Villa Eilenroc is the crown jewel of Cap d'Antibes and one of the finest examples of Second Empire architecture on the French Riviera. Commissioned in the 1860s by Hugh-Hope Loudon, a wealthy Dutch former governor of the Dutch East Indies, the villa was designed by Charles Garnier, the celebrated architect behind the Paris Opera and the Monte Carlo Casino. Loudon named the property Eilenroc, an anagram of his wife Cornelie's first name.
The villa sits within an extraordinary 11-hectare park at the tip of the Cap. In 1873, the estate was sold to Scottish businessman James Wyllie, who had the grounds landscaped by noted gardeners including Ringuisen. In 1927, the American couple Mr. and Mrs. Beaumont acquired the property and commissioned the renowned landscape architect Jacques Greber to redesign the gardens, creating the magnificent grounds visitors enjoy today.
When Helene Beaumont passed away in 1982, she bequeathed the estate to the city of Antibes on the condition that it be managed through a Beaumont Foundation and the park be opened to the public. Today, Villa Eilenroc serves as a cultural venue and its gardens are open for visits, making it one of the rare opportunities to experience the grandeur of a Cap d'Antibes estate firsthand.