The corniche is a famed scenic drive that connects Nice to Monaco then Menton in Italy along the Mediterranean coastline. This is also where our southern part of france road trip begins.
After collecting our car from Europecar office in Nice centre, we went back to Viex Nice for the morning farmers market to stock up on fresh snacks for breakfast. Bought a punnet of raspberries and strawberries each which was the start of our discovery of sweetest produce in France! After shopping, we headed straight via the corniches to Eze - a fortified hilltop town.
It is often recommended to visit during off-peak period before of the lack of parking space! We had to wait almost an hour for a free slot because some other tourist shamelessly took the spot we were waiting for! Another tip is to have your meals before/after visiting. As it is a very small village, the choices are limited and rather pricey. You can definitely find better places in Nice or Monaco (but may be even more expensive.)
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| Scenic coastal drive from Nice |
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| where we had lunch - food was so-so and to be honest the worst in our France trip |
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| Narrow and steep climb up the fortified village |
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| little chapel at the village centre |
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| continuing the climb up.. |
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| at the top of the village is a botanic garden Jardin Exotique À Èze |
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| You should definitely visit just for the panoramic view of the Mediterranean |
On the other side of the garden you can see the
viaduct
of Eze, whch is also known as "bridge of the devil" as it was built when a
peasant struke a deal with the devil but cheated the devil by sending
his poor dog over in exchange.
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| story of the viaduct in the background |
An hour is enough to cover the whole village at a leisurely pace. Next off we continued the drive to Monaco.
Casino Monte Carlo - grandeur all rolled into one place. Yours truly is proud that I wasn't stopped at the casino lobby (they
have a dress code or so they say), but no photo inside unfortunately.
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| almost felt mandatory to take a picture with the luxury cars outside |
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| tracks of the grand prix |
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| View of the harbour from Fontvieille |
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| prince's palace |
Saint Paul de Vence is one of the French beautiful villages - also a
hilltop french medieval town with narrow cobblestone streets and lots of slopes.
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| fortified town on hilltop |
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| Map of St Paul de Vence |
Stumbled upon a quaint little restaurant that was converted from a little chapel as its name suggests. One of the best meals we've had in terms of ambience, food quality and service. In fact, there are many nice restaurants in St Paul de Vence (even an art gallery restaurant) that requires booking in advance.
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| La petite chapelle |
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| My appetizer, no joke, and yes i had a main course after this. |
Where to stay
Les Bastides Saint Paul is a B&B about 15min drive from the town of St-Paul de Vence. They have a pool that guests are free to use. Upon hearing we are on our honeymoon, the owner kindly upgraded us to a deluxe room with jacuzzi bath tub :)
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| our room at Les Bastides |
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| View of the pool from our window |
Drive map of the day:
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