On the upper road one passes above the romantically situated village of Eze, which makes a perfect picture in its setting of pines and its background of sea. This eagle’s nest was occupied by the Romans, and later by the Saracens, whose ruined castle is still visible on the top of the rocky height. A little farther on a bend of the road brings La Turbie in sight. Above the roofs of the houses and the church tower rises the massive ruin of the huge trophy of the Emperor Augustus, put up in the year 12 B.C. to commemorate the defeat of forty-five Ligurian tribes. Part of the present structure is medieval, for the vast monument was at one time incorporated into a stronghold, which was no doubt partially built of the stones of the magnificent Roman work.
From La Turbie the views along the coast embrace practically the whole of the French Riviera, for one can see the Estérels away in the west; down below are Monaco and Monte Carlo; to the east are Cap Martin and Mentone. A funicular railway goes down from La Turbie to Monte Carlo, but this is of minor interest to the motorist. The road descends to the coast past the picturesque old village of Roquebrune, with its ruined castle on a mass of brown conglomerate rock, and joins the lower road near Cap Martin.
If one goes by the coast road, one passes through Villefranche, with its sheltered bay, much frequented by French warships. The old town is eminently picturesque, with its foreground of brightly painted boats in the harbour, protected by an old tower belonging to the days when corsairs were continually dreaded. There are curious old streets, with supporting arches and dark passages, typical of the Ligurian method of building.
Beaulieu is little more than a scattered collection of pleasantly situated hotels and villas. It was here that the late Lord Salisbury had a house.
MONACO
stands on a tabular mass of rock projecting into the sea, and forming one side of the Bay of Monte Carlo. The road and the railway go through the narrow cleft between the almost insulated rock and the vast and precipitous cliffs of pinkish and creamy-grey limestone that tower up to the height of 1,300 feet. On the rock of Monaco stands the castle where the Prince resides in the midst of his toy kingdom. Some of the towers of the castle have survived since the thirteenth century, but most of the buildings belong to the seventeenth century, and contain some fine contemporary furniture.
The little town of Monaco consists of half a dozen very clean streets and a big new cathedral in the Romanesque style. On the extremity of the rock is the Prince’s imposing new museum of oceanography—a subject in which he is deeply interested.
Monte Carlo, a part of the principality, is joined to Monaco by Condamine, which consists mainly of hotels, restaurants, and closely built streets of shops and stuccoed terraces. The Casino is a rococoesque building of the exhibition type, standing out prominently at the opposite side of the bay to Monaco, with its conspicuous pair of towers reflected in the sea. It is approached by imposing terraces from below, and the level ground in front of the entrance is adorned with the brilliant glow of flowers and the pleasant green of carefully cultivated grass under the shade of palms.
The brilliance of the contrast of creamy-white buildings against the deep blue sky is wonderful, and the reflection of the town in the rippling waters of the harbour is astonishingly vivid in its tones.
Where a fork appears near the wooded promontory of Cap Martin one goes to the left on the higher road, and in a few moments Mentone is in sight, spread out along a beautiful bay backed by mountain masses of a most imposing character.