The town of Eze is split into two parts, Eze village and Eze-sur-Mer. The latter was our first stop as that is where the train station is. Eze-sur Mer is a sleepy little village, with not a lot there. We walked down a small hill from the train station onto the beach. Even the beach was calm for a Saturday, with few people, and those who were there seemed like locals. We relaxed in the sunshine for a while, with Emily and Emma taking quick dips in the sea to cool off. Once we’d gotten too hot, and too hungry, we made our way up to the main street to wait for the bus up to the village.
Eze village is described as a perched village, a very fitting description. It is situated like an eagles nest up in the mountains overlooking the coast, providing amazing views as far as Nice. We grabbed a quick panini at the entrance to the village, before heading up to the main site. Eze has a reputation for being full of tourists, with very few real locals living there. This was certainly the case when we were there, but it wasn’t as packed as we were dreading. The main focal point of the village is the church Notre Dame de l’Assomption that was built in the 1700’s. The lovely ochre colour means that the church isn’t too imposing and enables you to see the rest of the village in its full glory. The village is all built around the church, and as its built on a hill, the pathways slowly spiral round in an upwards direction. The streets are narrow and windy, with cobblestones and time-worn stones that actually make it very slippery to walk on! There is a lot of greenery, but normally of the potted cactus kind in many of the little squares, along with little water features that people actually drink from. At times it felt like we were going in circles, but in general it’s a very pleasant village to walk around – there are multiple routes to explore and always new things to discover. Most shops, although open, were well out of our price range so we pretty much avoided them. The view from the graveyard overlooked the botanical garden (consisting mainly of cacti) and one of the more expensive restaurants overhanging the cliff, as well as the hills, the coast and in the distance, the azur coloured sea. Overall though, not a bad place to be buried!
It’s easy to imagine the village in its full glory as a medieval hilltop town, especially with market stalls out on the narrow streets. Its just a shame how overpriced the restaurants and cafes were, as it meant we couldn’t chill out and enjoy the view with a coffee. The town also had a lot of tacky souvenir shops that didn’t even try to disguise themselves by following the medieval theme, and even a random donkey in a pen for the ‘amusement’ of little kids. Maybe visiting off season would offer a different experience…though I’m not convinced.
