Day 15: Monaco and Eze

Our first full day in the French Riviera, we decided to visit Monaco, and Eze, tiny French village (glad we did! )
We reached the St. Laurent du Vars station, and bought tickets to go to Monaco, and Eze, a stop on the way, which we decided to do on the way back. We bought one child pass, along with which, the three of us got a discount for the trips we needed to make by train. So, for eg: the return trip to Monaco cost 16 Euro per person instead of 22 Euro. There is no extra charge for getting on and off, like we did at Eze.

Monaco: 

Monte Carlo Casino, Monaco

Monaco was hot and humid at this time of year (July) and we, being tourists, bore the brunt of the hot sun, as we wanted to make sure we saw Monaco (or any other sight, as it was warm everywhere this time of the year : ), before we left for Eze. From the train station, we walked up the hilly road and reached the casino, Monte Carlo in about 10 minutes. The casino had some fancy cars parked in its driveway, had a security check to go in and we could only go till the um...lobby. They charged 10 Euros per person to see the casino floor which we decided to skip. (Point of reference: if you have been to Las Vegas, you might find this old, yet landmark casino a little faded).

Monaco harbor

From there, we walked back down the hill, seeing the famous Monaco harbor with it's line of luxurious yachts on the way. We came across a bus stop and luckily, it was a bus that would take us to our next stop - the palace, hopped onto the public bus - Line 2, that would take us through the Old Town and all the way up the other hill where the Prince of Monaco resides, i.e. his palace.

Monaco - buildings and harbor in foreground

Once we got off, we were amidst colorful buildings (consulates and ministries)  with narrow alleyways between them, and small restaurants and souvenir stores everywhere. We walked till the plaza, where the palace stood and got a lovely view of Monaco from up there. We saw the casino on the hill across, the harbor and pretty much the whole country, :).

Monaco - casino in far right and harbor

After lunch, we got the bus back down to the train station, and on the way to our next stop, Eze.

Eze:

View from look-out point at the very top

We got off at Eze Sur Mer (after apprx 20 minutes), and walked in the direction of the street where the bus will take you to the top of the mountain, where nestled in the hillside is the old, old village of Eze. The bus ride took about 20 minutes and we were dropped off right outside of Galimard perfume factory and store. 

Streets of Eze

We decided to see the village first, and started up the road that takes you through the beautiful Eze with stone buildings, cobbled streets, and bougainvillea plants outside windows. It was so scenic, and we were glad we made time to go there. We walked all the way up where they have a look- out point from where you can see St. Jean Cap Ferrat and VilleFranche Sur Mer (two seaside towns on the Riviera). They charge a 6 Euro fee per adult for the lookout point. 

On the way, we browsed through the Fragonard Perfume store and since it was so hot (what better excuse:)) , we had our ritual gelato after a hard day of sightseeing! (sigh:))

From look-out point - the bus came up this road

View of Villefranche Sur Mer and St. Jean Cap Ferrat

View of Eze Sur Mer