Visiting Èze, France, And Hiking The Neitzche Path Back Down

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Earlier this summer, we spent two and a half weeks on a European vacation with our two teenagers. After spending five nights in Spain, we flew into Nice and stayed in a few small towns along the French Riviera. I had heard visiting the hilltop village of Èze, France, was a bucket-list experience, so I wanted to make sure we added a side trip to Èze to our itinerary. So, while staying in the nearby town called Villefranche-sur-Mer, we made time to visit Èze and hike its iconic coastal trail, the Neitzche Path.

To be 100% honest, visiting Èze felt a bit overrated. We have spent a lot of time in Europe, making multiple trips to the French Riviera. I will elaborate more on this later in this post, but it was incredibly crowded and “touristy”. Of course, we are tourists, but it felt more like Disneyland, being shoulder to shoulder with others while navigating narrow paths. Personally, unless you have a lot of time, I would consider skipping it if visiting during peak season. You could opt to hike the Cap Ferrat trail or spend the day in Antibes!

But, for some people, it’s a must-see, so today I want to share more about Èze with you. We actually really enjoyed the hike down to the coast. So, I will share all of those details, too!

Where Is Èze, France?

Èze is in the south of France, in the legendary Côte d’Azur area. It’s a hilltop village overlooking the Mediterranean and has some of the most beautiful views of any village in the French Riviera. At 1400 feet above sea level, the views are incredible.

Don’t confuse Èze, France, with its neighboring town called Èze-sur-Mer. Èze-sur-Mer is a small beach town located directly on the coast, at the foot of the mountains below Èze. The train station is here. A rugged trail called the Neitzche Path links these two villages. Or you can use a vehicle to travel between the two.

Why Is Èze, France, Famous?

Èze is a remote and picturesque medieval village set in the hills above the French coast. It’s known for great shopping, fantastic dining, rich history, and a beautiful garden—all set in what feels like the rooftop of the world. It’s a highly popular tourist destination and is considered a premier place to sight-see, sleep, dine, and shop along the French Riviera.

Èze is also famous for being on a coastal path called the Neitzche Path (“Chemin de Nietzsche” in French). This hiking trail links Èze to the coast and the nearest public train station. In the late 19th century, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche walked the trail regularly while planning his famous book, Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

How To Get To The Village Of Èze, France.

For this part of the trip, we stayed in Villefranche-sur-Mer, which is located just west of Èze, France. From there, or really from anywhere in the greater Nice area, there are four main ways to get to the Èze hilltop village. There are also a number of day tours to Èze that include transportation.

CAR: If you are a bit adventurous, you can drive to Èze. You’ll drive along the stunning Moyenne Corniche. This is a mountain road that winds along the top of the high bluffs overlooking the coast. Just be aware that there is not much parking in Èze.

UBER: We took an Uber to Èze. We’re glad we did, as the roads were extremely narrow, windy, and confusing getting out of Villefranche-sur-Mer and heading to Èze (our Uber driver even took a wrong turn!). The ride took about 20 minutes.

TRAIN: You can purchase tickets to the Èze-sur-Mer train station and easily take a train from any of the towns along the coast, like Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Monaco, or Antibes. If you take the train, you will need to hike the steep Neitzche Path uphill to get to Èze. Or you can take a bus (Route #84) from the coast up to the town of Èze.

BUS: There is a bus from Nice (Route #82) that will take you from Èze. Or, you can take the bus mentioned above from the train station to the hilltop village.

Tips For Visiting The Village Of Èze, France

I want to share some first-hand tips for visiting the village of Èze, France. We visited Èze and spent a few hours there eating lunch, shopping, and looking around before hiking back down.

Our visit to Èze was on a Monday morning in early June, the 2nd to be precise. So, our comments reflect what you can expect in the early part of the busy season or shoulder seasons.

#1 Arrive In Èze Early Or Late In The Day

Èze gets very busy during the day with tourists. The heaviest activity happens between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. While we were visiting Èze, we saw many large tour buses stop. It’s a popular destination for tourists coming from all over France and day-trippers from cruise ships docked along the coast.

When our family visited Èze mid-morning, it was already very busy. We experienced a continuous line of people moving along every street and path. We stood in many slow-moving lines waiting to move through shops, go around turns, climb stairs, pass in front of landmarks, or get to popular photography spots.

In the summer, Èze is NOT a sleepy medieval hilltop village but one of the busiest tourist destinations along the French Riviera. Plan your day accordingly!

#2 RSVP For Special Experiences In Èze

You’ll need to plan far ahead and RSVP for any special experiences or dining at luxury hotels, like having drinks at Château Eza or eating at La Chèvre d’Or. These popular spots have incredible views and small indoor and outdoor dining areas.

The smaller restaurants and cafes don’t require reservations. We ate lunch in Èze at a small street-side cafe near the entrance and were able to get a table without too much of a problem.

#3 Èze Has Some Great Shopping & Galleries

Èze, France, is a great place to visit if you want to experience some high-end shopping in a unique atmosphere. We found stores selling all kinds of locally and internationally made items, including perfume at the Fragonard Perfume Factory, clothing, porcelain, jewelry, artwork, and more. It’s a good place to find a classy souvenir of your French vacation.

I fell in love with the Fragonard store! It’s located at the foot of the slope, before you enter the medieval part of town, and it was full of amazing textiles, home accents, and beauty products. You can also book a tour and experience at the Fragonard Perfume Factory, which is quite popular.

Once you enter the actual medieval village gate, stores and galleries lined winding alleyways, and people crammed into tiny stone-hewn chambers, admiring local artisanry.

#4 Èze Has Many Spectacular Views

The views from the village of Èze are incredible. From the gardens, hotel patios, and random overlooks, you can see for miles over the French coastline. The blue waters of the Côte d’Azur stretch to become one with the sky, dotted with billowing clouds over an emerald landscape. Èze is a great place to get those bucket list photos. There are even some fun decorative archways that shops and restaurants have installed to allow people to get unique group photos.

Everywhere you look are creeping vines, beautiful doorways, cobblestone streets, and exquisite architecture. These features make Èze the perfect place to capture in both memory and photos. In order to appreciate everything you see, you may want to consider booking a guided walking tour in Èze.

I want to point out that most of the great views are from private shops, restaurants, and gardens. So, it’s important to book reservations in advance for those dining experiences. Most of the iconic photos of sweeping views from Èze were taken at the Jardin Exotique d’Èze.

#5 Exploring The Jardin Exotique d’Èze

It’s hard to visit Èze without seeing the Exotic Garden (“Jardin Exotique d’Èze” in French), a unique botanical garden overlooking the French coast. The Exotic Garden is home to an assortment of cacti, succulents, and local Mediterranean flora. But the view is even more amazing than the plants!

The Jardin Exotique d’Èze is set at the top of Èze, giving you a magnificent vantage of the French Riviera all the way to the Esterel Mountains and the Gulf of Saint Tropez on a clear day.

Be sure to arrive very early or late in the day to visit The Magic Garden. Tickets are required. Lines will be very long in the middle of the day. There is a ticket kiosk at the base of the stairs leading to the garden and a human attendant (who speaks French) selling tickets at the garden entrance. I recommend purchasing tickets ahead of time at its official website and arriving before the crowds for the quickest, most efficient entrance. The Èze Magic Garden opens at 9 a.m. and closes between 4:30 and 7:30 p.m., depending on the month.

If you are interested in taking a guided tour of the village of Èze, there is a highly rated 1.5-hour Get Your Guide walking tour that includes tickets to the Magic Garden. We love using Get Your Guide and have used it all over the world!

Hiking the Nietzsche Path

The Nietzsche Path is a hiking trail that links the village of Èze-sur-Mer on the coast with the village of Èze high in the hills. There is a train station in Èze-sur-Mer, from which people can hike up the Nietzsche Path to get to Èze. The trail is 2.4 miles long and takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours+ to climb uphill and about 1 hour or so to go downhill.

The Nietzsche Path is steep, and the elevation change is over 1000 feet. The path is somewhat slick, with loose rocks underfoot. Some of the path is covered and shady, but some stretches are open to the sun. The trail meanders up the hill, taking you outside the fences of a few gorgeous mansions and along overlooks that give you a good view of the French coast.

I have seen some resources call this an easy hike. However, I would personally recommend making sure you are in good physical shape before attempting the hike up. You may prefer taking an Uber or bus to the village and then hiking down to take the train back home. This is how we did it!

Hiking Down The Nietzsche Path From Èze

To access the Nietzsche Path from Èze, just walk down the paved slope from the city walls and look for a small sign at the trailhead. Here is a photo of it that I took for reference.

Eze France nietzsche path starting point

You will want to have good tennis shoes for this hike. That said, I did wear my Birkenstocks, but I always hike in them. I even wore them on the Cap d’Antibes coastal trail hike we did the summer before.

Once you set off along the Neitzche Path, and about a quarter mile outside of Èze, you can take a small, unmarked side trail to the east and find a beautiful waterfall. The waterfall is hidden from view off the trail and is past some interesting overgrown ruins of old building foundations. We snapped some photos here and enjoyed the misty shade on a hot summer day.

It took us about an hour to get down the Neitzche Path. On the way down, we encountered a number of people hiking the trail up, and about half of them were very unprepared. Many asked us how much further. Some were wearing dresses and sandals. However, we did see others who obviously did their research and looked happy to be enjoying the challenge!

After we hiked the Nietzsche trail down to the town of Èze-sur-Mer, we caught the train back to Villefranche-sur-Mer. We spent the afternoon at the beach as a reward for our hard work, both navigating those crowds and for the hike down! We always use Trainline when purchasing our train tickets in Europe!

Visiting Èze, France, And Walking The Nietzsche Path

Our trip to the hilltop village of Èze, France, was fine. It was great to see it in person. The town is a charming place and is beautiful. I guess that by visiting in the off-season, you will be able to enjoy more atmosphere of a medieval mountain retreat with panoramic views.

That said, our hike on Nietzsche’s path was a great way to connect with nature, get some exercise, and see the beauty of the French Riviera from above. I definitely recommend this as a day trip for those planning a French Riviera travel itinerary for an off-season trip. If you are vacationing in the summer, be sure to plan ahead and get there very early in the day if you want to beat the crowds.

And again, if you aren’t in good shape and ready for a challenging hike, I don’t recommend hiking the Neitzche Path uphill. Be sure to bring tennis shoes as well as plenty of water and sunscreen. We brought a backpack for the hike and were glad we had the extra room for water and snacks.

Other European Travel Inspiration

I hope that you enjoyed this Europe travel blog post about our visit to Èze, France, and our hike down the Nietzsche Path. Here at Our Little Lifestyle, we pride ourselves on sharing honest, first-hand travel tips so that you can make the most of your family vacation.

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