Medieval villages: Eze or St Paul de Vence?

[Leejnd4]

We've got a day in Villefrance, and are looking at excursions to see a charming medieval village. We love history, antiquities, and art. We are both active and have no mobility issues so climbing stairs or steep windy streets would be no problem. Both of these towns look amazing, but we can't decide which one to visit!

 

Anyone have a preference, and can share why?

 

Thanks!

 

LeeAnne

[Hlitner]

Yep, been there many times (on both sea and driving) and our preference (by far) is St Paul de Vence.  And if you are really interested in art and go to St Paul de Vence, also make sure to include a visit to the nearby Maeght Foundation.

 

Hank

[marazul]

12 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Yep, been there many times (on both sea and driving) and our preference (by far) is St Paul de Vence.  And if you are really interested in art and go to St Paul de Vence, also make sure to include a visit to the nearby Maeght Foundation.

 

Hank

Ditto 

[edinburgher]

2 hours ago, marazul said:

Yep, been there many times (on both sea and driving) and our preference (by far) is St Paul de Vence.  And if you are really interested in art and go to St Paul de Vence, also make sure to include a visit to the nearby Maeght Foundation.

And if you can also include a brief visit to the Matisse Chapel in nearby Vence, so much the better.😀

Edited August 20 by edinburgher

[edinburgher]

17 hours ago, Leejnd4 said:

Anyone have a preference, and can share why?

 

17 hours ago, Leejnd4 said:

 

OOPS Sorry.

[D&N]

We used to visit St Paul de Vence quite frequently to visit a friend, an elderly Siamese cat called Whisky. He lived at Le Galerie de Soleil at the southern end within the walls of the village.  His parents made silver and platinum jewellery and were quite amused that we had no interest in their bits of metal and were only interested in one jewel in their shop.

However the shop closed a number of years ago and we haven't seen Whisky since. Based on his age last time we saw him, I imagine he is long dead.

We can walk (march) there and back, it's only about 15km (9.3miles) round trip and mainly downhill on the way home.

It can be reached by bus 655 from Cagnes-sur-Mer Gare SNCF.

https://storage.googleapis.com/is-wp-22-prod/uploads-prod/2024/06/ZOU06_ligne655_Cagnes_Vence_2024.pdf

 

But bearing in mind you need to rely on connections from the half hourly train from Villefranche to Cagnes-sur-Mer with the linked bus timetable above it's probably safer to do it on an organised excursion.

 

We quite like going there for the exercise, for the views, to see if there are any cats wandering about to converse with, and might have a bite to eat or something to drink now and again.

I'm afraid we're just not into art, culture and history. But there's plenty there for those that are.

 

 

[Leejnd4]

1 hour ago, D&N said:

We used to visit St Paul de Vence quite frequently to visit a friend, an elderly Siamese cat called Whisky. He lived at Le Galerie de Soleil at the southern end within the walls of the village.  His parents made silver and platinum jewellery and were quite amused that we had no interest in their bits of metal and were only interested in one jewel in their shop.

However the shop closed a number of years ago and we haven't seen Whisky since. Based on his age last time we saw him, I imagine he is long dead.

We can walk (march) there and back, it's only about 15km (9.3miles) round trip and mainly downhill on the way home.

It can be reached by bus 655 from Cagnes-sur-Mer Gare SNCF.

https://storage.googleapis.com/is-wp-22-prod/uploads-prod/2024/06/ZOU06_ligne655_Cagnes_Vence_2024.pdf

 

But bearing in mind you need to rely on connections from the half hourly train from Villefranche to Cagnes-sur-Mer with the linked bus timetable above it's probably safer to do it on an organised excursion.

 

We quite like going there for the exercise, for the views, to see if there are any cats wandering about to converse with, and might have a bite to eat or something to drink now and again.

I'm afraid we're just not into art, culture and history. But there's plenty there for those that are.

 

 

What a sweet looking boy! 

[Leejnd4]

Well there seems to be a consensus. St Paul de Vence it is! We don't like to rush around trying to see too much when we are on vacation, we prefer to pick one spot and enjoy the whole day there. I haven't looked into the best way to get there from Villefrance yet...any suggestions?

[D&N]

10 minutes ago, Leejnd4 said:

What a sweet looking boy! 

He was lovely. Most of the time he was happy to sit on visitors lap's as long as they treated him nicely. But those pics were from 2012 and he was mid teens then.

 

On the best way to get there; what day of the week is it? And if a weekday could the date be a public holiday?

Actually that could apply to Saturdays as well, as a holiday service might operate.

Edited August 20 by D&N

[BackseatCruiser]

I wonder if this is the same cat from St-Paul-de-Vence?

 

 

Anyway, my comment is that you can do both St-Paul-de-Vence and Eze in the same tour with a private driver. We did that - a little different situation, though, pre-cruise staying in Nice, and then touring and winding up at our ship in Monaco.

 

I kind of liked Eze better because I like to hike. The downside of it, though, is it can be crowded, and there's no parking, so we had to meet the driver at a designated spot and time when we were finished. (Don't get roped into doing a tour of the perfumery. It stinks!)

 

Here are a few images of each:

 

St-Paul-de-Vence:

 

Equal time ...

 

Marc Chagall final resting place, same cemetery as the cat above ...

 

Eze:

 

That's Cap-Ferrat off to the left ...

 

I prefer big dogs ...

 

Edited August 20 by BackseatCruiser

[mskaufman]

One more vote for St. Paul

[Leejnd4]

3 hours ago, D&N said:

On the best way to get there; what day of the week is it? And if a weekday could the date be a public holiday?

Actually that could apply to Saturdays as well, as a holiday service might operate.

 

Our ship is actually doing an overnight in Villefrance over a weekend, so we could go on either day, but we figured we'd go on Saturday and then spend Sunday enjoying a quiet day walking around Villefrance and just enjoying the ship. So probably Saturday.

[D&N]

1 hour ago, BackseatCruiser said:

I wonder if this is the same cat from St-Paul-de-Vence?

 

That is Whisky.

When was it taken?

[D&N]

30 minutes ago, Leejnd4 said:

 

Our ship is actually doing an overnight in Villefrance over a weekend, so we could go on either day, but we figured we'd go on Saturday and then spend Sunday enjoying a quiet day walking around Villefrance and just enjoying the ship. So probably Saturday.

On a Saturday trains from Villefranche should be every half hour at 4 mins past and 34 mins past. Journey time to Cagnes-sur-Mer is 27 mins. Bus 655 is approx every 45 mins and journey time averages 22 mins. Since connection times vary the overall journey time could be between an hour and one hour twenty minutes. Return trip should take similar time.

 

In a car that would take about 45 mins if no traffic problems. Google suggests it could take another 20 mins if there were traffic issues.

 

The Sunday bus frequency is similar but departure times are different. The range of overall journey times should be similar.

 

You would need separate fares for train and bus. Train best bought in advance on app. Bus can be bought on board at €2.50 each. Groups of 4 and above get discounts. There is an app for bus as well. We've found it difficult to use two tickets on one app at same time so we both have apps. But we can buy an in app ticket for three or more and use that without any problems.

 

This is the current train timetable: https://ter-fiches-horaires.sncf.fr/publish/FH_04_Grasse_Cannes_Nice_Vintimille_du 30 mai 2024 au 14 décembre 2024_V20240703b.pdf

 

If using a car check what is going on in the Nice area on the day concerned. Things like the Ironman competition cause road closures that could disrupt the trip.

 

[Leejnd4]

39 minutes ago, D&N said:

On a Saturday trains from Villefranche should be every half hour at 4 mins past and 34 mins past. Journey time to Cagnes-sur-Mer is 27 mins. Bus 655 is approx every 45 mins and journey time averages 22 mins. Since connection times vary the overall journey time could be between an hour and one hour twenty minutes. Return trip should take similar time.

 

In a car that would take about 45 mins if no traffic problems. Google suggests it could take another 20 mins if there were traffic issues.

 

The Sunday bus frequency is similar but departure times are different. The range of overall journey times should be similar.

 

You would need separate fares for train and bus. Train best bought in advance on app. Bus can be bought on board at €2.50 each. Groups of 4 and above get discounts. There is an app for bus as well. We've found it difficult to use two tickets on one app at same time so we both have apps. But we can buy an in app ticket for three or more and use that without any problems.

 

This is the current train timetable: https://ter-fiches-horaires.sncf.fr/publish/FH_04_Grasse_Cannes_Nice_Vintimille_du 30 mai 2024 au 14 décembre 2024_V20240703b.pdf

 

If using a car check what is going on in the Nice area on the day concerned. Things like the Ironman competition cause road closures that could disrupt the trip.

 

This is great info! Thanks! It's been many years since I visited the Med, so all of the info I have is long-ago outdated.

 

You'll probably see me ask more and more questions in this forum in the coming months as I scout out what to do in our port stops. 🙂 

[Vineyard View]

It’s incredible to me how helpful and knowledgeable people are on these forums. So appreciated! 
Thank you for posting OP, as we are looking at making this one destination on a day when we are in Nice. Like you, we enjoy savoring places, rather than seeing as many boxes as we can check! 

[D&N]

@BackseatCruiser

 

Here's a cute picture of Whisky 'at home' with his Mum in July 2009.

 

[Hlitner]

I want to add to some of D&N's comments from the perspective of an American very used to independent travel.  Since the OP mentioned taking an excursion, we did not address the issue of getting to these places (St Paul de Vence and/or Eze Village).  We have done it by public transit (trains, buses, with some Nice Tram tossed in for good measure).  While it is possible to use public transit to get to either place, it is not very convenient and the Ligne d"Azur (local bus company) does not run buses (on the appropriate routes) as often as one would want.  

 

So what do we do?   On many trips I like to rent a car and just drive.  With the help of GPS (a working phone is fine) it is easy to drive to Eze Village and not to difficult to get to St Paul de Vence (although it is more distant).  I do not routinely suggest that cruisers rent a car because it can be tricky to get a rental car when your port is Villefranche.  In most cases you will probably need to go into Nice to get your car.  At one time, a couple of companies used to deliver cars to the tender port (you can try asking rentacar.fr) but that is no longer a certainty.  With a rental car, one could drive to St Paul de Vence, perhaps later make a quick stop in Antibes, and even have enough time to go to Eze Village for a short visit.  There is a large paid parking garage just past the entrance of St Paul de Vence, and Eze Village has a parking lot (sometimes full) right in front of the entrance.  My advice, for most folks, is to spend the big bucks for a private tour (i.e. car/driver) or take the cruise line excursion.

 

One other thing :).  If you happen to be visiting St Paul de Vence on a Sunday (or possibly Saturday) there is a large cafe/restaurant located just outside the main entrance gate (you cannot miss it).  In front of that cafe is a dirt field where the locals gather to play "Boules."  Watching these guys (it is almost always men) is entertaining and fun.  One can sit at that cafe, enjoy some cafe au lait, and experience some of the local culture.  It is worth a stop before going inside the town.

 

Hank

[Leejnd4]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I want to add to some of D&N's comments from the perspective of an American very used to independent travel.  Since the OP mentioned taking an excursion, we did not address the issue of getting to these places (St Paul de Vence and/or Eze Village).  We have done it by public transit (trains, buses, with some Nice Tram tossed in for good measure).  While it is possible to use public transit to get to either place, it is not very convenient and the Ligne d"Azur (local bus company) does not run buses (on the appropriate routes) as often as one would want.  

 

So what do we do?   On many trips I like to rent a car and just drive.  With the help of GPS (a working phone is fine) it is easy to drive to Eze Village and not to difficult to get to St Paul de Vence (although it is more distant).  I do not routinely suggest that cruisers rent a car because it can be tricky to get a rental car when your port is Villefranche.  In most cases you will probably need to go into Nice to get your car.  At one time, a couple of companies used to deliver cars to the tender port (you can try asking rentacar.fr) but that is no longer a certainty.  With a rental car, one could drive to St Paul de Vence, perhaps later make a quick stop in Antibes, and even have enough time to go to Eze Village for a short visit.  There is a large paid parking garage just past the entrance of St Paul de Vence, and Eze Village has a parking lot (sometimes full) right in front of the entrance.  My advice, for most folks, is to spend the big bucks for a private tour (i.e. car/driver) or take the cruise line excursion.

 

One other thing :).  If you happen to be visiting St Paul de Vence on a Sunday (or possibly Saturday) there is a large cafe/restaurant located just outside the main entrance gate (you cannot miss it).  In front of that cafe is a dirt field where the locals gather to play "Boules."  Watching these guys (it is almost always men) is entertaining and fun.  One can sit at that cafe, enjoy some cafe au lait, and experience some of the local culture.  It is worth a stop before going inside the town.

 

Hank

 

This is really helpful info! I'm a super-planner and like to know all of my options for every port, including exact walking directions to things like train stations etc. I put all of those details in a spreadsheet so I don't have to waste time each day scrambling to figure out where to go and how to get there.

Our ship has excursions of course, but I'm just not keen on those bus tours, rushing here and there and being herded around with a group of tourists. We are very independent people, and don't like being on someone else's schedule (other than the ship's, of course). Plus, as I mentioned, we prefer to pick one place to visit and just take our time there, wander around and experience it.
 

We don't mind taking public transport, in fact we enjoy mingling with the locals just living their daily lives. I rely on the Rome2Rio website, which is FABULOUS - it gives you every way to get from any spot in the world to any other spot in the world. In this case it's showing exactly what you say - that it's rather a pain to use public transport from Villefrance to Saint Paul de Vence. We can take a train that connects to a bus, or a bus that has two connections, but it's all more trouble than I want to deal with. 

 

So I like your suggestion of renting a car. We are overnighting in Villefrance, so we've got the whole day and don't have to worry about a flat tire causing us to miss our ship's departure. It looks like there's a very short train ride from Villefrance to Nice that runs continually, so we can pick up the car in Nice easily. 

 

And yes, our day in Saint Paul will be on a Saturday, so we will look for that field you mentioned. 🙂 

[Hlitner]

54 minutes ago, Leejnd4 said:

 

This is really helpful info! I'm a super-planner and like to know all of my options for every port, including exact walking directions to things like train stations etc. I put all of those details in a spreadsheet so I don't have to waste time each day scrambling to figure out where to go and how to get there.

Our ship has excursions of course, but I'm just not keen on those bus tours, rushing here and there and being herded around with a group of tourists. We are very independent people, and don't like being on someone else's schedule (other than the ship's, of course). Plus, as I mentioned, we prefer to pick one place to visit and just take our time there, wander around and experience it.
 

We don't mind taking public transport, in fact we enjoy mingling with the locals just living their daily lives. I rely on the Rome2Rio website, which is FABULOUS - it gives you every way to get from any spot in the world to any other spot in the world. In this case it's showing exactly what you say - that it's rather a pain to use public transport from Villefrance to Saint Paul de Vence. We can take a train that connects to a bus, or a bus that has two connections, but it's all more trouble than I want to deal with. 

 

So I like your suggestion of renting a car. We are overnighting in Villefrance, so we've got the whole day and don't have to worry about a flat tire causing us to miss our ship's departure. It looks like there's a very short train ride from Villefrance to Nice that runs continually, so we can pick up the car in Nice easily. 

 

And yes, our day in Saint Paul will be on a Saturday, so we will look for that field you mentioned. 🙂 

A few tips about renting cars.  Do your pre-trip homework and make sure to reserve.  In France (and some other European countries) rental car locations, not at airports, do tend to stay closed on Sundays/Holidays.  Keep in mind that a majority of European rental cars have a manual transmission (stick shift) and if you want an automatic you need to make sure to specify that when booking and expect to pay more.  

 

Since neither Eze or St Paul de Vence are served by trains, having a car really helps.  The nearest train station to St Paul de Vence is in a Nice suburb called Cagnes sur Mer and this is still miles from the town.  For Eze, there is a small (almost whistle stop) called Eze/Bord de Mer that lies along the coast, well below the hilltop village of Eze.  There is a local bus that runs between that small station and Eze Village, but the schedule is somewhat erratic and not a great option for cruisers on a tight schedule.   There is actually a wooded hiking trail between Eze Bord de Mer and Eze Village (Nietzche Trail), but this is better left to near-professional hikers :).  It takes about an hour (assuming you can find the wooded overgrown trail) and involves lots of uphill slopes (Eze Village is about 1200 feet above sea level).  We have never done this hike (have talked to others who have done it downhill from the village).

 

So now you have everything you did not want to know :).  

 

If you do find a rental car agency that will allow pick-up/delivery in Villefranche, please post the info here on CC.  That would be valuable info for other cruisers.

 

Hank

[D&N]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

is in a Nice suburb called Cagnes sur Mer

 

There is actually a wooded hiking trail between Eze Bord de Mer and Eze Village (Nietzche Trail), but this is better left to near-professional hikers :).  It takes about an hour (assuming you can find the wooded overgrown trail) and involves lots of uphill slopes (Eze Village is about 1200 feet above sea level).  We have never done this hike (have talked to others who have done it downhill from the village).

I doubt many folk from Cagnes-sur-Mer including their mayor and councillors would be too happy with that description! 😀

They are members of Nice Metropole, which is a grouping of local councils for admin of transport networks and any services better arranged over a larger area.

 

We did the descent in September 2007. It wasn't that difficult. The path didn't seem too well marked in places. We've always meant to go back and do the climb, but never got round to it. I tend to feel safer going up hills. Falling/tripping on the way up you are likely to fall on the spot unless you are walking beside a drop. Falling going down you might travel a fair distance. I'll try and remember to report back if we do it.

[Hlitner]

9 minutes ago, D&N said:

I doubt many folk from Cagnes-sur-Mer including their mayor and councillors would be too happy with that description! 😀

They are members of Nice Metropole, which is a grouping of local councils for admin of transport networks and any services better arranged over a larger area.

 

We did the descent in September 2007. It wasn't that difficult. The path didn't seem too well marked in places. We've always meant to go back and do the climb, but never got round to it. I tend to feel safer going up hills. Falling/tripping on the way up you are likely to fall on the spot unless you are walking beside a drop. Falling going down you might travel a fair distance. I'll try and remember to report back if we do it.

LOL, would love to read your detailed description of that hike.  Am reaching that time in life when steep hikes are something in my past :).  At my age, if I fall, I may not be able to get back up.  

 

Hank

[steve_c]

I’d definitely recommend Eze! The climb up those narrow, winding streets is a bit of a workout, but the medieval charm and the view from the top are totally worth it. The exotic garden there is also amazing for photos. Villefranche is lovely too, with its vibrant waterfront and relaxed vibe, but for a truly immersive medieval experience, Eze is hard to beat. 

[marazul]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

is in a Nice suburb called Cagnes sur Mer

Please, that's my old hunting ground! Not a suburb! 

4 hours ago, Leejnd4 said:

It looks like there's a very short train ride from Villefrance to Nice

You can rent a car at the Nice station.

PS - it's Villefranche with an "h"

[Leejnd4]

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

So now you have everything you did not want to know :).  

 

If you do find a rental car agency that will allow pick-up/delivery in Villefranche, please post the info here on CC.  That would be valuable info for other cruisers.

 

Hank

 

Oh trust me, I want to know ALL of this!

 

I will definitely reserve my car in advance. I've already reserved our rental car for the week we are spending pre-cruise in Italy. And I'm afraid to even mention when our actual cruise is, because you will laugh at how early I am planning everything. Like I said, I'm a super-planner! 😄

 

I will check to see if any car rental places will allow pickup/delivery in Villefranche (I think I spelled it correctly this time). 😉 But it seems to be a very short and easy train ride to Nice, so if not, it's no big deal.

 

1 hour ago, steve_c said:

I’d definitely recommend Eze! The climb up those narrow, winding streets is a bit of a workout, but the medieval charm and the view from the top are totally worth it. The exotic garden there is also amazing for photos. Villefranche is lovely too, with its vibrant waterfront and relaxed vibe, but for a truly immersive medieval experience, Eze is hard to beat. 

 

Now that we've decided to rent a car, I'm thinking we will probably visit both villages. We're both very active (I'm a runner) and love hiking, and given the incredible food on our cruise ship, we will be looking for some opportunities to get in some calorie burns. Doing some climbing in a medieval village sounds perfect. 

 

We will have a chance to explore Villefranche on the next day, as the ship overnights there.