This is a meaningful place. If you’re on the Riviera and in Provence there is so much to see but Èze should be at or near the top of that list. It is a tiny medieval hamlet perched at the top of a mountain overlooking the Mediterranean between Nice and Monaco.
The area surrounding Èze was first populated around 2000 BC as a commune situated near Mount Bastide. The earliest occurrence of the name “Èze” can be found in the maritime books of Antonin as a bay called the St. Laurent of Èze.
A hoard of ancient Greek silver phialae dating from the 3rd Century BC was found in Èze in the late nineteenth century and is now part of the British Museum’s collection. The area was subsequently occupied by not only the Romans but also the Moors who held the area for approximately 80 years until they were driven out by William of Provence in 973.
By 1388 Èze fell under the jurisdiction of the House of Savoy, who built up the town as a fortified stronghold because of its proximity to Nice. The history of Èze became turbulent several times in the next few centuries as French and Turkish troops seized the village under orders from Hayreddin Barbarossa in 1543, and Louis XIV destroyed the walls surrounding the city in 1706 in the war of the Spanish succession. Finally in April 1860, Eze was designated as part of France by unanimous decision by the people of Eze.
Èze has been described as an “eagle’s nest” because of its location overlooking a high cliff 427 metres (1,401 ft) above sea level on the French Mediterranean. It’s so high that the light ochre church within (Notre Dame de l’Assomption built in 1764) can be seen from afar.
An Egyptian cross inside the church suggests the village’s ancient roots, when the Phoenicians erected a temple there to honour the goddess Isis.
In other words this place is dripping in history. Everywhere you turned you found a compelling landscape.
We walked all around Èze and were practically alone. There’s a tradeoff coming in the low season and in this case we didn’t see the beautiful flowers and vines that grow on the ancient walls. But we also weren’t fighting waves of tourists. The tour bus lot outside the entrance to the walk will make you cry.
One point of interest in Èze is the “Nietzsche Walkway”.
It is a heart-pounding 45 minute walk from Èze down to the beach below (um, 1,400 feet below). Not to mention the walk back up! In any event, it is believed that this is where Nietzche contemplated ideas that lead him to write “Also Sprach Zarathrustra: A Book For All and None”. Much of the work deals with ideas such as the “eternal recurrence of the same”, the parable on the “death of God”, and the “prophecy” of the Übermensch. Very fitting topics on a Christmas Day!
As you can see tiny little shops line the tiny little “streets”. Most were closed but a few of the galleries were open. We saw a print of Princess Grace that after staring at it for 10 seconds and then shutting your eyes she hovered in front of you. Very cool.
There are restaurants and inns located in Èze, with rates going into the thousands of euros during high season.
As you can see we nearly had the place to ourselves. There were perhaps 50 other people in Èze while we were there.
We had a wonderful time today in Èze. Put it on your list if you haven’t already.
Stunning.
