History & Civilization
The territory of Beaulieu-sur-Mer has been inhabited since prehistory. A cave located in the district of Little Africa gave traces of Paleolithic occupation at the end of the 19th century.
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During the Antiquity this small Mediterranean seaport was a Greek settlement known as Anao, later occupied by the Romans. War left the village in ruins in the 3rd century. It was soon resettled and a monastery built that lasted until the 6th century when it was destroyed by the Lombards.
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The residents fled to the safety of the surrounding hills at Montolivo (today Plateau Saint-Michel) until they began returning to live by the seaside in the 13th century.
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It is in the 19th century that Beaulieu-sur-Mer, which is connected to Nice by road and rail, becomes a famous resort. The Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, King Leopold II of Belgium, Empress Eugenie and wealthy industrialists like Gordon Bennett and Isaac Singer stayed here regularly.
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Beaulieu-sur-Mer was established as a self-standing commune in 1891. It is the smallest in area of the Alpes-Maritimes department (230 acres), with a huge yacht harbor taking up most of the eastern seafront.
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World War I marked a halt in the touristic potential of the town, but the tourist vocation of Beaulieu-sur-Mer has been established again.