Cap Ferrat Coastal Path (Sentier du Littoral)
The 11-kilometre Sentier du Littoral that rings the Cap Ferrat peninsula begins just minutes from Villefranche's beach and delivers two hours of dramatic cliff-edge walking past secret coves, Belle Époque villas and crystalline turquoise water.
The Walk Itself
Starting from Plage de la Darse in Villefranche, the path hugs the rocky shoreline around the entire cape, passing the lighthouse at the tip (Phare de Cap Ferrat) before arriving in the village of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. The route is waymarked in yellow and mostly flat, with a few scrambles over rock shelves.
The water along the southern and western flanks of the cape is extraordinarily clear — visibility of 10–15 metres is normal — and several spots have iron ladders bolted into the rock for swimmers to enter the sea directly from the path.
In spring the path is lined with wild rosemary, cistus and maritime pines; in summer the same stretch feels like walking through a private Mediterranean garden.
Wildlife and Swimming Stops
The rocky coastline is excellent for snorkelling: octopus, sea bream, moray eels and occasional posidonia meadows are visible in the shallows. Bring a mask and fins and drop into one of the unnamed coves between Pointe de la Mala and the lighthouse.
Oystercatchers and yellow-legged gulls nest on the sea stacks; if you walk quietly in the early morning you may also spot peregrine falcons hunting along the cliff face.
The best swimming stop mid-walk is Plage Fossette, a small shingle beach with no facilities but gin-clear water and a natural rock windbreak.
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