Private tour of La Pausa, Coco Chanel's "ideal Mediterranean villa"

For anyone who has ever been interested in Coco Chanel's life, the name La Pausa has a special flavor. The Aubazine Abbey, where the orphan Gabrielle grew up, carries within it the seeds of her minimalist, if not austere, aesthetic. 31 rue Cambon , which Mademoiselle opened in 1918, embodies her success as a designer and businesswoman. The Ritz, which would become her true pied-à-terre, represents the social success of a "supplier" who became the equal of her clients who stayed at the palace on Place Vendôme. Other places punctuate her career, but none harbored her happiness like La Pausa. It is also the only residence she had built according to her own aspirations, on an olive grove overlooking Roquebrune-Cap-Martin in the late 1920s.

Also read: In the footsteps of Visconti and George Clooney, Chanel-branded glamour at Lake Como

What did Chanel see from these heights so difficult to access? Olive trees as far as the eye could see, steep cliffs, the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean, and villages that high society was beginning to frequent on vacation...