EZE VILLAGE, FRANCE
By Paula Hughes Court
The 9th century perched village of Eze ranks high on the list as one
of the most popular stops for tour buses in the French Riviera.
During the day the village swells with tourists buying postcards,
olive wood cutting boards and saffron in sandwich bags. But after
the last bus crawls out of town, Eze takes on a magical atmosphere.
The torch-lit cobblestone alleys are deserted, and on a recent visit
my seven-year-old daughter and I were lucky enough to have the
village all to ourselves.
We had reached Eze earlier in the day by turning our rental car north
and climbing higher, higher up the torturous mountain road of
switchbacks and vertiginous cliffs above Monaco. I pulled our car to
a stop in front of Chateau Eza’s donkey stand and handed over the
keys to the valet. No vehicles are allowed inside the village whose
narrow lanes were built just wide enough for donkey carts.
CHATEAU EZA
The Danish valet pointed to the stone steps leading up through the
village to our hotel and assured us our luggage would be delivered
promptly. By donkeys, I assumed, since the animals are featured
prominently in the hotel's brochures. Ten minutes later, the out-of-
breath valet passed by carrying our bags.
“Where’s the donkey?” my daughter asked.
“You're looking at him,” he replied with a grin. I later learned the use
of donkeys had been banned in crowded Eze for fear the animals
might hurt someone. After a group of stampeding tourists knocked
my child into a stonewall, I understood the concern, because I felt
the urge to kick someone myself.
Luckily, the feeling didn’t last long.
CHATEAU EZA
After a ten-minute walk straight up several flights of stone steps, we
reached the 4-star Chateau Eza. The general manager, Jesper
Jerrik, handed me a glass of champagne and escorted us to our
room. The chateau was once the former summer residence of
Prince William of Sweden and now is a small, luxury hotel with a
gastronomic restaurant.
We stepped out on our cliffside balcony hanging 1300 feet above the
sea and stared awestruck at the scene before us. Le Jardins
Exotiques, a cactus garden featuring 400 species of exotic plants
with a 360-degree panoramic view of the sea and mountains,
covered the hill to our right. To our left was an expansive view of the
glittering Mediterranean Sea stretching from Italy to Saint-Tropez. A
hawk soared eye-level mere feet from our balcony.
After the last tour bus crawled out of town, we set off to explore the
village. The numerous crafts boutiques hidden in tiny caves dug out
of the rocky hillside were closed, but we didn't mind. We strolled
through the network of tunnels and past hidden lush gardens of
banana, orange and lemon trees.
Just before sunset, we returned to the hotel's restaurant and were
led to a private terrace jetting over the cliffs. The lights of Monaco
and St. Jean Cap Ferrat sparkled far below like a thousand,
glittering jewels.
Our server, a beautiful, sweet girl from Denmark, convinced me to try
the award-winning chef Christophe l'Hospitalier's degustation menu
while my daughter stuck to her regular French diet of frites. The
meal began with an aperitif concocted out of champagne, raspberry
crème and one plump cherry. A flurry of courses followed-gazpacho,
foie gras terrine with caramel sauce and Crème de Calvados
roasted pigeon. When I thought it impossible to eat another bite,
they placed chocolate soufflé and a plate of handmade chocolates
before us to prove me wrong.
After dinner, we returned to our room and sat on the balcony until the
wee hours of the morning. My daughter marveled at the brightness
of the stars, a sight she never sees in the city while I embraced the
still beauty of the night. The next morning, we reluctantly left
paradise with a promise to return.
IF YOU GO:
Chateau Eza
06360 Eze Village
Cote d'Azur-France
Telephone-33 (0)4 93 41 12 24
Fax-33 (0)4 93 41 16 64
E-Mail: info@chateza.com
www.chateza.com
The chateau offers ten individual suites and rooms featuring
modern luxuries in a medieval setting. The hotel is not cheap with
rates starting at $280, but the view alone is worth it for an once-in-a-
lifetime stay. The hotel restaurant offers a three-course fixed price
lunch menu for 45 euro. Dinner entrees start at 32 euros.
By Paula Hughes Court
The 9th century perched village of Eze ranks high on the list as one
of the most popular stops for tour buses in the French Riviera.
During the day the village swells with tourists buying postcards,
olive wood cutting boards and saffron in sandwich bags. But after
the last bus crawls out of town, Eze takes on a magical atmosphere.
The torch-lit cobblestone alleys are deserted, and on a recent visit
my seven-year-old daughter and I were lucky enough to have the
village all to ourselves.
We had reached Eze earlier in the day by turning our rental car north
and climbing higher, higher up the torturous mountain road of
switchbacks and vertiginous cliffs above Monaco. I pulled our car to
a stop in front of Chateau Eza’s donkey stand and handed over the
keys to the valet. No vehicles are allowed inside the village whose
narrow lanes were built just wide enough for donkey carts.
CHATEAU EZA
The Danish valet pointed to the stone steps leading up through the
village to our hotel and assured us our luggage would be delivered
promptly. By donkeys, I assumed, since the animals are featured
prominently in the hotel's brochures. Ten minutes later, the out-of-
breath valet passed by carrying our bags.
“Where’s the donkey?” my daughter asked.
“You're looking at him,” he replied with a grin. I later learned the use
of donkeys had been banned in crowded Eze for fear the animals
might hurt someone. After a group of stampeding tourists knocked
my child into a stonewall, I understood the concern, because I felt
the urge to kick someone myself.
Luckily, the feeling didn’t last long.
CHATEAU EZA
After a ten-minute walk straight up several flights of stone steps, we
reached the 4-star Chateau Eza. The general manager, Jesper
Jerrik, handed me a glass of champagne and escorted us to our
room. The chateau was once the former summer residence of
Prince William of Sweden and now is a small, luxury hotel with a
gastronomic restaurant.
We stepped out on our cliffside balcony hanging 1300 feet above the
sea and stared awestruck at the scene before us. Le Jardins
Exotiques, a cactus garden featuring 400 species of exotic plants
with a 360-degree panoramic view of the sea and mountains,
covered the hill to our right. To our left was an expansive view of the
glittering Mediterranean Sea stretching from Italy to Saint-Tropez. A
hawk soared eye-level mere feet from our balcony.
After the last tour bus crawled out of town, we set off to explore the
village. The numerous crafts boutiques hidden in tiny caves dug out
of the rocky hillside were closed, but we didn't mind. We strolled
through the network of tunnels and past hidden lush gardens of
banana, orange and lemon trees.
Just before sunset, we returned to the hotel's restaurant and were
led to a private terrace jetting over the cliffs. The lights of Monaco
and St. Jean Cap Ferrat sparkled far below like a thousand,
glittering jewels.
Our server, a beautiful, sweet girl from Denmark, convinced me to try
the award-winning chef Christophe l'Hospitalier's degustation menu
while my daughter stuck to her regular French diet of frites. The
meal began with an aperitif concocted out of champagne, raspberry
crème and one plump cherry. A flurry of courses followed-gazpacho,
foie gras terrine with caramel sauce and Crème de Calvados
roasted pigeon. When I thought it impossible to eat another bite,
they placed chocolate soufflé and a plate of handmade chocolates
before us to prove me wrong.
After dinner, we returned to our room and sat on the balcony until the
wee hours of the morning. My daughter marveled at the brightness
of the stars, a sight she never sees in the city while I embraced the
still beauty of the night. The next morning, we reluctantly left
paradise with a promise to return.
IF YOU GO:
Chateau Eza
06360 Eze Village
Cote d'Azur-France
Telephone-33 (0)4 93 41 12 24
Fax-33 (0)4 93 41 16 64
E-Mail: info@chateza.com
www.chateza.com
The chateau offers ten individual suites and rooms featuring
modern luxuries in a medieval setting. The hotel is not cheap with
rates starting at $280, but the view alone is worth it for an once-in-a-
lifetime stay. The hotel restaurant offers a three-course fixed price
lunch menu for 45 euro. Dinner entrees start at 32 euros.
EZE VILLAGE
CHATEAU EZA
CHATEAU EZE
EZE HOTELS
EZE VILLAGE HOTELS
CHATEAU EZA
CHATEAU EZE
EZE HOTELS
EZE VILLAGE HOTELS
FAMILY TRAVEL FUN
CHATEAU EZA, EZE VILLAGE, FRANCE
CHATEAU EZA, EZE VILLAGE, FRANCE
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