14 Best Things to Do in Èze, France That You Can’t Miss

Although this is a list of the best things to do in Eze, I have also put it in order so that you can use it as an Eze itinerary as well!

Èze is a medieval village perched on top of a hill overlooking the ocean in the South of France. Can you get any better than that?!

14 Best Things to Do in Eze France

1. Scenic Bus Ride to Eze

The best way to see Eze is by staying in Nice and taking a day trip. Not only is that the cheapest option but Nice is a great base for traveling all around the South of France or the French Riviera, not to mention the safest option! (that’s why we’ve chosen to live here!).

DON’T MAKE THIS TOURIST MISTAKE: Make sure you take the bus that will take you to Eze Village, not just Eze.

The number 82 bus from Nice is the easiest way to get to Eze because the train will only take you to Eze beach, which is about an hour’s hike uphill to get to Eze village. Definitely make sure you take the bus that is headed to Eze Village (it will say Passage Eze Village).

This basically means that when you are typing into Google Maps trying to get to Eze, you have to type “Eze Village” or “The Exotic Garden” and it will take you to the right place.

Depending on where you are staying in Nice, you may need to take an extra bus to get to the 82 bus.

Here’s a Google Map to show you where you’re headed if you start from Jean Medecin:

In this case, you would take the 15 bus and then switch to the 82.

If a crowded bus is not the way you want to travel then check out this Monaco, Monte-Carlo, Eze Half-day from Cannes small-Group and Shore Excursion. It’s perfect if you do not have a lot of time in Nice but still want to hit all the best spots!

If you’re still planning your trip and aren’t totally sure if Eze Village is worth a visit, read this post first!

TIP: I highly recommend you go to Eze in the early morning, since this town is only getting more and more popular and it gets quite hot in the afternoons.

2. Get Off at “The Bella Vista” for Amazing Views

If you don’t mind a little extra walking (it’s definitely worth it!!) get off the bus a stop early at “The Bella Vista” for some of the best views of Eze Village!

As you continue walking towards Eze (it’s pretty obvious at this point where you’re headed, toward the village on the hill!) the views just get better!

Cross the bridge and Eze Village will be on your right!

3. Get Lost in the Cobblestone Streets

As soon as we stepped into Eze, it was like stepping back into Medieval times. I could not put my camera down even for a second.

Whenever there was a fork in the road, we just decided to go the opposite way that anyone else was headed and just wandered until we saw something we were familiar with, then went a different way.

The village of Eze is so tiny that wandering it a few times would only take you about 30 minutes if you stop to take pictures.

I’m going to list a few things to make sure not to miss, but I really recommend that you just keep walking until everything looks familiar to you!

Psst…If you’re in the area, you definitely shouldn’t miss visiting Menton as well!

4. Walk by the Fancy Hotels: “La Chevre d’Or”

There are a few incredibly expensive and fancy hotels in Eze, the most famous being La Chevre D’Or. On your walk up to Eze Village from the street, you’ll also pass a lot of big, beautiful gates leading to hotels.

We peeked at the restaurant menu for one of them and lunch was over 250 euros per person! Not quite our kind of travel, but the option is there if that’s what you’re looking for!

5. Visit the Eze Church (Eglise D’Eze)

After wandering around Eze for a while, you can finally start to head up toward the Eze Church which is hard to miss!

The inside of the church is absolutely incredible as well, so don’t skip taking a peak inside!

6. See The Best Views in Eze from the Jardin Exotique

You absolutely cannot go to Eze without visiting the Exotic Garden. It has the best views of Eze and even the best views of Cap Ferrat which you can see in the distance!

It only costs 6 euros per person and it’s even cheaper if you are a student.

Not only does this place have incredible views and tons of cool succulents and cacti (which this Arizona girl loved) but there are also signs placed all around the garden that tell you a bit of history about the view that you are looking at.

We read about a few famous people who had stayed in Eze (including Bono and a few princes!) and learned about who owned the villas that you could see off in the distance. It was basically an outdoor museum!

7. Visit the Cemetery

Right next to the entrance to the Exotic Garden there is a small cemetery. You’re not allowed to take photos inside, but I’ve always loved looking around cemeteries (especially the French ones that are on top of hills! By the way, have you been to Menton?!)

8. Shop

I’m not much of a shopper, but these stores were all so adorable! We even peaked into one that was called the Goat Cavern and you couldn’t even stand up in there!

We learned from reading signs around the Exotic Garden that in Eze the first floor was generally for goats and donkeys while people lived on the second floor. It was so cool to see that those tiny rooms with low ceilings were still intact!

9. Peak into the Chapelle de la Sainte Croix

I’m not sure if this is normally open, but if you’re not looking out for it you might miss it! You can see in the picture below that the Chapelle de la Sainte Croix is located in a small tunnel. Most people walked right past it.

There is a gate blocking the entrance, but you can still peak through and see a bit of the inside! Do you see the skull sitting on the table?

10. Grab something to eat or drink

Instead of stopping at one of the restaurants in Eze (some of which have sea views and looked beautiful!) we decided to bring our own little picnic. If you’re looking for a really fancy lunch you could check out Le Nid d’Aigle or Les Remparts.

If you’re like us and are trying to stay on a budget, I recommend stopping at a Carrefour in Nice on your way to Eze and picking up a baguette, some cheese, and some chorizo or prosciutto! It keeps costs down while still being able to enjoy the village.

11. Cool Down with a Gelato

Did you really even travel if you didn’t have ice cream? We found this tiny gelato place that might have been the cutest one I’d ever seen. For only 3 euros per cone as well! It gets pretty hot in Eze so this stop probably isn’t optional!

12. Hike Nietzsche Path Down to Eze Beach

This one is for all the troopers out there! After you’ve seen everything you want to see in Eze Village, you can either take the bus back home from there or start a hike down to Eze Beach.

In my opinion, the hike was totally worth it. However, I saw a lot of people doing this itinerary backward (starting at the beach and ending in Eze Village) and I don’t recommend that at all.

The hike is 1 mile long but it is completely downhill the whole time.

It takes about an hour to go all the way down so I recommend you wear really good shoes that give your toes a bit of space since they’ll be getting squished the whole way down!

For the first half of the hike, you can’t see the beach below but you can peak back up at the Eze Village. But once you get to the beach views, you won’t regret the hike one bit!

13. Go swimming at Eze Beach

Once you get to the bottom, you can follow the signs to “La Plage” and get straight to the beach. There is a pedestrian crossing that goes over the street and that should take you straight there!

You’ll definitely want to pack something to lay on since this is a pebble beach and the pebbles can get really hot in the summer. We found a small space in the shade and laid out our sarongs then jumped right in the water to cool down from the hike.

For this beach, I recommend staying just a few feet offshore since there are small jellyfish.

14. Take the Bus or Train Back to Nice from Eze Beach

After going swimming, head down to the end of the beach (towards the beach club where most people are) and from there you can head up to the main road through a tunnel.

Once you get to the main road, you can either walk to the train station or wait for the bus.

There isn’t a bus that goes straight back to Nice (or at least not one that you can use your Ligne D’Azur card on) so you will need to take the 83 bus to Baie des Fourmis and then switch to the 15 bus headed to Port de Saint-Jean.

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