Eze and Monaco

Wander around the wonderful Eze and end the day with a dip in Monte Carlo

Eze

Getting there

From our hostel, we walked to Boyer bus station along Rue Barla to catch Bus 82. The ride took around 25 minutes to Eze Village (19 stops) and was €1.05.

Have your passport ready to be shown because during our bus ride, the bus got stopped by officers in uniform and randomly checked people and asked for passport and validated bus ticket.

When riding the bus: make sure that you validate your ticket! Otherwise you'll be fined.

 From the bus stop, it is just around 2-minute-uphill walk to the entrance to Eze Village.

Eze Village

Eze is a medieval French village sitting atop a cliff hanging over the Mediterranean. The small town is known for its narrow streets lined with artists' and craftsmen's studios and perfumeries, restaurants and shops, and a few accommodations and houses. Eze will give you a feeling of being transported back into time, or as if you're in a Disney/fairytale movie. Recommended length of stay: around 4 hours or half day

What to see

Exotic Garden

A. Exotic Garden/Jardin Exotique: located at the top of the village, this garden will make you feel like being under the sea but high above the sea level. There is an admission fee of €12 (kids under 12 years of age are free to enter). The garden boasts of a collection of Mediterranean plants adorned with different female statues with wonderful quotes from different known personalities.

Mountain side view from Exotic Garden

On top of the plants, adding the panoramic views of the Mediterranean below is probably the main reason why people come to the garden. It is definitely worth a visit.

Panoramic View from Exotic Garden

Recommended length of stay: around an hour

B. Notre Dame de l'Assomption church: an 18th century church with neoclassical ocre color, and a two-level square clock tower.

Notre Dame de l'Assomption church

C. The charming narrow streets: simply wander the winding narrow streets of the village and explore its nooks and crannies. You're bound to find some charming pieces of jewellery and or art from the shops/studios, and so much more, or just look around.

Charming streets of Eze Village

Eze Village

After exploring Eze Village, we grabbed a quick lunch in a restaurant in front of the Eze Village bus stop where we will take the bus 82 to get to Monaco.

Monaco

Getting there

From Eze Village bus stop, we took bus 82 to get to Monaco (€1.50). We opted to get off on the bus stop in front of the Exotic Garden of Monaco.

We just looked at the panoramic views of the ports (Hercule and Fontvieille) and the old town with the Prince's Palace in between the 2 ports which you can see from the garden without having to enter (as there is an admission fee of €7.20 for an adult), and then walked our way down to the old town.

Monaco Old Town

A. View of Port Hercule

Port Hercule

View of Port Hercule

B. Prince's Palace of Monaco: 13-century residence with lavish state apartments that are open to the public seasonally; we didn't enter and just opted to take a photo of the facade.

Prince's Palace of Monaco

Palace Square

C. Saint Nicholas Cathedral / Cathedral of Monaco: 19th-century Romanesque Catholic cathedral dedicated to Saint Nicholas. This Roman-Byzantine cathedral houses the burial places of past princes of Monaco. Free admission.

Saint Nicholas Cathedral 

Inside the Cathedral of Monaco

D. Saint Martin Gardens: the principality's first public garden with steep, winding paths hugging the side of the rock and offering walkers numerous spots in which to rest.

Saint Martin Gardens

Saint Martin Gardens

Swimming in Larvotto Beach

Larvotto Beach

We then walked from Monaco City to Larvotto beach where we had the beach all to ourselves.

Swimming in Larvotto Beach

After a quick dip in the beach, we headed back to Nice by bus again because we wanted to see the coast (€3). But it will be easier and quicker to use the train/TER from Gare de Monaco.

Expenses:

€1.05 bus to Eze

€12 Exotic Garden ticket

€2 candles

€19 bracelet

€13 lunch

€1.50 bus to Monaco

€11 magnet+sticker

€3 bus to Nice

€10 dinner

Total: €72.55