Eze Village & the Exotic Garden

Eze is the eagle's nest of the Côte d'Azur: a medieval village of honey-coloured stone clinging to a rocky peak above the Mediterranean, halfway between Nice and Monaco. Its houses grew up inside the walls of a castle on the summit, and the layout has barely changed — a single gateway, a tangle of steep, stepped lanes, vaulted passages and tiny squares, with houses now turned into art galleries, craft shops, perfume boutiques and a pair of luxury hotels whose terraces hang over the void. There are no cars inside the walls; you climb, and every turn opens a new view of the coast. The summit is occupied by the Jardin Exotique d'Eze, planted in the 1950s among the ruins of the castle, which the French army destroyed in 1706. It holds a collection of succulents and cacti, especially from Central America, arranged on terraces around the rock, with earth-goddess sculptures by Jean-Philippe Richard standing among them. Newer areas add a Mediterranean garden with grottoes and a waterfall, and a quiet "zen space" with deckchairs facing the sea. From the top, at 429 metres, the panorama runs along the coast to Cap Ferrat and, on clear days, as far as Saint-Tropez and Corsica. Below the village stands the eighteenth-century church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption, Baroque inside and ochre outside. The garden charges a modest entry fee (children under 12 free), and is open every day, from 9am to 4:30pm in November and December, with longer hours in summer; it closes on Christmas Day. Down on the main road, the perfume makers Fragonard and Galimard have factories with free guided visits and shops. Below the village, the Nietzsche Path — named for the philosopher, who walked it while composing Thus Spoke Zarathustra — zigzags down through pines and olive trees to Eze-sur-Mer and its station.

Getting there: from Nice, the regional buses that climb the Moyenne Corniche stop at the foot of the village in about thirty minutes — the most direct option. Alternatively, take the coastal train to Eze-sur-Mer station and either take the shuttle bus up (limited service) or climb the Nietzsche Path, a steep, rocky trail of an hour to ninety minutes up about 400 metres of ascent. Most people prefer to take the bus up and walk down the path to the station, which takes around an hour and needs proper shoes. Many guided day trips from Nice combine Eze with Monaco, usually including a perfume factory stop. Drivers will find paid parking at the foot of the village, often full in summer.

Visiting well: arrive early or late in the day. From late morning in summer, tour groups and cruise passengers fill the lanes, and the village is at its loveliest in the soft light of late afternoon when they have gone. Allow an hour for the lanes and an hour for the garden. Wear flat shoes with grip — the lanes are steep, stepped and polished — and know that the village is not accessible to wheelchairs or strollers. In winter it is calm and many shops keep shorter hours; Château Eza, one of the hotels in the village, closes for the season in November and reopens in February.

Eating and staying: the terraces of the village's two luxury hotels offer some of the most spectacular lunch and dinner views on the coast, at prices to match; book ahead and ask for a table on the edge. Simpler cafés serve sandwiches and crêpes. Families with older children enjoy the climb, the garden's cacti and the castle-ruin story; small children will find the steps tiring. Couples should consider an overnight stay: once the day visitors leave, Eze becomes a different, almost silent place, and the sunrise over the sea from the top is unforgettable.