Pete Horton
Proposal and Photoshoot in Eze Village
In Introduction to the fairytale village of Eze
Eze, a medieval hill-top village a few miles down the coast between Nice and Monaco, is on most people's itinerary when they visit the French Riviera; and for good reason. Its beautiful, cobbled streets and stone buildings are hundreds of years old and radiate southern-Mediterranean charm. People naturally gravitate towards it for photo shoots, which is understandable given its deserved reputation as one of the Riviera's most beautiful locations.
There are a few things to know about Eze before you visit: firstly during summer it's likely to be hot and humid and any visit to Eze will involve a bit of climbing on foot as vehicles aren't allowed near its entrance (and physically wouldn't fit on its streets). If you're visiting, avoid high heels as the stone cobbled streets, along with the climbing and stairs, could make your visit very hard work.
The village is beautiful but busy during tourist season
It's Exotic Garden, Chateau Eza, and Chevre d'Or are beautiful locations for surprise proposals, the only drawback to Eze is all this beauty has made it extremely popular. This means that if you want a photoshoot here during summer, I'd highly recommend coming here in the evening. There will be 80 per cent few people (and I'm not exaggerating!), and the light will be softer. The exotic gardens close at 18:30 during the summer, so sunset photoshoots don't happen here unless it's on the terraces of the Chevre d'Or, and info on organsing a proposal there can be found here.
Finally, what most tourists don't seem to know is there are a few hill-top villages very similar to Eze on the French Riviera that are just as beautiful, but are far less crowded - these include Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Gorbio, and Vence - which can be harder to get to, but all offer an authentic experience and extremely photogenic glimpse of what typical regional hill-top villages are like in this part of the world.
The perfect proposal location?
There are two or three great proposal locations in Eze village - but privacy will be hard to come by unless you're willing to hire a private space. Most of the images on this page were taken on the balcony of Chateau Eze, which offers an incredible view facing west over the French Riviera. There are other places including the exotic gardens (which are paid entry and usually very busy) and Chevre d'Or, which will permit you to hire a private spot on one of the hotel's beautiful terraces.
An alternative location in Eze is the Chevre d'Or:
A Gallery of images from Chateau Eza and Eze Village:
