Capricious Cap Ferrat

Cap Ferrat is "one of the most magical beauty spots on the French Riviera", says Linda Cookson in the Independent. A wooded peninsula between Nice and Monaco, with fabulous views towards both cities, it was once "a high-society playground where Hollywood aristocracy rubbed shoulders with bona fide royalty". The luxurious private estates here are generally owned by less glamorous types now - but the landscape and the light are unchanged since the days they inspired the painter Matisse, and free for all to enjoy. One footpath, the Sentier Littoral, leads to the famous lighthouse on the southernmost tip of the Cap. It is best walked in early summer, when "the rhododendrons are in flower and the air is heavy with the scent of jasmine".
British Airways (0844 493 0787) flies London-Nice from £55 one way. ·