Hotel du Cap-Eden Roc, Cap d'Antibes 1958

The Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, set on 22 acres of private gardens and grounds at the southernmost tip of the Cap d'Antibes in France, between Nice and Cannes, might well be the world’s most famous hotel.

Certainly, it’s one of the most beautiful. There’s the main hotel with 118 rooms and suites, the Eden-Roc Pavilion, a saltwater infinity pool carved into the rock, a spa and tennis courts - all situated among pine trees and banks of wisteria and overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

The hotel began as an artists’ and writers’ retreat in 1870. Marc Chagall (1887 to 1985) sketched poolside, Picasso (1881-1973) painted the cover of a menu, Ernest Hemingway ( 1899-1961) held up the bar on many a night and F Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) used the pseudonym Hotel des Étrangers for the Hotel Du Cap in Tender is the Night, his epitaph for the Jazz Age.

In 1938, Marlene Dietrich conducted an affair with Joseph P. Kennedy here, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (his American wife was Wallis Simpson) stayed here following his abdication from the British throne in 1936, and countless other jetsetters made it their home from home.

In 1958, this dazzling menu cover was a collaboration with Pan American World Airways. This was the dawn of commercial air travel, and the airline would have flown many wealthy clients to the French Riviera.

We can’t make out the name of the artist, but he or she perfectly captured the glorious colors of the French Riviera in summer and the delights that awaited guests. As you can see from the extensive lunch menu, guests also ate extremely well in the restaurant.

The Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc remains one of the top hotels in the world, the epitome of old-world grandeur set in one of the loveliest locations.