Pre-trip work!

  April 10, 2025   The Beautiful City of Eze!

History of Eze

"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 are now part of the British Museum's collection.[1] 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."

(Photo from beyond.fr)  Our first stop is the top flat area.

We made a b-line for the top where there are remnants of a castle and sweeping view of the Mediterranean Sea.

Always stairs!

Remnants of the Medieval castle.

More remnants.

Looking out into the Mediterranean and the city of Nice.

Clare

On the way to the top of Eze, you pass through the Exotic Gardens of Eze. 

Artists rendition of the gardens.

Explanation of the gardens.

View looking down on part of the garden.

Statues are scattered about.

After some time at the top, we walked around town. We were there in the morning and when we arrived, there was plenty of parking and not many people. But as the morning wore on, it got crowded. We couldn't imagine how full it must be at peak season!

Early morning quiet street.

We found the original church but couldn't go in.

I took this picture of the inside of the church through a gate.

Door to the church.

More pictures of the town. The kids did a lot of shopping for souvenirs. The weather was a perfect mid-sixties! 

I loved the look of this door!

The door above had a HUGE padlock on it.

Entrance to one of the shops.

The sign said the water was potable.

A trashcan.

Au revoir!