Théoule-sur-Mer: Estérel cliffs, château and Palais Bulles

Théoule-sur-Mer is the last coastal town of the Alpes-Maritimes before the border with the Var department. Here the red cliffs of the Estérel massif fall straight into the sea, the Corniche d’Or runs along the shore — one of the most picturesque roads of the Riviera — and on the seafront stands a château that was once a soapworks.

The red cliffs of the Estérel

The dominant colour of Théoule is red. The Estérel cliffs are formed of rhyolite — a volcanic rock that was laid down several million years ago. In the sun the stone glows like copper and brick and contrasts especially strongly with the turquoise water of the coves. Many houses and retaining walls in the town are built from the same stone, so Théoule looks as if it grew straight out of the rock.

The Corniche d’Or

The road along the sea — the Corniche d’Or — was opened in 1903 at the initiative of the Touring Club de France and its president Abel Ballif. About 20 kilometres of the route between Agay and Théoule were hewn out of hard rhyolite with pickaxes and explosives; bridges, parapets and enormous retaining walls were constructed. Today it is one of the best coastal scenic drives: a new cove opens up at every turn, and on a clear day you can see Cannes and the Lérins Islands.

The château: from soapworks to hotel

The château on the promenade did not begin life as a palace. The hotel that now operates there gives the construction date as 1630: at that time it was a soapworks owned by the local seigneurs, producing soap from olive oil. Later the site produced roof tiles and terracotta bricks, and by the end of the 19th century production had fallen into decline.

In 1905 the building was bought by Lyon newspaper magnate Auguste Ferrouillat. He removed the factory roof and added crenellated walls — and the soapworks thus became a “castle”. In 1913 a new owner, a British aristocrat, continued the remodelling and turned the estate into a fashionable retreat. From 1972 the château served for almost half a century as a holiday home for employees of the French gas and electricity industries. In December 2021 it was sold for €13.6 million, and on 8 March 2024 a five-star hotel, Château de Théoule, opened there with 44 rooms and a private beach.

Palais Bulles

The most unusual building in Théoule is the Palais Bulles, the “Palace of Bubbles”. It was designed by Hungarian-born architect Antti Lovag, who regarded straight lines as “an aggression against nature”. The house was built from 1975 to 1989 for industrialist Pierre Bernard, and after his death in 1991 the palace was bought by couturier Pierre Cardin.

It comprises 1,200 m² of rounded rooms with portholes, ten bedrooms, pools, cascades and an open-air amphitheatre for 500. The palace is private, rented for fashion shows and Cannes Film Festival parties, and the “bubbles” are best seen from the sea.

Pointe de l’Aiguille and the underwater trail

Parc départemental de la Pointe de l’Aiguille is a 7-hectare natural park with red cliffs, tiny coves and pine trees. From mid-June to mid-September a free underwater trail is marked out here with buoys: with a mask and snorkel you can see four marine ecosystems, Posidonia seagrass meadows and shoals of fish. In summer the car park fills up early, so it is best to arrive in the morning or out of season. For other underwater routes along the coast, see the article about the reefs of Golfe-Juan.

In autumn volunteer clean-up days take place in the park, and in the harbour of Figueirette there is the Grand Site de l’Estérel festival; announcements for both events can be found in the news.

How to get there

Théoule is on the railway line between Cannes and Saint-Raphaël, and the town has its own TER station. By car it is about 20 minutes from Cannes via Mandelieu — if you want to continue your trip by bicycle, see the Mandelieu gravel routes. The tourist office is at Boulevard de la Corniche d’Or, 2, telephone +33 4 93 49 28 28.

Sources: Estérel Côte d’Azur, Château de Théoule, Le Mensuel, Côte d’Azur France.

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Photo: Txllxt TxllxT / Wikimedia Commons