Dotted with prestigious residences and luxurious villas with neo-Gothic, oriental, Art Deco or frankly contemporary facades, this address, a pleasant, leafy enclave delicately perched above the Mediterranean, attracts the favours of the world’s well-heeled.

“La Californie is the southern part of the hill known as Super Cannes, slightly east of the Festival City. It extends from Maréchal Juin to La Tropicale and from the Avenue de Vallauris to the border with Golfe-Juan,” explains Jean-Christophe Hym of the Europa agency. Some people use the name for the surrounding areas. A distinction needs to be made between the less expensive Lower Californie and the rest, ie. the area between Maréchal Juin and Alexandre III, a flat, urbanized area often deprived of a sea view. With La Croix-des-Gardes, La Californie, whose career began at the precise moment when the hotel of the same name rose from the ground, is in fact the historic part of Cannes. In the second half of the 19th century, prestigious mansions began to line the Avenue du Roi-Albert. At the end of World War II, the largest were converted into apartment buildings, including, among others, Le Californie and the Villa Saint-Priest. Others were razed to the ground, then rebuilt, retaining their original parks. This was true of Champfleuri, the Château Montjoli and Saint-Michel... Some, however, lived on as private properties. Over the years, the site acquired new residences and Provençal houses, without any of them ever compromising the overall harmony, the balance between architectural originality and exuberant nature, with vegetation often imported from tropical lands.

“La Californie is the most sought-after neighbourhood in Cannes, just behind the Croisette for apartments, and on the same level as the Corniche du Paradis and Chemin des Collines for villas,” adds Jean-Christophe Hym. In the case of apartments, desirable examples are hard to find : only properties in perfect condition or those whose prices have been slightly adjusted downwards are selling. The best of the bunch range from 10,000 to 15,000 €/m2 and 6,000 to 10,000 €/m2 at the lower end. Private houses, more affected by the shortage, start at 2.5 million euros as soon as they offer a sea view. The average transaction lies between 3 and 4 million euros. Russian and English clients set their sights on highly-priced properties. And in fact, some are tending to soar. La Tropicale, for example, is changing hands at 26 million euros. Bagatelle sold for 22 million, a sum well below its intrinsic value, due to the legal tangle surrounding the sale. This property of 6,500 m2, shared out between three houses in a park overlooking the sublime immensity of the sea, from Italy to the Estérel hills via the Alps, still holds the record for Cannes if one refers to the sum formerly paid by Khalifa. The Château Louis XIII, the top sale until the early 1990’s, the date of its last transfer, boasts a unique style. Finally, the Villa Orion, which now has a tunnel under the Route Nationale and the railway line to reach the shore and its annex, should be appreciated accordingly. Picasso and Dassault were among the illustrious residents of La Californie. When one considers that seven of the world's most expensive properties are on the Côte d’Azur and that, in this category, Cannes boasts a very commendable position, one understands more fully the reasoning behind such investments and realises that, here, personal enjoyment pretty much equates with a sound investment.

“While foreigners prefer turnkey residences, locals and Parisians looking for a bargain keep an eye on inheritances and major renovations,” says David Benichou of Agenc'Immo Internationale. One of them, ready to inject 100,000 to 120,000 € in restoration work, has just acquired an apartment of 120 m2 in a residence with pool and garden for 750,000 €. This estate agent keeps to a strict definition of La Californie, not to be confused with Le Cannet or Vallauris. In this locality, the price is largely dependent on the postal code. Often, clients are exclusively set on this neighbourhood, an approach one also finds in the case of the Croisette. The trend sometimes even applies to specific residences. An apartment in a select residence costs from 10,000 to 13,000 €/m2, except for penthouses. Among his recent sales, Renaud Espitallier of Marly Privilège cites an apartment of 150 m2 to renovate, benefitting from a corner terrace and an exceptional panoramic view, at 1,650,000 €, acquired by a Middle Eastern client for holiday use, and a villa of 300 m2 in grounds of 2,000 m2 facing the sea at 4.5 million euros, purchased by a Frenchman intending to live there on a half-yearly basis. Currently, Renaud Espitallier can propose a contemporary mansion of 700 m2, extended by a terrace of 500 m2 and a swimming pool, at 11 million euros, and Le C, an ultra-modern project of 500 m2, currently on the drawing-board and expected to appear on Avenue du Roi-Albert, probably bearing a price-tag of over 10 million euros when completed. Beyond 5 million euros, activity is struggling to retrieve its cruising speed, because the clientele concerned, particularly ill-assorted in terms of both age and nationality, has been hard hit by the crisis. The recovery observed since January 2010 continues to experience ups and downs. Still unstable, the situation in fact reflects the latest news on the global economic scene. If, in terms of status, La Californie is catching up with the Corniche du Paradis and the Chemin des Collines, it owes the fact to its proximity to the centre, accessible on foot for the most valiant, and a stable urban setting without any noise. The lack of building land guarantees the continuity of the landscape, whereas in the case of the other two addresses, construction is still underway and road traffic is constantly on the rise.