Nice, Èze, Antibes!
Ah, Nice! A pun-lover’s dream! I flew from Geneva and landed during sunset, creating absolutely gorgeous views from the plane window when landing. It was a good omen for things to come.
I hopped on a super busy tram and met up with the others (Iris, Walter, Harsh, Owen) at Le Magnan Brasserie for a dinner of delicious truffle ravioli. Afterward, we hit the famous pebble beaches and skipped rocks. Or, at least attempt to skip rocks. Owen was incredibly skilled and routinely got 8+ skips, but the rest of us cheered at 3 skips. This was when I realized I had an assignment due at midnight. So, I whipped out my laptop, connected to Harsh’s hotspot, and banged out some MATLAB on the moonlit French beach. A pretty romantic date for me and my MATLAB script! Luckily, I had done the bulk of the work already and just had to put the finishing touches on, so I wrapped up quickly and we headed back to the Airbnb.
The next morning, we woke up early, grabbed coffee and a Pain au Chocolat at Paul near the train station, and hopped on a train to Monaco. Since we crossed into a different country, that adventure gets its own post! It was truly an amazing experience and is a must-read. And so, I’ll pick the story back up when we left Monaco that evening and headed to the village of Èze for a hike up.
We actually get off at the wrong stop and deboarded prematurely at Cap d’Ail. Feeling spontaneous, we decided to make the most of our detour and go exploring by hopping over a fence to access the nearest road (we would soon realize there was an access tunnel 100 meters away). We made our way down to the shore, which consisted of a walking path and some craggy rocks jutting up against the Mediterranean Sea. The idea of swimming was circulating among us (ඞඞඞඞ) but the logistics of swimming in our underwear and not having a change of clothes made us apprehensive. Plus, the water was FREEZING.
But, Owen decided to make the plunge and hopped in with little hesitation. Walter followed soon after, and after deciding “screw it, YOLO”, Harsh, Iris, and I soon got in. It was so much fun and one of the most spontaneous activities I’d ever done. The water was freezing and the rocks were really spiky, but it was the time of my life. The clear water was a beautiful shade of cerulean and there was even a little cave that I explored (but soon got too scared to go fully into). Soon, it was time to dry off by laying on the jagged rocks and letting the sun do its thing. I definitely amassed a couple of scrapes and cuts, but the advantage of swimming in briefs is that our clothes were all dry.
We went back to the station through the access tunnel and hopped on a train to Èze. After we got off and found a bathroom, we realized that we didn’t have enough time to hike up and catch a train/bus back to Nice, so we decided to explore the beach a little bit and catch the next train back to Nice. Our first course of action after arriving back in Nice was to dry off and change back at the Airbnb. Our second course of action was to get some grub at Nha Que, a delicious Vietnamese place (note: cash only!). It was a good change from Zürich because they had free water, free rice wafers, and free chili peppers. I was flexing my spice tolerance, but it only took a few of these chilis to make me sweat and swallow my words. We stopped by McDonald’s to grab some dessert (and I got a snack wrap too). Tragically, while on the phone with Valeria (the girl from Andermatt!), I misplaced my snack wrap and still do not know where it went! Considering that was the biggest negative of the day, though, one of the best days of my life.
The next morning, we bid goodbye to Harsh and Walter who were heading back to Geneva. Owen, Iris, and I stopped by a farmer’s market and I grabbed some fresh peaches and bananas. The 3 of us had found separate housing for this one night due to last-minute planning, so our next step was to drop all of our stuff off at our new housing, which for me was a nearby hostel. Afterward, Owen and I grabbed a quick brunch at La Brioche Chaude with a couple pastries and a sandwich (pastries = delicious, sandwich = painfully average). All fueled up and with banana in hand, we take a stroll down the main road, Av Jean Médecin, to the central square, Place Masséna. There were fountains, beautiful greenery, live music, and splashes of color everywhere, from the green-and-white tiled road to the red-and-yellow buildings. Iris met up with us and together we walked down the Promenade des Anglais, their version of a boardwalk. The weather was beautiful and everyone was out enjoying the beautiful Sunday. Soon, the three of us made it to Castle Hill, a famous park that serves as an overlook of the city. After a short hike up, we were treated to gorgeous views of the Côte d’Azur (French Riviera) and the city of Nice. I also ate my peach (by the beach!), which complemented the vibe really well. There was also a sizeable park with live music, restaurants, and people having picnics. We relaxed up there and took in the views while we decided what to do next. Since we skipped Èze the day before and it had been recommended to me by Valeria and some friends from home, I was pretty deadset on hiking it and used my super amazing debate skills to convince Iris and Owen to come with.
We walked through the Old Town of Nice on the way to the train station and passed by the famous clock tower (Tour de l’Horlage) and even a bike parade of little kids. The city also had several areas that smelled like lavender, and I could tell the bloom was almost underway. Consider visiting in late June to really check out the bloom, though! After a short 20-minute train ride, we got to Èze station and began our hike up the mountain to the village at the top. The Nietzsche Path was clearly marked and took less than an hour, but it was a little steep and required some water breaks. When we got to the top, we saw a giant chess set (that made me more excited than it should have) and loved the vibe of the village. The three of us entered the walls of the castle that housed most of the village. Upon entering, we saw a 2-Michelin star restaurant and it was super cool to randomly run into such a famous eatery.
The village was a maze to maneuver, but eventually, we found some good lookouts and made it to Le Jardin Exotique. The lady at the ticket desk warned us that we only had 15 minutes, but the cost was under 10€, so we decided to get the tickets and speedrun the gardens. The plants were gorgeous and incredibly diverse, but given our limited time, we made a beeline for the top to snag as many pictures as we could. The view was absolutely incredible and easily one of my favorite views of my whole life: forested mountains with cloud cover at the top, the glittering sea in the distance, and a French flag proudly waving above it all. Those 15 minutes were 100% worth it.
Our time in paradise soon came to an end, and so we meandered around, exploring the boutiques in the walled village. I bought a really beautiful bracelet (which heartbreakingly fell off my hand a month later) before hopping on a bus heading back to Nice. The bus was cash only, which required some careful scamming of the driver to let us on with a Euro less than the required amount. The ride back took longer than expected and really gave us an appetite. Walking to the restaurant, Owen taught us a game called Wavelength: everyone in the group besides the guesser secretly agrees on a number 1-10, the guesser gives everyone in the group categories to choose an item that they would personally rate that number, and the guesser uses their answers to try to guess the secret number. It was so much fun and I highly recommend it on any road trip.
We finally got to La Pairolère for dinner, where we had delicious Mediterranean food with a side of ratatouille (a must-eat when in France!). At this point, it was dark, so we each headed to our hostels. I decided to treat myself a little and grabbed some McDonald’s fries and a sundae to make up for my snack wrap mystery the previous night before heading to my hostel at Antares Hotel. The hostel was super nice, although it was a little weird that there was a 40-year-old staying in my room. I respect the budget travel life, though. Exhausted but content, I quickly fell asleep.
I started my last day in Nice with a complimentary hotel breakfast of cereal and toast. It wasn’t French enough for me, though, so I stopped by La Goulette for a super cheap croissant and Pain au Chocolat before meeting up with Iris and heading to Holland Bike Rental. Owen had taken an early morning train back, so it was just the two of us for today. We rented a manual bike and decided to bike along the shore westward to Cagnes-sur-Mer. Getting to the bike lanes that line the shore was a little challenging, but once we were there, it was a straight shot of 20 uninterrupted kilometers. The views were beautiful, the weather was stunning, and we zoomed down the coast. We were having so much fun that we missed our stop and decided to continue to the town of Antibes. We parked our bikes near the city center, walked around a little and past a V-E Day celebration (May 7th!), and to Le Bistrot de Jules for lunch. We splurged a little and got drinks, tomato tartare (thinly sliced multicolored tomatoes with oil), and really great main dishes. Their house-made olive oil was the best I’d ever had and definitely made me realize what a difference good olive oil makes. Afterward, we walked around and went shopping; I got a shirt from Jack & Jones, a seemingly popular brand in Europe.
It was time to bike back because we’d only gotten a half-day rental, so we had to zoom back to Nice. The views were even better and we got to see the city of Nice and the mountains of the Riviera get closer and closer. Our return journey was faster and thus harder, so we needed a snack after returning our bikes. Luckily, La Popote D’Ondine, a beautifully decorated pastry shop, was right next door and so I grabbed some cheesecake (10/10). The two of us had a couple hours to kill, so we souvenir-shopped and then headed for the beach to relax along the shoreline. The pebble beach is really pretty and sets Nice apart, but the pebbles are pretty uncomfortable to sit/lay/walk on. Consider it a free massage! It was fun just tossing random walks into the water, sunbathing, and looking out onto the water. Too soon, though, it was time to head back to grab our things and catch our flights. I bid Iris goodbye and was officially the last one standing out of our original group of five. Unfortunately, my time came soon after, so I changed my shorts, grabbed my belongings, got some Chinese takeout, and headed to the airport. On the way, I got extremely lost on the trams and honestly had no clue what I was doing (mistook a train for a tram because it arrived at the time that Google Maps said a tram would come, and then had to transfer in the middle of nowhere). All’s well that ends well, though, and it was a fun little adventure but heading to the airport to catch my flight to Barcelona.
It’s worth noting that my flight was half-empty so I had a row to myself. I also took the last flight of the night, so they were selling Pain au Chocolats for 1€ to get rid of their stock. Without hesitation, I bought one and had my 5th Pain au Chocolat of the trip; I love EasyJet!
Takeaways
- The French Riviera is absolutely gorgeous and I highly recommend getting out of Nice for a couple of days to explore the smaller villages and towns
- If you get off at the wrong train stop, forget planning and logistics and consider jumping into the sea wherever you are.
- Renting a bike to travel along the coast was an amazing experience and might even be a good option to travel between towns
- Èze’s Jardin Exotique is absolutely gorgeous and worth every second and penny of the hike up
- The food is to die for, from Pain au Chocolats to Mediterranean to Pain au Chocolats to Italian to…
Rose-Bud-Thorn
Rose (what went well): So, so many great things on this trip (especially the food!) that choosing one is a crime. My biggest rose was the friend group I was with. We were all spontaneous, down for whatever, romanticized everything, and swimming at Cap d’Ail was a perfect example of those traits and a life-changing experience.
Bud (what was good but could be improved on): Due to last-minute planning, Owen, Iris, and I had separate accommodations for the last night and it would have been good to stay together. It was just for a single night, though, so not a major problem at all.
Thorn (what did not go well): I cannot think of a single major thorn! We did miss the Cannes Film Festival by a week, but I wouldn’t say we mistimed our trip because we got to see the e-Grand Prix in Monaco (make sure to check out the post about Monaco)
Rohan Chhaya 