly on the coastal path, so combine your visit with the Sentier du Bord de Mer walk for a perfect half-day. After the tour, the tiny rocky beach just below the house is an ideal spot to swim and absorb what you have just seen.
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