If walls could talk: Villa la Vigie

I’d kill for a time machine, just so I could go back to the summer of 1924, right after the artist Pablo Picasso left Villa la Vigie on the Cap d’Antibes, and stop the owners from painting over the walls of his studio, which he’d left covered in murals – they even charged him for damages.

The Picasso family spent the entire season at the candy-coloured Neo-Gothic palace, strolling beneath pine trees, soaking up sunshine and mixing it with lashings of colour. There are rumours the artist painted the walls in bedrooms and salons here, too, and he obviously loved it, even sending a postcard of the Cap to his friend, the art collector and novelist Gertrude Stein, with the words “voilà notre villa” scrawled over the image, and an arrow pointing at la Vigie. However, Picasso is not the only person of note to have made his mark here.

Built in 1912 “by an eccentric Englishman” and named la vigie (meaning ‘lookout’) for its extraordinary position on the headland of the Cap, facing Les Iles de Learns and Cannes, the villa is made easily recognisable by its kitsch crenellations and leafy, lush surrounds. In 1925, American billionaire Frank J. Gould bought it and moved in with his French wife, Florence Lacaze.

Under her leadership, the villa became an artistic salon where the greats of the day mingled. F. Scott Fitzgerald was there (no doubt taking notes) and American socialites Gerald and Sara Murphy (on whom he based the Divers in Tender is the Night), as well as Paul Morand, André Gide, Jean Cocteau, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (formerly Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson) and artists and musicians such as Mistinguett and Maurice Chevalier, as the Goulds became the driving force in creating the exclusive and fashionable reputation the French Riviera enjoys to this day. Flies on the wall at Villa la Vigie could write whole books about the goings-on in the 1920s.

The sense of opulence lives on: Reborn in the 1990s when the current owners covered the open terraces to create sunrooms and installed an enviable double infinity pool, the property is now tastefully reimagined for modern life and just launched to the market for the first time in 25 years (guide price €27m). And its unusual tower is still a talking point. “Within it you have amazing accommodation with an en suite bathroom and private lounge. You also have the front line ‘tower lounge,’ above the boathouse, with unrivalled views all the way along the coastline,” enthuses selling agent Jack Harris.

Cap d’Antibes, home of the famous Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc and Hotel Belles Rives (a stone’s throw from Villa la Vigie), is as sought-after today as it was 100 years ago. “It’s because of its peninsula nature. Being close to the sea is what everyone on the Cap wants,” he continues. “It’s protected [as a Natura 2000 zone] and it’s not dominated by vast expanses of beaches. Here, there are shorter stretches with coves – it feels more private. There’s not the liveliness of Cannes with all its nightlife, but you do have fantastic restaurants across the Cap, plus Port Gallice, a very sought-after marina.”

Aside from the flamboyant history, there are a number of factors that make Villa la Vigie unique. Firstly, it’s a home – the current owners use it on weekends and for holidays. Secondly, it’s on the waterfront surrounded by some 1,400 sq m of gardens. “Ordinarily, historic properties are behind in the hills of Cannes Californie and Grasse, where owners could afford acres of private land,” he explains. Thirdly, in a country where often there’s a coastal road between houses and the sea, it enjoys direct access to the sparkling Mediterranean, with its own private dock and boathouse.

“It’s all about being on the waterfront,” concludes Harris. “These few iconic estates are only here, at the entrance to the Cap – la Vigie really is very rare.” Inspiration beckons.

Annunciata Elwes is the News and Property Editor of Country Life.