A Dreamy Day in the South of France | Villefranche, Eze & Menton

Join us for a breathtaking journey along the French Riviera — from the pastel streets of Villefranche-sur-Mer to the lavish beauty of Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and the coastal elegance of Villa Kérylos. We wander through the medieval charm of Èze Village before ending the day with golden light and peaceful vibes in Menton.

This vlog is all about timeless views, hidden corners, and the kind of places that make you feel like you’ve stepped into a postcard. Whether you’re planning a trip or just daydreaming, this video brings you the full Riviera fantasy — no car needed, just trains, buses, and a bit of walking.

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CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro
00:35 Villefranche-sur-Mer
05:16 Plage des Marinieres
07:30 Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild
13:17 Villa Kerylos
19:30 Eze Village
24:55 Menton

Hey guys, and welcome to our new video. We’ll be filming today here in the French Riviera, visiting some of the most beautiful small towns in the area. So we are starting the day off here in Villefranche-sur-Mer, the very first stop of the day. We took a half an hour train ride from Menton where we’re staying overnight. And first things first, we’re gonna get a coffee. Villefranche-sur-Mer is one of the most beautiful medieval towns in the area. Much like Menton, it was also part of the Kingdom of Sardinia back in the day. So there still is a fairly large Italian community here. In most of the towns between the Italian border and where we are now, you can kind of get away with speaking just Italian almost. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Most people do speak both French and Italian. It’s a spot that has all the perks of the southern French architecture and culture, but also very good Italian food. Yes. Speaking of French culture, let’s go get the croissant now. Yeah, I’m excited to get a coffee and croissant. Hopefully, they have some with chocolate. Cappuccino is served. It’s good, very creamy. Now for the breakfast of champions. So this is the only coffee shop that’s open in the town, but it’s good. That is a 10 out of 10. Really? I want to taste. Not just the pistachio flavor, but the texture. Yeah. It’s barely cooked in the middle. Yeah. So doughy. We are on Rue Obscure. This is a street sort of dug into the walls back in the 13th century. And they did that to protect themselves from invasions and hide more expensive goods. Yeah, store their goods. I guess hide the soldiers. I don’t know, protect the soldiers. Very charming little medieval village. So this was always a fishing village. For context, it’s about five to six times smaller than Menton. And it’s a really cool combination because not many villages have this medieval vibe and streets and also beautiful seaside. And this promenade is very beautiful. There are people here having their morning coffee and the houses are very colorful. Beautiful. Yeah, it’s a pretty sight. It’s really cool to be able to walk on the medieval streets very narrow and in the shade. And then like one minute later, you’re here on this beautiful seaside promenade. So the harbor here behind us in Villefranche is one of the deepest in the area. So often in the high season, you will find really, really big yachts here and bigger boats and fancier ones. Even if they come for different cities, people would dock here and then get on their way. And also, I’m pretty convinced that in the high season, this place is packed simply because of how beautiful the beaches are. They’re really large, so I’m sure they can fit thousands of people here. So it’s still morning, they’re currently 15 degrees now in the shade. But there’s people already sunbathing and going in the water. So I feel like, I mean, locals here are very well seasoned with low water temperatures. This beach is a mix of sand and rocks as well. But there are certain strips of it that are only sand. And the water is so see through and clear in most parts by the shore. Very beautiful. I’m gonna go dip my ankles, I think. Really? Yeah, I think so. I think it’s time to be a bit courageous. Okay. I wish you good luck. You only live once. That’s what they say. I don’t want to get my shoes wet, I would have to buy crocs or something. Not gonna lie, this feels like an ice bath almost. Yeah, I would think so. It requires that sort of concentration of focus. And those guys who are completely submerged in water, they have my respect. We are gonna go somewhere up the hill in the far distance there. In one of the most beautiful, beautiful villas that are open to the public so you can go visit. So we are now just arriving at Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild. This was about a half an hour walk from the beach we were just at. Yeah, you can either walk here or you can come here by car or by bus. When you leave, you can also take a bus from here to our next destination, where we’re going to. So this villa was built by Baroness Beatrice de Rothschild, one of the heiresses of the Rothschild- Banking family, yeah. And it was built about 100, 110 years ago, early in the 20th century. And this was her playground. She was passionate about art. And another really cool thing about this spot here is it’s up on the hill and it overlooks two bays, one on both sides. We are now just looking. My God, look at these villas. Yeah, I mean, they’re not villas, they’re palaces really. Yes, this is where the 1% lives. No, this is where the 0.2% lives. So which one would you want? That one with a pool. That one in the middle with a really nice rooftop. That one has solar panels too, so bear in mind. Or that one which is the hugest of them all. I think the one in the middle, I like the greenery more. And it has direct view to the sea. So these are the villas we were just looking at and this is a huge bay. And that’s our next destination on that side, another villa overlooking this bay. We’re just coming from the other side now. And also the villa is free to enter. Yeah, it’s open year round. And I think it’s open from morning to evening every single day. And you don’t have to pay anything to get in. So it turns out it’s only free to enter if you own it. Otherwise you have to pay a ticket. Yeah, it’s €18 per adult. But we got a package for both villas. How much was that? So this villa is €18. The other one would normally be €13, so that’s €31. And if you buy them as a package, you pay €24. So you save €7 a person. It’s still more expensive than free. Yes, a bit more. But yeah, that is the main villa behind us right now. Oh, I love the pink. It’s beautiful pink. Okay, let’s go explore now. Unlike anything else I’ve ever seen. Yeah. In terms of architecture and style. It’s like sort of a combination between Venetian and Gothic and I don’t know. I think it was Florentine Venetian and something else. Look at this view point. So as you come down, this is the view and look at the windows. I am with baby again. Horia’s pregnant again. Incredible. This house got me pregnant. It will get anyone pregnant. But this place, the design, the architecture, just looks incredible. Just imagine having this ridiculous view. Nice view, huh? Sure. Every morning, have your coffee here. Makes sense. Overlooking this horrendous garden. Wow. And you have the sea on both sides, on the right and on the left as well. It’s incredible. I really can’t wait to go to the end there. Yeah. To the little gazebo thingy. Yeah, same, same, same. It reminds me of Saltburn. Pretty awful spot. Just a modest bench. I think this is the kind of place where you can end up spending way too much time. Like we did? Like we did, yeah. We’ve now been here for about two hours, I think, almost. You could spend even more than two hours here. We’re a bit of a rush now. They have a very cool looking, sort of like a terrace conservatory for your restaurant and cafe needs. Really nice. Yeah, I wish we could have stayed for a glass of sparkling wine. Alas. So we are now waiting for the bus, leaving the Rothschild Villa, going to Villa Kerylos, which is our next stop. Okay, we made it. That was a five minute bus ride. Villa Kerylos, this one here, was built around the same time as the Rothschild Villa. Early 20th century, so the owners probably were friends or something. In the same circle of rich people. The owner, he was French, he was an archaeologist, and he wanted a house built in the style of Greece. He loved Greece, and he said he wants his own villa to look like Greece. That’s the view you get from the villa on the one side. This is the Bay of I may Butcher, the name of the town, but I think it’s Beaulieu-sur-Mer. Oui. I have to say, it’s less windy here, so I’m already liking it. Alright, let’s head inside. This is very much in the sea, basically. 180 degrees view of the sea. Wow. The house is a bit more modest compared to the other one on the outside, let’s see on the inside. Yeah, well, this guy didn’t own, I don’t know how many banks. So I think owning a bank helps with having a more beautiful house, probably. I wouldn’t know. Oh, wow. You can see the waves from here. It looks really cool. Imagine during a storm or something, that would be scary. So in the basement of the villa, you have this antiques crypt kind of thing with all these statues. Everything that’s written here is in French, but what we can kind of tell is that they’re all copies of famous sculptures. I can definitely say that it’s very Greek, a lot of marble. It’s beautiful. It’s not the coziest of bedrooms, I would have to say, nor is this bed very… It doesn’t look very comfortable. This was the bedroom of the owner. This was her main bedroom. Really? Yeah, it says here. Well, each to their own, I guess. But just this bed placement is kind of off, isn’t it? I’ve never seen this ever in my life. So, for context, you enter the room, and the bed is on the left side. Like that, in the middle of the room. What kind of a monster sets it up like that? I guess, for the views. But I would have flipped it. Yeah, so when you wake up, you’re facing the actual sea. Maybe she was really short and she slept sideways on the bed. No, like the other way. Yeah. Strange. Okay, well, we’re almost done with the tour, and I’m hungry. But interestingly enough, it says here this was her bedroom. Mm-hmm. There were a married couple, they had different separate other bedrooms probably. I mean, so did the Queen, so… That doesn’t say much, does it? And the shower is very over the top. Check out the marble bath. So, I’m guessing this was the husband’s bed. As it should be. No? I don’t know, it doesn’t say. I think the way the layout is, you got her bedroom, her bathroom, the small bedroom for a child, and this is his bathroom, and I assume his bedroom. Yep, exactly. I think that was… Remember in The Crown, it was a similar layout, like they would have rooms at the separate ends of that huge… Another monstrosity. How, like, you even have the columns, how do you set it sideways? And a fainting chair for the husband. Apparently the really cool thing about this house is how advanced it was for its time. It was built more than 110 years ago, and it had electricity, plumbing, and central heating back in the day. Super advanced. My grandparents’ house in 2025. They’re just getting plumbing now. There’s one bus leaving Kerylos Villa here, all the way to Eze Village, which is our next stop, and it only goes up once an hour. So, you have to stay in the stop here. Maybe just in case it arrives early or whatever. Yeah, apparently it’s not very reliable, time-wise. If you come in this area and you’re planning to use the public transportation system, the buses, you can buy one of these preloaded with one ride in the bus, but you’ve got to have cash. We paid €4 for each, and then once you’ve used it, you can recharge it in any tobacco shop. Half an hour on the bus later, we arrived into the beautiful medieval town of Eze. The bus ride was kind of aggressive. The driver was a bit too enthusiastic, I would say. So, I was a bit nervous on the whole drive. I don’t know. He went kind of fast. I napped. He napped. I got sweaty palms. There we go. As soon as we arrived in the village, we went straight away to grab some food, because we actually haven’t had any food since that croissant this morning in Villefranche. And I was very hangry and no one wants that. I was just hungry. Yeah, we went straight to this place called Deli. It was really well-reviewed, beautiful spot, and we had actually one of our most delicious meals so far since we arrived in France. I had a traditional pain bagnat, which is essentially kind of like a tuna salad, but in a sandwich, and with quite a bit of olive oil drizzled in it. Very, very delicious. And I had a salad with warm goat’s cheese, which was amazing, and some chicken as well. It was really good. So, Eze is a very old village. It’s been inhabited since about 2000 before Christ. It looks honestly like a fairy tale. Yes, very medieval. It’s overly touristed a little bit, and even now, it’s almost 5 pm, and there’s still quite a few people in here. Visually, I can enjoy the town. It’s beautiful, has so many flowers, plants everywhere. But yes, it is a bit touristy, it is a bit crowded, and I would imagine that in the summertime, it’s even more full of people. But yeah, I get why. It’s absolutely beautiful. So realistically, Eze is a very small village, and there’s not much to do. So you can obviously wander around the streets, which there’s not many of, or you can sit down at one of the restaurants or the bars. Let’s set up the context for why we are on this path. So you, at this point, you will see us walking down this trail. This is called Chemin de Nietzsche, and it’s essentially what connects the village of Eze up top on the hill to where the beach is and where the train station is down at ground level. This is about 400-meter elevation difference, and this is the path that the philosopher Nietzsche used to walk all the time when he lived here, and he was very fond of, so they named it after him. You can climb up from the train station to here. It’s a bit over an hour, or you can go down as we are, since this is the easier way to do it. Of course. It’s only about 45 minutes. So it is a hike, nevertheless. It is a bit treacherous as well. So definitely wear sneakers for this. One of the other things that you can do in Eze as an activity, if you want to spend a bit more time, is do a parfumery tour. There’s quite a few of them, and they’re quite reputable. And they offer free tours, and you can learn everything you need to know about how the perfumes are made. And also have the option of buying customized perfumes. Either way, I think it’s a cool thing to do. We don’t really have the time for that now. They also have a botanical garden, which we didn’t go to because we went to one yesterday. In Menton. And you can see that in our previous vlog. But yeah, that’s kind of it. Objectively speaking, the town is beautiful, and the buildings are beautiful. However, I feel like everything is a souvenir shop, kind of. Everything is converted into a souvenir shop. Quick disclaimer, the hike is not the friendliest for walking. So you do want to be careful and take your time. And if you’re not confident, there’s different ways to get from the train station up to the village, including a bus or taxis. So you don’t have to do this hike. Quick update, it’s been two weeks. We’re still on the trail. Yeah, this is way longer than we thought it would be. In all honesty, the hike was very difficult. In a sense that, it wasn’t physically difficult, but the steps were so badly placed. It was so difficult to step on each stone. It was slippery as well and very uncomfortable. It felt like they designed the stairs, and then it was a 9.9 magnitude earthquake, and then they kind of left it like that. So I don’t know when they built it or why or how, but… They need to invest a bit more time into it. Considering how many tourists they get and how much money these tourists spend up there. If you want to do it, don’t. It’s kind of dangerous, and we just passed some girls who are assisted by some mountain… Rangers. Rangers. One of them, I think, broke her leg or something, so it’s not worth it. Just take a Bolt. And also, let’s not forget where you are. You are on the French Riviera, so don’t be like us and act like you are on the French Riviera. I’m not feeling very glamorous now, to be honest. We’re getting on the train and going to Menton We finally arrived back in Menton where we are staying, this is our base. Yeah. And we sat down for some wine and for some nibbles. We got a focaccia and I’m so happy to be sitting down and having my glass of wine after all those stairs. There were so many stairs. So many stairs. I’ll be dreaming with stairs. So we’re staying in Menton while we filmed the dedicated video for this town. So please go back and watch that. This is our favorite town on the French Riviera, for sure. Today we tried to discover some more places on the French Riviera that we’ve never seen before. And actually we were very pleasantly surprised. We hope you enjoyed this vlog. Don’t forget to like this video, subscribe to our channel and we’ll see you in the next one.