Antibes - France
Antibes is one of the secrets only really good friends tell you about. The little French town is situated on a peninsula between Nice and Cannes at the Cote d'Azur. We went at the end of September...
Antibes is one of the secrets only really good friends tell you about. The little French town is situated on a peninsula between Nice and Cannes at the Cote d'Azur. We went at the end of September, to escape the impending mood of doom created by the summer review Instagram posts floating around. Having landed around 11am, we used the time until our accommodation check in for breakfast in the Old Town of Nice and a quick hike up the Castle Hill for a wonderful view of the bay.
From Nice you need about half an hour on a regional train to get to Antibes, exiting the picturesque train station. From there, a brief fifteen-minute walk through the old town reveals the town's unique character. Antibes seamlessly transitions from a 1930s French Riviera village to 1980s architectural complexes and eventually bustling medieval quarters, all within the span of a single street. It's as if the town has captured the essence of different eras, making it impossible to pin down a specific time frame. Antibes feels like a place where the joy of basking in the sun and celebrating life transcends any particular period
Being pretty yet unspectacular in comparison to its sisters Monaco, Cannes and St.Tropez, the town does not feel overrun by tourists. You'll find your souvenir stores selling French lavender and groups of American tourists on their Europe trip, but apart from that it remains a place where people genuinely live and thrive. Nowhere is this more evident than on the town's beaches, where local senior citizens engage in water gymnastics beside vacationers eager to achieve that perfect tan. The public beaches are free and clean, not too crowded as the main season was already over. I was especially enamored by the beach kiosks serving cheap crisp fries with ice cold cokes.
In the town you'll find two main squares and an iron cast market hall, tucked between small alleys that run through the old town. Perfect to get lost and accidentally find the best coffee (La Torref de Fersen), cute postcards (Marcel) or pastry (Boulangerie Veziano). Just be aware, there will be curious grandmas peering out of their windows, offering their silent critiques
This side of the Cap faces East, so you can walk up the old town wall and see the fading orange of the sunset as the moon rises over the yachts and sailing boats anchored for the night. If you time it right you'll have a full moon like we did, that slowly emerged out of the water in a deep red. It doesn't get more romantic.
Once you walk out of town onto the extended part of the Cap de Antibes, you leave the mundane and begin to understand why the Cote d'Azur has been the vacation destination of the rich for decades. On rolling hills, under pines and palms, the mansions start to pop up. It is quieter here than in town, the senses focus on the soothing sound and smell of the sea, the warmth of the sun, and the smell of pine trees. Stop at Plage de la Garoupe for a quick snack and to jump into the water. It's an instant feeling of everything slowing down, of life becoming anchored in the beauty of the presence instead of the pursuit of the next. Picasso was so enticed by this, that within three months, he created over 20 paintings trying to capture the special atmosphere.
The tip of the Cap is entirely private property to this day, but by French law the coast is a public good, so the Sentier de Tire-Poil takes you around the Cap on a breathtaking path directly by the water. Once a while there is a little bathing spot between the cliffs, but usually these are taken by lonely sunbathers or couples on a romantic getaway. This is a great place to fill the camera roll with all shades of blue the Mediterranean sea has here.
To see the sunset, you can cross the Cap to Juan-Les-Pines. Having less of an old charme, and more of the commercial tourism aesthetic, this area felt like a different world, more commercial and less stuck in time. The lowlight is the abandoned hotel in the center that looks like a crashed spaceship. Having left behind the architectural sins of the past, the sun sets on the western end of the bay, behind a mountain range that hides Cannes from view. There is a little abandoned pier in front of the center of town to sit and watch the sky turn yellow, then a soft orange, and then pink. A great place for the last night, to reflect about the new experiences the trip has given you. It made me think of my love for the sun, and how to find it during winter.
— Antibes, France —
Great for… A romantic couple getaway by the beach // Solo vacation to feel the sun again // Understanding the charme of the Cote d'Azur.
Not your vibe if… You want to eat out every meal and have limited budget // Party means vacation to you // You can't deal with sometimes crass French service.
How to get there… Plane/Train to Nice, then regional train to Antibes.
Prices… Aperol (10), Airbnb (95/night), Beach (free), Cappuccino (4-5).
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