The Nietzsche path, from Èze village down to the sea

The Nietzsche path is the loveliest way out of Èze, and to me it’s the best possible end to a morning in the village. It’s 2.1 km of footpath between the rock and the sea, free, with the Mediterranean in front of you. The real question is which direction to walk it, and on that I have a firm view. Here’s what it’s like, how long it takes and how to fit it around the bus and the train.

What is the Nietzsche path?

It’s the trail joining the two halves of Èze. At the top, Èze village, the medieval settlement on the Moyenne Corniche; at the bottom, Èze-sur-Mer on the Basse Corniche, with its beach and its station. Èze’s tourist office counts it among three footpaths linking the corniches, alongside the Savaric and the Serre de Fourque, and it’s the one that runs straight from the village to the sea.

The metropolitan tourist board describes it from the bottom up. It starts out as concrete, carries on with a long series of steps and finishes with a paved stretch leading into the village. It’s not a flat stroll.

Nietzsche in Èze, from 1883 to 1888

The name isn’t a marketing gimmick. Friedrich Nietzsche came to the Riviera in December 1883, after a spell in Italy, and stayed until April 1884. According to the tourist board he was at a low point, with books that weren’t selling and poor health, and it was here that he found the urge to write again. From that time comes his line «ici je crois au soleil, comme la plante y croit», here I believe in the sun as the plant does.

He needed to walk in order to create, and on this steep trail he worked out part three of Thus Spoke Zarathustra. He returned to the coast every year until 1888. I like knowing that before setting off, because it turns a scenic descent into the place where part of a book people still read was written.

Is it better to walk up or down?

Down, without hesitation. Take the bus up to Èze village, see the village and the Exotic Garden, and when you’ve finished let the path take you down to the sea. At the bottom sits Èze-sur-Mer station, where the timetable reaches 80 trains a day in high season, so you’re back in Nice or Monaco in a single ride.

Going up is another matter. It’s 350 to 400 metres of height in 2.1 km, with plenty of steps, and in summer heat it drags. If you still want to climb it, as Nietzsche did, I’d do it in winter or first thing, with water and without rushing. To set off early without relying on the train, it helps to sleep down by the sea, and those options are in where to stay in Èze. For the way back down, there’s the bus.

How long it takes and how steep it is

Here the official route page contradicts itself. The text says one hour and 400 metres of height; the table says an hour and a half, 350 metres of ascent and a moderate grade. My reading is simple. The hour and a half is for going up, and the hour or so is for coming down with a pause or two. The distance, 2.1 km, is the same everywhere.

With figures like those, footwear matters most. I’d wear trainers with a decent grip, because stepping down stone and stairs is harder on the knees than on the lungs. In flip-flops or with a pushchair, I simply wouldn’t do it.

Where it starts and where it ends

The top end is in Èze village, beside the settlement, where the Moyenne Corniche buses stop. The bottom end is Èze-sur-Mer, the seaside part of the commune, stretching between Cap Estel and the Saint-Laurent cove, with a beach in the shade. If you finish hot, I’d have a swim before catching the train.

Èze’s tourist office also lists the 83 shuttle, which runs from Beaulieu beach up through the shore and the village to the Col d’Èze. It’s the answer if you come by train and don’t fancy the climb, or if you set off downhill and change your mind halfway. Every combination of bus, train and car is in how to get to Èze village.

How I’d fit it into the day

My plan would run like this. Bus up to Èze village in the morning, the village and the garden, one of its free perfumery tours if you fancy it, and the Nietzsche path down to the sea after lunch or late in the afternoon. From the station, the train to Nice or Monaco on a ZOU! ticket or a multi-day pass. If you’re based in Monaco, my 2 days in Monaco does it the other way round, uphill and first thing. If you want more free walks nearby, I’ve gathered them in Monaco on a budget.