South of France in a Week - Eze, Nice, St Paul de Vence & Villefranche-sur-mer Travel Guide

Ah, the south of france! Beautiful palm trees, medieval villages, and gorgeous coast...

Hello! It's been a while! I'll be honest with you, I do find it hard to keep up with my blog when I'm trying to run a million things at one time, but hey ho, here we are (a year and a half after this trip but no biggie really). I've been wanting to post this for a long time, and now that we're all quarantining, I thought I'd give you some inspo for when we all get out and you can go out!

So, let's start in Nice. Nice is nice (hehe), but I wasn't as impressed with it as I was the other places. My fave thing was Confiserie Ballanger in Nice. Oh it was just gorgeous! Everything was pink and their churros were DELICIOUS! Honestly highly recommend making a stop there if you're in Nice, it's dessert galore!

Eze

Next stop - Eze! So I've had my heart set on Eze for years, ever since I first found it (I believe I found it on Instagram). Honestly it is Instagram central with it's cobbled stone streets and gorgeous corners everywhere you look (you can find a few of my Eze prints up in my shop! Click here for my Etsy)

It is absolutely gorgeous, but quite honestly there's not THAT much to do there. We went to the botanical garden (Le Jardin Exotique D'eze) which was one of the top things to do there. It was so gorgeous being able to see all the beautiful plants and with the beautiful view of the sea. However, it is quite a pricy place and definitely worth it if you're prepared to spend the cash for a nice day out. There are a few 5* restaurants there and you can walk down the streets for beauty everywhere you look. We had a coffee after our trip to the botanical garden, and then made our way down towards the sea to sunbathe. Recommended to see the beautiful sights! 

If you're driving there, you can park on the hill car park and then walk up. There isn't anywhere to drive into the city itself as it's on a hilltop.

Menton

Next stop - Menton!

Ah, beautiful Menton. It was more like Nice but has its own charm. Colorful buildings everywhere you look, and the sea is directly in front of you, with a beautiful sunset behind you. We only spent an evening and had some dinner there, but it was worth a trip to see it, and you should definitely spend some time at the beach there if you get the chance!

Villefranche-Sur-Mer

Ah what a beautiful place! We went there basically because I saw Julia from Gal Meets Glam suggested it, and boy was it an amazing place to go to! It's on top of a hill and you can go through the winding streets all the way down to the beach. Lots of little french stops to stop by, and just another one of those places to endlessly wander the streets. We went when it was quite hot so all we craved was some ice cream and a beach, but we hadn't brought our beachwear so we went back to the airbnb to cool off by the pool. Definitely worth a visit to see the beautiful colorful streets!

Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

Not far from Villefranche-sur-mer is this gorgeous villa which also happens to be a museum. 

"A member of the Rothschild banking family and the wife of the banker Baron Maurice de Ephrussi, Béatrice de Rothschild built her rose-colored villa on a promontory on the isthmus of Cap Ferrat overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The Baroness filled the mansion with antique furniture, Old Master paintings, sculptures, objets d'art, and assembled an extensive collection of rare porcelain. The gardens are classified by the French Ministry of Culture as one of the Notable Gardens of France. On her death in 1934, the Baroness donated the property and its collections to the Académie des Beaux Arts division of the Institut de France and it is now open to the public. The villa is surrounded by nine gardens, each on a different theme: French, Spanish, Japanese, Florentine, Provençal, exotic, a stone garden, a rose garden, and a garden de Sèvres. They were created between 1905 and 1912 under the direction of landscape architect Achille Duchêne."

We had such a lovely time exploring all the different gardens - they were so impressive, as well as the pink exteriors themselves!

St Paul de Vence

And finally, I've saved the best for last. My absolutely favorite part of our whole trip! This place was actually recommended to us by the guy who served us at the car rental place whose name I didn't get! This place blew me away. It was similar to Eze, but almost more accessible and with lots more to do and see. It's also been known as the 'celebrity playground' as it has seen so many famous celebrities throughout time, such as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kirk Douglas, and Michael Caine to name just a few... lots of history to this place! The landscape is absolutely stunning, even preferable than to Eze I would've said. Endless independent shops where you can find locally made foods and spa essentials, and lots of quirky art. I would go back here in a heartbeat! Another place I managed to get some pictures of that I've popped on my Etsy shop.

Overall, we had a gorgeous time and I highly recommend going to the luxurious French Riviera when you get a chance and explore all it has to offer!

Love,

Nat xx

"I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33