Chateau de la Napoule

Excellent place to visit , interesting and lovely gardens to walk around, with a tea room with view to die for

Booked two weeks in advance to get a nice table at thee seafront as the restaurant does not have many tables overlooking the sea , which was accomodated .There is a 3 euros per person entrance fee , which gives you acces to the castle and its garden on the way to the restaurant and the tickets is valide for the whole season , so could be a good deal if you live around.The menu is very limited with only 4 starters and 4 main courses and a few desserts, nothing too complicated , a bit above average.Prices are very affordable.Service seemed rushed and unattentive , though the personnel were nice and friendly. They are open from April till September and closed for the winter.Was a nice lunch but with so many other choices of restaurants in Mandelieu , this one is not on the top of my list., not too bad though to visit once.

They only charge 6.50 Euros for a guided tour of the chateau and it's very interesting if you like the arts. A fascinating place and lovely for an afternoon wander round. Tour is in French but they give you an English leaflet, which helps. Cafe is expensive so eat and drink locally prior to your visit. Toilets are nice and clean and there are lots of photo opportunities with fantastic views across the Cote D'Azur.

We had booked the last table (which unlike another similar restaurant at a well known Cote D'Azur Chateau) could we learnt have been booked earlier by phone. We were grateful to find we had an upgraded table sorted by the very pleasant Lucien when we eventually were ready to eat. The view over the bay to the Lerin Islands, Cannes and the Estorel is superb from the Chateau terrace which is a delight.The Gazpacho soup was excellent. The Ravioli seafood pasta tasted good and had a pleasant sauce. However it was too "al dente" and although the Tarte Tropezienne (actually a cake filled with a delicious firm cream and sprinkled with icing sugar) was delicious we could not score the food above average. Nonetheless lunch on this terrace is one of the top relaxing experiences enhanced by the very pleasant helpful Lucien. Only during the last half hour did he and the other waiting staff seem to slow down and slightly lose their way on what to be fair was a very hot day.

Even just the views and the cosy environment is worth all the money. In addition the food is good at a reasonnable price. Try it - you would not regret