I’d heard so much about Saint Paul De Vence. They say it is probably the loveliest and most well preserved of the perched villages you’ll find in the south of France… and it is regularly compared to Eze which we had visited a couple of days ago… and I struggled to see how you could top that. But I was excited to experience the comparison and add my opinion (yes I’ve always got one) to the question. They say it is pretty… arty… touristy. Some say it’s too touristy… some people say it doesn’t matter. I’d seen the beautiful pictures. So let’s go and see.

I googled how to get there as there is no direct train. We caught the train to Cagnes sue Mer and then walked a couple of kilometres to where Google told me we would hop on a bus to Vence. When we arrived there we were told we had to go to the station to get it (back 2km to where we had just come from 🙄). So, back we went and asked a young local guy which bus and he said it was the one he was catching. So we hopped on that one only to find he was wrong. The driver let us off and we raced back and eventually got on the right bus, frustrated as we had wasted so much time and knew that the later we arrived, the busier it would be.

As soon as I walked through the gates to this medieval village I once again felt like I had entered another world and another time. It was so beautiful, with tiny cobblestone streets and buildings that felt like they should only exist in a fairy tale… and you know how I love those fairytale towns! Except for all those pesky tourists 😂. Immediately, all I wanted to do was explore and so we spent the morning just wandering through the little inside streets, and walking along the rampart walls which give you amazing views of the countryside and the Mediterranean Sea. With the sunlight reflecting off the azure blue of the sea, the vivid greens from the vineyards and olive trees sloping down into the valley, the yellow and ochre colours of the rampart walls, and the beautiful cemetery just below the town… it was truly stunning.

This sweet little fortified medieval village became a magnet for artists and art lovers in the 1920’s, when a group of impressionist painters re-discovered this worn-down-town, inhabited since 400BC. It’s beautifully manicured (they even vacuum the streets) primarily pedestrian (love anywhere without the cars… maybe I should have lived in another era?) and filled with quaint stone houses…

Mediterranean style architecture and narrow flowery and leafy paths.

This town has enough amazing art galleries, artist studios, ateliers, boutiques, and craft shops to keep you occupied all day long. And I did finally manage to buy a summery dress as this Indian summer continues.

The Russian painter Marc Chagall resided in the village from 1966 until he died in 1985. For years he depicted the lives of local people and the marvellous landscapes of the French Riviera and we saw some of his original works… and some original Picasso drawings as well.

As an art lover, I loved getting lost in the winding flights of steps and streets… looking in the windows of all the studios… particularly all the amazing sculpture on show.

Beautiful details were everywhere I looked…

… from the flower shaped designs in the cobblestone streets (stunning)..

… to the embedded art statues designed into the walls, and the statues, flowers, and memorials gracing the town cemetery.

And there are heaps of restaurants to quench your thirst or grab a bite to eat… which we did on a tiny balcony overlooking the gorgeous countryside.

Totally loved this little town… but if I did have to vote it would still have to be Eze, which really stole my heart.