The Ancient Village of Eze

The village of Eze is located, well I think perched or clinging is more apt, upon a rocky outcrop overlooking the Cote d'Azur. One of the things that i find so amazing about this area is the price of travel. It only costs 1.50 for a tram pass or buss pass for a single trip, but you can swap from tram to bus and use the same ticket as long as it is within 74 minutes of the first validation. So, all in all travelling distance is great value, unlike the UK where it costs me £5.00 to travel 7 miles to my local town on the bus. 

Looking up to Eze from the Fragonard Perfumery Factory

I decided to hop on the bus, which not only was cheap but took 20 mins. On my short travels here I have already realized that it's more luck than judgement knowing when to get off public transport at the right spot. Unless, of course, you get kicked off as it is the last stop. Anyway enough boring travel talk. From the bus stop, which is basically behind the rocky outcrop upon which the old Eze is perched, it does not look overly impressive. Just any old village upon a hill. I decided I wanted to go straight to the highest point. The village itself is solely for pedestrians. The streets are windy with narrow with high stone walls, and cobbled. So if you ever visit, Do Not wear heels! I saw several glamorous women struggling. A few times I took a few wrong turns but eventually I reached the entrance for the Cactus Gardens. This is the only way to get to the highest point, but because I cheekily still had my student card I enjoyed a discounted rate of entry for 2.50 euros. 

The garden instantly grabbed my attention, it's very similar to an outside theater built into a cliff, called the Minack. Albeit we were higher up, and full of Cacti but something made it feel like I was at home. The view was stunning I could see right over to Antibes and the mountains behind, and to my left was a peninsula in my way of Monaco. 

After a while it began to get chilly and a bit too windy. So i descended back to the little village which really is enchanting. Most of the tourist shops and cafes were ground floor and had been used in the past as holdings for small farm animals or cellars. Watch out if you enter one of the tourist trap shops, the assistant will grab you and try to sell you anything they can. 

This is the view from the top of the Cactus Gardens