La Villa Rocabella dans le Var
This superb Belle Epoque building is the star of the show. The Countess of Grantham inherits a villa on the Mediterranean coast at Le Pradet. Villa Rocabella shows off its undeniably esthetic character on the screen: the Neoclassical and Romantic architecture of the building which looks down over the sea was designed by the favourite architect of Empress Eugénie, the Dane Hans-Georg Tersling. The scenes filmed indoors reveal shades of brown, blue, and pale yellow, and powder pink, the whole neoclassical palette which goes so well with a great marble staircase.
In the garden, the characters of Downton Abbey play opposite each other between the palm trees and the azure sky! Today Villa Rocabella offers guestrooms and the privatisation of its estate. And also in the Var, the biggest fans of the series will recognize La Seyne-sur-Mer in some of the scenes.
