Inside Sean Connery’s $35 Million French Riviera Estate

It's the perfect place to plot to save the world.

Inside Sean Connery’s $35 Million French Riviera Estate

Sean Connery's old house on the French Riviera

The world mourned the passing of Sean Connery, who died in his sleep at the age of 90 on Oct 31, 2020. The legendary Scotsman left behind a dazzling movie career that established the James Bond movie franchise.

After his fame was set and his bank account flush with 007 money, Connery and his second wife, Michelin Roquebrune, purchased this estate in the mid-1970s. The ivy-covered palace located in Nice, France, has stunning views of the Mediterranean and is for sale for 30 million euros — or about $35 million.

Come take a tour.

A License to Sell

The villa includes a main house, two guest houses, a two-car garage with a staff apartment and roughly 10,700 square feet of living space between them along with five bedrooms and five bathrooms.

Connery is believed to have lived at the French Riviera estate until the late 1980s. Rumor has it that some scenes from "Never Say Never Again," Connery's last Bond film, were shot here, according to Business Insider.

Since then, the estate has been expanded in acreage and with the addition of two guest houses.

Check Out This Aerial View

Aerial view of Sean Connery's old estate in France

The property includes that large freestanding Mediterranean villa, which was added to the property after the Connerys had moved out.

Nice is a very expensive section of France, and this land resides on the even nicer side of the town.

An apartment in Nice costs about 6,207 euros ($7,311) per square meter — or, very roughly, $730 per square foot.

Living on a Bluff

The estate is perched on a bluff, with a stretch of perfectly manicured lawn and an iron fence separating you from taking a tumble down the tree-strewn hillside of Port de Nice.

The estate is called Villa Le Roc Fleuri, meaning "the flowery rock."

Coastal Living

A stone patio walkway, bordered by classic stone walling, leads down to a magnificent circle pool.

Connery lived here after he finished 1971's "Diamonds Are Forever" and walked away from the Bond films for 11 years.

His career hit a bit of a slump during this time. While he didn't find much mainstream success in America, he went on to work on a couple of non-American films like "Shalako" and the Italian/Russian movie "The Red Tent."

The Pool

Through a pair of decorative metal gates is this amazing pool, which faces the Nice Lighthouse.

Directly below, but well out of sight, is Jean Lorrain Avenue, a road that curls up through the exclusive Nice hill.

So Much Stone

The stonework entrance to the pool is just incredible.

There appears to be a spa inside the gated, cave-like structure.

And there are numerous places to lounge outside and soak up the sun.

A Rocky Interior

Going inside the estate, this part of the mansion — possibly a new addition — is the gym.

The estate incorporates the rocky bluff into the house to create a stunning architectural detail.

Maybe they call this "The Rock" room?

The Gym

Wide plank flooring and industrial ductwork are two standout features from the gym area, which has large walls of glass and overlooks the interior pool.

The Inside Pool

If the weather isn't too great outside or you just want to practice looking all sexy while walking out of the water without the possibility of being mocked, use the interior pool.

The architecture here is very clean and somewhat minimalistic, with crisp white pillars and huge windows.

Water, Water Everywhere

At this angle, the interior pool reflects the blue sky and kind of blends into the surrounding sea, creating an incredibly peaceful, transfixing environment.

The Entry

The mansion's main entrance has a door protected with a heavy iron gating that seems to serve both decorative and protective purposes. It wouldn't keep Bond from seeing your wife, but it'll do.

There is clean, decorative marble flooring, and an ironwork railing on a marble staircase leads upstairs.

Staircase

The L-shaped marble staircase leads to yet another gated door that looks identical to the main entry. Abstract paintings dot the stairwell.

There is also an elevator on the property, which accesses every level. It is useful for traversing the home after one too many shaken-not-stirred martinis.

The Great Room

The great room features extra-wide hardwood flooring, two sets of French doors and large picture windows to provide tons of light.

Nice Living

Connery stayed with his wife, Micheline, for 45 years. She is a Moroccan-French painter who met Connery in 1970 at a golf tournament in Morocco. The two married in 1975.

Although she has French genes, news outlets say she was raised in Scotland and lived in Africa, so there doesn't seem to be any familial connection to this mansion.

A Life of Movies

Connery made millions over his career, which spanned seven decades. He retired from acting in 2006 but came back for a voice acting role and a documentary in 2012.

He had 94 credited roles in film, television and other media. At the time of his death, he was worth an estimated $350 million.

The Piano Nook

While Connery did not play an instrument, he did narrate an album of children's classical music and donated his royalties to charity.

The recordings are still available online, and he performed the reading with just four hours to spare before he had to leave for Greece to star in "Thunderball."

The Master Bedroom

Connery grew up rather poor in Foutainbridge, Edinburgh, Scotland. His mother was a cleaning woman, and his father was a truck driver.

The young Connery worked odd jobs, like delivering milk and polishing coffins, and never completed his schooling, opting to enter the Royal Navy a year after World War II ended.

The Master Bathroom

The master bathroom is completely open, with just a glass pane partitioning the shower off from the main area, and is likely there only to prevent splashing.

Simple recessed lighting and a large floor-to-ceiling double-hung window are this room's main light sources.

The Sitting Room

This sitting room features a large, pentagon-shaped coffered ceiling and the same wide-planked hardwood floors seen throughout the house.

The Guest Bathroom

On the estate is another bathroom, this one with beautiful purple colors and striped walls.

Twin freestanding sinks with exposed pipes and an antique armoire give this an old-world charm, which feels just right for the estate that was built in 1928.

The Kitchen

The home's main kitchen features a stainless steel-topped island that functions primarily as an eight-burner stove. The tiling in this room differs from other areas, with decorative pebble square tiling.

It's a rather large kitchen, especially considering that this is a European home, but given the $35 million price tag, perhaps that's not surprising.

The Second Kitchen

The estate features not one but two kitchens in the main home. This one has a foosball table and a simple stainless steel fridge.

It's more of an area to serve drinks and snacks for guests after an exterior poolside frolic.

The Wine Room

This walk-in wine room is outfitted with built-in wooden shelving with many shelves for storing — and labeling — wine.

Speaking of booze, apparently the scotch was flowing on the set of "Highlander," the 1986 fantasy filmed Connery starred in and likely drank during its production.

Speaking to The Guardian, actor Christopher Lambert recalled: "It was my first time in Scotland. Insurance people completely forbid drinking on set, but try that up there and you’ll get shot. I’m not saying Scottish people drink all the time, but if they drink, they drink. It’s not a sip of wine, it’s a quarter of a bottle of scotch. There were 1,000 extras for the battle scenes and they went at it for real. After each shot, the cries went up: 'Doctor!' 'Nurse!'"

"On the plane up, Sean brought out a bottle of homemade scotch a friend had given him," "Highlander" director Russell Mulcahy recalled. "'C’mon, laddie,' he said, 'have a nip of this.' It blew my brains out."

The Artist's Studio

One of the little nooks in one of the estate's top floors has been converted into an artist's studio.

Coincidentally, Micheline is an artist. She has several paintings, including a few of her late husband, on display online.

A Movie Legend

A quick detour here before we go back to the home's fabulous exterior features — if you'd like to learn more about Connery's life through movies, check out our article or this ranking of the best James Bond villains.

The Garage

The driveway is a bit narrow, but that's to be expected given the estate's historic setting. Some historians believe Nice was founded by the Greek Phocaean in 350 B.C.

The rocky cliffside provides both a natural privacy barrier and an easy way to scratch your Aston Martin on the way out.

The Driveway

A long private driveway protected by a large gate snakes from the main road to the garage.

It seems large enough for an Aston Martin, although you'll want to be careful, especially if you're driving the same one that Connery did in "Thunderball."

That iconic car sold in 2019 for $6.4 million.

The Deck

There are numerous places to wander, sit and take in the views outside, including this deck space.

The estate sits on 1.24 acres of lush greenery with panoramic views of the French Riviera.

There's also a barbecue grill, giving yet another place to cook.

Wraparound Terrace

The main home features a large wraparound terrace that overlooks the ocean and provides unobstructed views of the Alps.

The mansion is built in the Belle Epoque style. Even though it was built a decade after that time period ended, the estate exudes an Art Deco/neo-Byzantine style.

The Rooftop Deck

The main house has a rooftop deck with shrubs, plants and what looks like yet another place to grill.

Trees provide ample privacy and an even higher place to check out the absolutely gorgeous scenery.

Life on the Riviera

Connery passed away at his estate in the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence.

That mansion survived Hurricane Dorian, which ravaged the area and killed 84 — with 245 people still missing — in 2019.

Connery and his wife were home at the time and barricaded themselves inside.

The Views

At night, the French Riviera lights up like a storybook town.

Connery is one of many celebrities to have taken up residence in the French Riviera.

Bono, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Elton John, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart and Roman Abramovich have all owned homes in this area at some point.

A Stately Neighbor

The estate is located right next door to Chateau de l’Anglais, a historic mid-1800s-property built like a castle by a British colonel named Robert Smith.

In fact, Connery's former mansion was constructed as a guest house by Smith, according to Business Insider.

The castle is in private hands but is a favorite spot for tourists to view at a distance.

The Perfect Place to Plot to Save the World

The mansion includes gardens with lemon, fig, orange and olive trees.

Although the castle next door might be a better place to cosplay a Bond villain, Sean Connery's old property is no slouch. It might be the perfect place to plot to save the world.

Just remember to play your part when it's time to feed Bond to some sharks or cut him in two with a steel-melting laser beam.