Cap Martin

Roquebrune-Cap-Martin sits between Monaco and Menton, and it is two places at once: a medieval village on the mountainside at 300 m, and a wooded cape below it with some of the most expensive villas on the coast.

It also holds, improbably, two buildings that matter to the history of modern architecture.

The village and its keep

Roquebrune’s donjon was built around 970 by the count of Ventimiglia against Saracen raids, and it is claimed as the oldest keep in France. Four floors of it survive, with the guardroom, the ceremonial hall and the archers’ positions, and the view from the top runs from Italy to Cap Ferrat.

The village below it is a knot of vaulted stepped lanes cut into the rock — Rue Moncollet runs partly through tunnels — and it is one of the better-preserved medieval villages on the Riviera precisely because it is a climb.

In the churchyard of Sainte-Marguerite stands an olive tree reckoned to be around a thousand years old, and possibly the oldest in France.

Le Corbusier

On the cape below, right by the shore, stands the Cabanon — a one-room wooden hut of 3.66 × 3.66 m that Le Corbusier built for himself in 1952 as an experiment in minimum living space. It is UNESCO-listed as part of the transnational Le Corbusier inscription, and it can be visited by guided tour, booked ahead.

Beside it is E-1027, the villa designed by Eileen Gray in 1926–29 and one of the founding buildings of modern architecture. Its story is uncomfortable and worth knowing: Le Corbusier painted murals on its walls without her consent, an act she considered vandalism, and for decades the house was credited to him rather than to her. It has now been restored and is open with the Cabanon.

Le Corbusier drowned swimming off this shore in 1965 and is buried in the village cemetery, in a grave he designed.

The cape

The Sentier du Littoral — also called the Promenade Le Corbusier — runs round the whole cape at sea level: pines, rock, small coves, and the backs of villas you would otherwise never see. About two hours end to end, free, and one of the best coastal walks on the Riviera.

The beaches are shingle: Carnolès on the Menton side, Le Buse and Golfe Bleu below the cape.

The Fête de la Passion

On 5 August the village stages a procession that has run since 1467, when Roquebrune vowed a re-enactment of the Passion in thanks for being spared the plague. Villagers in costume act the scenes through the lanes; the vow has been kept every year for over five centuries.

Getting there

• By train — two stations. Roquebrune-Cap-Martin is by the shore, ten minutes from Menton and Monaco; Carnolès serves the eastern end. The medieval village is a steep climb above both.
• By bus — the coastal 100 and local services run up to the village itself, which is the sensible way to reach it.
• By car — the corniche roads. Parking in the village is minimal. See parking in France.

Around

• Menton — next door, with the lemon festival and the gardens
• Monaco — 10 minutes the other way
• La Turbie — the Roman Trophy of the Alps, on the ridge above
• Èze — the other hilltop village of this stretch
• Italy — Ventimiglia is 15 minutes by train

When to go

May, June, September and October. The coastal path is exposed and hot in July; the village climb more so. Winter here is mild and the walk is at its best — this stretch of coast keeps working all year.

See when to visit Provence.

Nearby

Other places on this site within easy reach, as the crow flies:

• La Turbie — 5 km
• Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat — 13 km
• Villefranche-sur-Mer — 14 km
• Nice — 17 km
• Aéroport de Nice — 23 km
• Saint-Paul-de-Vence — 28 km

Weather in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin

Updated: 12 October 2026