Susan McDonald, author of The Lost Children, loves visiting France for research for her books. Just earlier this year, Susan once again spent time in the South of France researching for her next book and enjoying the best of France mid-year. Her travels during summer followed in the footsteps of F Scott Fitzgerald, and lucky for us, Susan has shared this summer travel adventure with us.
Walking in the Footsteps of F Scott Fitzgerald by Susan MacDonald
It was one hundred years ago, May 1926 when Sarah Murphy, wife to the heir of a leather manufacturing company, convinced Cap Eden Roc Hotel to remain open for the summer for their friends.
The summer season in La Côte d’Azur was born. To commemorate this little known fact, I took a small apartment on Cap d’Antibes for the weekend this May, 2026.
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Booking.com offered a variety of high level places and I chose the cheapest at $A200 a night. The trip was straightforward and involved a short train ride from the main train station in Nice to Antibes. Then, it was a steep climb on the stairs across the tracks to the bus terminus.
After a bit of a wait, smaller routes often run hourly, the No 2 bus took me a 15 minute ride to the Cap. It is located a few miles west of the town of Antibes. I travelled through the working city and along graceful avenues and along the beach front. Popular with English tourists, this part of Antibes supports many low rise apartments with views of the bay. There is a wide sweeping beach available for everyone. At one end, a private beach is notable for its red umbrellas.
As the bus started the climb to the Cap, I passed enormous villas with views into their gardens. It was in this area that the Murphy’s purchased their summer place, Villa America. The reason they needed the grand hotel to stay open was to finish the renovations. In vain, I have tried to locate their villa on past visits, probably sold and renamed many times since, and I was content knowing that they and their friends had spent time nearby.
Their favourite beach in the 1920’s was the beach at La Garoupe. I got off at the stop called La Phare, which means lighthouse in French, and walked down the hill on windy roads dodging crazy drivers, to the water. It sparkled through the pines like a call to the brave.
Each morning, the Murphy entourage set off with wagons fulls of equipment and food, pulled by staff in full livery, for luncheon à la plage, on the beach. Tents were set up and children cleared away the seaweed. The likes of Pablo Picasso and F Scott Fitzgerald were guests. Sarah was renowned for sunbathing with a long string of pearls down her back. Coco Chanel also enjoyed wearing pearls on the sand.
At the far end of the beach, there is the famous coastal path walk Sentier Littoral. Known to be dangerous in windy weather, repair work is frequent so it’s a good idea to check if the path is open.
As it turned out, le chemin, the path was closed due to renovations on my weekend visit and I had to be content with the memories from a few years past. I recalled superb lookouts on the rugged coastline, and my gratitude that I had chosen sensible walking shoes. A wide brimmed hat to counteract the glare from the water and the blazing sun was also a good idea. I was fortunate that the weather was calm on the day of my walk because there were sudden drops to the sea that looked dangerous.
This time, I retraced my steps back to Avenue Kennedy, named after the famous American family who spent time here when President Kennedy’s father was the US Ambassador to Britain before the war. Google maps helped me to find the road to Villa Eilenroc, a stately mansion located on the waterfront high above the sea on the Cap. When high walls came into view, I remembered that the gardens are supposedly haunted by the film star Greta Garbo.
A neighbouring villa, La Croe, was a favourite holiday destination for the Duke of Windsor, Edward VII of Britain and reportedly the world’s most hated woman, Mrs Wallis Simpson.
Antibes Waterfront, France
As a long term holiday visitor to the French Riviera for research and sea bathing, I was delighted to find the path to the secluded public beach called Billionaire’s Bay or La Plage de Galiets which is frequented by locals. The path can be found beside the main gates of Eilenroc. Open on Saturday mornings, the villa is worth a visit. But the beach is stony and crowded. Very few villas are available for public visits but it is worth checking websites like Trip Advisor.
The final destination of note was the legendary Hotel du Cap Eden Roc. Even though the walk along Boulevard JF Kennedy took me pass enormous villas and gates, the footpath can feel a little suburban. That’s until the beautiful building of the hotel came into view. Famously exorbitant, the hotel is happily situated in an 11 hectare park of olive groves and rose gardens with sweeping vistas to the sea.
If a visit to the coastal restaurant is on your bucket list, made famous by photographer Slim Aarons who loved the pool cut into rock, it’s advisable to dress the part. This makes it easier to get past the guards at the side entrance next to the No 2 bus terminus.
Having lunch at the seaside pavilion with astonishing views of the swimming pool and watching guests dive into the sea was like an out of body experience. The hotel has been in continuous business since 1870.
However, the best part of visiting Cap d’Antibes was the sea bathing at tiny local beaches on the Juan Les Pins side. To avoid crowds and to catch the sky at its most spectacular, I rose early and walked for about 10 minutes down the hill, past enormous villas that looked lonely and shut off, to the sandy beach of La Plage des Onges.
Pink villas sat in the dawn light on the hillside behind the town. A few boats were moored to buoys, and old fishing boats sat together in places evoking a sense of the old fishing village in days gone by.
The water was crystal clear and full of fish. They are the ones that nibble at your feet for a complete up close and personal experience with nature. Dotted through the water were ruins of a fortification and, unlike other beaches, the water wasn’t too deep. I walked through the ruins in the water feeling like Lady Godiva in bathers, fortunately, as a beach cleaner arrived. It was a timely reminder that I needed to start my day. A person can’t swim forever, even if it was difficult to take my leave of such gorgeous surroundings.
Sometimes overlooked in favour of its grand neighbours, the bustling towns of Antibes and Juan Les Pins, Cap d’Antibes is a gem and wins the award for the best swimming experience of my eight visits to the French Riviera.
I have written my first novel set in WWII about the French Riviera called The Lost Children and it's available on Amazon.
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