The French Riviera

Cap d’Ail, FRANCE (means Cape Of Garlic in French)

Cap-d'Ail is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in in south-eastern France. It borders the district of La Colle in the Principality of Monaco (about 2-3 miles from Monaco ). To have a villa here means that you have a key to high society.

This modern seaside resort has a bustling shopping district on the Basse Corniche surrounded by quiet, fashionable residential homes. Many people who work in Monaco live here. Some of the exclusive luxurious villas, can be seen from the Sentier Littoral (footpath), the seaside walk which stretches all the way to Monaco. It passes by lovely villas, rocky beaches, rugged cliffs, and craggy remnants of an ancient volcano as it winds around the sea. But the prize of Cap d’Ail is its beach, Plage la Mala.

This little beach, a combination of sand and tiny smooth pebbles, slopes down to the water where waves are rare. It is reached by a long flight of fig-tree-shaded stone stairs with lovely mosaics on the steps. The lengthy climb down the staircase starts from the town center just past the La Eden Residences. You can also get to la Mala from Cap d’Ail railway station: just head towards the sea, you’ll get to the footpath and turn right: the beach is about 10 minutes away.

Although, a couple of expensive beach-club restaurants have taken over two thirds of the beach, there is still a third left as a public beach.

Plage la Mala and the Sentier Littoral around the peninsula Beach with Restaurants

Beautiful seascapes and resting places on the footpath

Luxurious villas

At the very end of the promontory of Cap D'Ail sits the Villa "The Rock" of Prince Jean Louis Faucigny-Lucinge, French aristocrat, whose best known and most frequent visitor was Greta Garbo.

Getting to Cap d’Ail

By train: Cap d’Ail train station is located in the town centre, about 3 kms (1.86 miles) west of Monaco and 10 kms (6.21 miles) east of Nice. There are regular coastal trains from either point, but not all trains may stop there, so check the timetables beforehand.
By bus: Rapides Côte d’Azur line #100 provides services from Nice and Monaco approximately every 15 minutes. Allow during off peak hours about 15 minutes from Monaco and 35 from Nice, cost is €1,30 for a single journey regardless of the distance (the same applies for any bus trip within the Alpes Maritimes region, since January 2006) See my Villefranche website bus stop addresses to Cap d'Ail. HERE

RESTAURANTS at Plage Mala

The beach is divided into sections: there are two private paying beaches (La Réserve de la Mala and Eden Plage), and both establishments offer the comfort of lounge chairs and a bar restaurant with standard beach fare-salads, grilled fish or pizza-served to the steady throbbing beat of electro lounge music. The budget-minded traipse down the stairs laden with mats and umbrellas and make a beeline for the two areas of free "public" beach.

La Reserve at Plage Mala. Private Beach.
Seafood. French. Average "a la carte" prices 41 Euro. Open from May to October

L'Eden Private beach. Sea food, Asian food, traditional food. Average "a la carte" prices 23 Euro. Open from May to October.