Beaulieu-sur-Mer: why it was called Little Africa
A ring of cliffs blocks the north wind over less than a square kilometre. The nickname is no agency invention: it predates tourism.
The eastern quarter of the commune backs onto a rock face that shelters it from the prevailing winds. The temperature difference with the far side of the hill shows on a thermometer in winter, and in the vegetation all year round.
The Villa Kérylos, built between 1902 and 1908, is a reconstruction of a Greek house of the classical period, commissioned by the Hellenist Théodore Reinach. It is open to the public and occupies the Pointe des Fourmis, between harbour and bay.
The station is central. A train reaches Nice in about twelve minutes and Monaco in under ten: this is one of the few communes in the area where daily life without a car is unremarkable rather than heroic.
The Baie des Fourmis and the marina divide the seafront into two distinct uses. The first is residential and quiet; the second concentrates activity, with summer noise consequences that a February visit will not reveal.
