St. Paul de Vence or Eze,

[Lastdance]

:confused:

[Hlitner]

Confused? That can happen easily after reading through the many threads. Without a car both places are somewhat difficult to access since Eze Village is served by a bus #112 that does not run very often (sometimes more then 1 1/2 hours between runs). St Paul de Vence has more frequent transportation (by #400 bus from Nice) but is further away and can take more then an hour to access by public transit. One reason we prefer to rent a car in this part of France is that we can easily get around to these and other places without waiting for infrequent buses (but they do stay on their schedule). As to a comparison, St Paul de Vences the larger of the two villages and has quite a few excellent shops and art galleries. Eze Village also has a few galleries and some nice shops and also has a spectacular view of the sea (St Paul de Vence has a great view of the countryside). Given a choice between the two (we normally go to both places) DW would quickly choose St Paul de Vence because she really enjoys the galleries and boutiques.

 

Hank

[TedC]

We prefer St. Paul de Vence . Rick Steves tour book gives directions from Nice - Chagall and Matisse museums are nearby . Chagall is buried in small cemetery at St. Paul De Vence overlooking rolling hills. Matisse and wife are buried in nearby monastery.

[TLCOhio]

Have not, yet, been to St. Paul de Vence, but super loved Eze. Here's more info/background, plus a couple pictures below. Lots to see, do and enjoy along this scenic southern France coast.

 

COASTAL SUGGESTION: The old village of Eze, along the coast between Nice and Monaco, hangs up in the mountains above the water and crowds. It's wonderful to visit. Great, great views! Totally charming! Have lunch or dinner there at one of the two great eating places and feel like you're sitting on the edge of paradise! We ate at the Château Eza. Its website: http://www.chateauezarestaurant.com. At 1,407 feet above the Mediterranean, Eze offers commanding views of cliffs, sea, sprawling estates and off-shore islands. The village's narrow streets or more really paths among the buildings lead to the Jardin Exotique It is a maze of paths flanked by mammoth flowering plants and spiky cactuses. For about $3, you can walk up to the best view on the French Riviera. On a clear day, you can see Corsica! It does not get much better than Eze. Their tourism office:

http://www.eze-riviera.com

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 86,833 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

The charming mountain top village of Eze is nearby and offers great view along the southern French coast to the west.:

 

 

 

This picture shows more of the gardens at the top of Eze that offers great views along the coast:

 

[sippican]

St Paul de Vence was our favorite.

Why not do both?

[wenren302]

Any suggestion as to a tour company from St. Tropez to St Paul de Vence? If so, my email is wendyrenov@aol.com. Thanks.

[DS1225]

We have been planning this trip for one year.... I just found out about Cruise Critics from my cousin... It was a nice tip... I am finding allot of info... I went to the site about the buses it is not in english... Does anyone know if there might be a site with information in English?

[Hlitner]

If you go to the Lignes d'Azur web site there is an English flag icon on the upper right that will give you some English. You could also post your specific bus question and I (or some others) will be happy to look-up the schedule for your times and day of the week. Here is the direct link:

http://www.lignesdazur.com/horaires_ligne/index.asp?rub_code=6

 

For St Paul de Vence you would need to look at the #400 bus. For Eze Village you have the 82, 83 and 112 buses although only the 82 goes to Villefranche.

 

 

Hank

[anniversay/grad trip]

I have been to both (on 2 different trips) and my vote would be for St. Paul...both are lovely but I found St. Paul to be more interesting and a far easier walk (especially in the heat). Eze is an uphill walk, in sometimes very narrow passage ways, while St. Paul has a much wider area to walk in...IMHO.

[dalgirl]

We toured Eze by rental car out of Monte Carlo - pretty little village, but as others have said, it is a lot of winding, uphill little streets. It rained the day we were there and some of the stone steps could be dangerous. But very pretty views.

 

I have tried twice to get to St. Paul and I am keeping my fingers crossed for our next cruise to finally get there. We plan to rent a car in Cannes - Hank or Terry, or anyone - Where can you rent a car at the port in Cannes?

[Hlitner]

We toured Eze by rental car out of Monte Carlo - pretty little village, but as others have said, it is a lot of winding, uphill little streets. It rained the day we were there and some of the stone steps could be dangerous. But very pretty views.

 

I have tried twice to get to St. Paul and I am keeping my fingers crossed for our next cruise to finally get there. We plan to rent a car in Cannes - Hank or Terry, or anyone - Where can you rent a car at the port in Cannes?

 

Regarding rental cars in Cannes, there is some new info that has been mentioned on CC. Apparently, there is now a regional rental car company called "Mistral" that has an office only a few blocks from the tender pier. Here is the link to their web site:

http://www.mistral-location.com/uk/index.htm

 

Several of the major rental car companies (Hertz, Europcar, etc) have city offices located about a 25 min walk from the tender pier on the Rue d'Antibes. While we have often rented from those agencies we would be tempted to try Mistral because of its convenient location. By the way, if you are planning to drive to St Paul de Vence (one of our favorite places in this region of France) its about a 45 min drive.

 

 

Hank

[dalgirl]

Thanks Hank - I will definitely check into Mistral. And yes, we will be driving to St. Paul. Our first venture into foreign car rentals was Monte Carlo - in the rain - to Nice and Eze. No place to park, mobs of people. We decided if we could drive there, we can drive anywhere:) Since then we have driven in Spain and France, so renting a car in Cannes should not be a problem. We have another stop this cruise in Marseille and plan to drive to Avignon with a possible stop in Aix on the return to the ship.

[suzski]

Not sure if you've already cruised or not, but we just got back from our cruise so I can finally give my opinion on the Eze or St. Paul de Vence question....

 

For me, although Eze is lovely and has the view of the sea, I really liked St. Paul de Vence better. There was a market going on just outside the walls and, as Hlitner mentioned, the village is larger and there is more to see, both inside and outside the walls.

 

We docked in Nice and took Bus 400 for 2 euros pp roundtrip...definitely one of the best commuting deals of our cruise! Afterwards, we explored Old Town Nice and went up to the Jewish Cemetery.

[Hlitner]

Not sure if you've already cruised or not, but we just got back from our cruise so I can finally give my opinion on the Eze or St. Paul de Vence question....

 

For me, although Eze is lovely and has the view of the sea, I really liked St. Paul de Vence better. There was a market going on just outside the walls and, as Hlitner mentioned, the village is larger and there is more to see, both inside and outside the walls.

 

We docked in Nice and took Bus 400 for 2 euros pp roundtrip...definitely one of the best commuting deals of our cruise! Afterwards, we explored Old Town Nice and went up to the Jewish Cemetery.

 

Glad to hear your visit went well. We award you one of our gold (fake of course) pins for taking advantage of the low cost public transit. Those Ligne d'Azur buses are one of the best bargains in all of Europe and we keep wondering when they will increase the fare (currently at 1 Euro).

 

Hank

[suzski]

Looking up to the village from the road:

[/img]

 

The warren of streets:

 

The view from the village:

[Cruise Junky]

Looking up to the village from the road:

[/img]

 

The warren of streets:

 

The view from the village:

 

You're killing me! ;) We just got back from 5 nights in St. Paul

[Hlitner]

You're killing me! ;) We just got back from 5 nights in St. Paul

 

Now that is really interesting. Did you stay or eat at Columbe d'Or? As many times as we have been to St Paul de Vence (probably about 10 visits) we have never spent a night near that village (have stayed in several other parts of the region).

 

Hank

[Cruise Junky]

Now that is really interesting. Did you stay or eat at Columbe d'Or? As many times as we have been to St Paul de Vence (probably about 10 visits) we have never spent a night near that village (have stayed in several other parts of the region).

 

Hank

 

We stayed at Villa St. Maxime....just love it. It's our second time there and we've stayed at Le Hameau once. Didn't visit Columbe d'Or but I think three parties that were at Villa St. Maxime that week did. They were all pretty disappointed. One party had lunch and two went for dinner.