# Èze, the Village in the Air — The South of France
> A medieval village welded to a crag four hundred metres above the sea, a garden of cactus at the summit, and the footpath Nietzsche climbed. Èze, on the Côte d’Azur.

*Source : https://the-south-of-france.com/en/french-riviera/eze-village/*

---

By **The Editors** — _Èze, Alpes-Maritimes_

Spring 20268 min read Share LinkMail

Èze hangs on a cone of rock between Nice and Monaco, four hundred and twenty metres straight above the sea. There are no streets a car could use — only stone stairs, vaulted passages and a single way up that spirals to a ruined castle at the summit. From the bottom it looks less like a village than a swallow’s nest.

## I. The climb through the village

Enter under the fourteenth-century gate and climb. The lanes coil between honey-coloured houses, artisans’ workshops and the small **Église Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption**, until the rock runs out and there is nothing above you but sky. Come early: by mid-morning the coaches from the coast fill the stairs.

“There is no level ground in Èze — you are always climbing toward the sea or the sky.”

From the notebook

![A vaulted stone passage in a medieval village](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1547768126-7baafccffdd8?fm=jpg&q=74&w=1400&auto=format&fit=crop)

A vaulted passage in the old village — built for donkeys and defence, not for cars.

## II. The garden at the summit

Where the castle once stood, the **Jardin Exotique** now spills cactus and agave down the rock, set with stone figures looking out to sea. The view runs the whole arc of the coast — **Cap Ferrat** below, the Estérel hazy to the west, and on a clear day Corsica a shadow on the horizon.

![The Mediterranean seen from a great height](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1567720512899-3a71832bd46c?fm=jpg&q=76&w=2400&auto=format&fit=crop)

From the garden, four hundred metres up — the coast unrolls toward Cap Ferrat and the open sea.

## III. The path Nietzsche walked

From the village a steep track drops to the shore at **Èze-sur-Mer**. This is the **Chemin de Nietzsche**, named for the philosopher who climbed it while composing part of _Thus Spoke Zarathustra_. It is a stiff forty-five minutes up through pine and broom, and the best free view on this stretch of coast.

The Practical Carnet · Carnet pratique

### Plan the _climb_

Getting there

Between Nice and Monaco; the train stops at **Èze-sur-Mer**, then the Nietzsche path up — or bus 82 to the perched village.

When to go

Morning, before the coaches; spring and early autumn for the clearest air.

Where to stay

**La Chèvre d’Or** and **Château Eza** — both built into the ramparts, both with the drop beneath them.

Read next

[The Riviera in three days, Nice to Menton](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/french-riviera/riviera-in-three-days/)

E

About the Author · L’auteur

#### Élise Marchand

Travel Editor — based in Marseille

Élise has been driving the back roads of the Midi for the journal since its first issue. She pays for her own rooms and her own lunches — and only writes about the places she would return to.

[More by Élise Marchand — voir ses articles](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/journal/)

Continue reading · À lire ensuite

### More from the _South_

[

![A village on the French Riviera](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1491166617655-0723a0999cfc?fm=jpg&q=74&w=900&auto=format&fit=crop)

Côte d’Azur

#### The Riviera in three days, Nice to Menton

](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/french-riviera/)[

![A table on the Riviera](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1554149082-75d460afced3?fm=jpg&q=74&w=900&auto=format&fit=crop)

The Table

#### Six tables worth the detour this spring

](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/the-table/)[

![A hotel on the Riviera](https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1576341041968-319baa97c70a?fm=jpg&q=74&w=900&auto=format&fit=crop)

Stays

#### Where to stay on the Côte d’Azur

](https://the-south-of-france.com/en/stays/)