What makes Antibes special
The old town - Vieil Antibes - is one of the finest in the south of France. The covered market on the Cours Saleya operates every morning except Monday, and on a Tuesday in June, with the stalls full of courgette flowers, fresh fromage de brebis and the season's first cherries, it is difficult to think of a better place to be. The streets around it are dense with small restaurants, bakeries and wine merchants that cater to the people who actually live here, which gives the quarter an authenticity that some of the more purely tourist-facing Riviera towns struggle to maintain.
The Château Grimaldi, perched above the port, houses the Musée Picasso - one of the most thoughtfully arranged of all the artist's museums, built around the work he made here in 1946 when he was given the château as a studio. The collection stays close to that moment, and the terrace above the sea, hung with sculptures, is one of the most pleasant places to spend an hour on the Riviera. The ramparts beneath it, the Promenade Amiral de Grasse, offer views east towards Nice and west towards the Cap that reward the short walk.
Juan-les-Pins, technically a separate resort but effectively joined to Antibes at the hip, has a different energy entirely. Sandy beaches, a more youthful atmosphere and the Festival de Jazz in July - one of the oldest and most celebrated jazz festivals in Europe, held in the pine-shaded gardens of the La Pinède since 1960. If you are here in the second or third week of July, it is worth organising your evenings around it.
The Cap d'Antibes, the wooded peninsula that juts south into the Mediterranean, is in a different register again. Private, largely residential and extraordinarily beautiful, it is best explored on foot along the coastal path - the Sentier du Littoral - that circles the headland close to the water. The Jardin Thuret, a botanical garden run by the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, is open to the public and contains one of the finest collections of Mediterranean and exotic plants in France.
What is our favourite thing about Antibes?
Our favourite thing about Antibes is the hour before the market closes on a summer morning - when the serious shopping is done, the café tables fill up and the town settles into a pace that feels completely unhurried. It is the kind of scene that confirms why people have been coming to the south of France for as long as they have. The quality of the light through the Cours Saleya at that time of day does not hurt either.
Where to stay in Antibes
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Getting to Antibes
From Nice along the coast
The most direct and rewarding arrival is along the A8 autoroute from Nice - approximately twenty-five minutes - or, for those with more time and a preference for scenery, along the old Bord de Mer coastal road that passes through Cagnes-sur-Mer and follows the shoreline. Nice Côte d'Azur Airport is the most convenient international gateway, around twenty minutes by road. The train service from Nice to Antibes runs frequently and takes around thirty minutes, arriving directly into the centre of the old town.
From Cannes through the pines
From Cannes, the approach takes around fifteen minutes along the A8 or the slower coastal road through Golfe-Juan, which offers views across the bay towards the Lérins islands as you arrive. The drive west from Cannes in the early morning, when the light is low and the road quieter, is a particularly pleasant way to begin a day in Antibes.
Market day in Antibes
The Cours Saleya market runs every morning except Monday and is the social and culinary heart of Antibes - flowers, local cheese, charcuterie, seasonal vegetables and a fish counter that reflects the working boats still operating out of the old port. On Thursdays, an antiques and brocante market takes over the same space and draws dealers and browsers from across the Alpes-Maritimes. Saturday mornings are the busiest and most atmospheric, but arriving at eight rather than ten makes a significant difference to your experience of the place.
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