Antibes in just a minute

In Juan-les-Pins, Antibes' neighbor, American railroad magnate Frank Jay Gould opened a chic beach hotel after World War I, where Scott Fitzgerald, Charlie Chaplin, Marlene Dietrich and Picasso, among others, stayed.

Arrival

We came by car from Grasse, which is just under half an hour away. Port Vauban was not only the fixed point for us to be able to park as centrally as possible and to explore the city center on foot, but the surprisingly inexpensive parking lot also has normal-sized parking spaces where you can "sit down" without having to use 1½ spaces because the layout is designed for VW Beetles or 2CVs.

Moreover, it is a 5-minute walk from the old town or about a ½ hour from the Fort Carré. For our taste: Ingenious.

Of course there is also the public transport like airplane (Nice Côte d'Azur Airport) or train (TGV).

Exploring the city

The old town can be experienced abruptly from the car, if you do not know your way around. This is exciting, because the builders of the city did not know cars, let alone SUVs. Good for those who have electrically retractable rear-view mirrors on their cars. Here you just have to keep calm and meander through the alleys until you get through the city wall to the harbor.

For campers this part of the city is off limits!

Walking is the easiest way to get to know the old town of Antibes. But, attention, girls: athletic shoes are the order of the day here because of the cobblestones, even though heels may look prettier. There are buses, but they mainly go to other towns and villages. A good way to explore Antibes and especially the glamorous, villa-lined Cap d'Antibes peninsula in particular is to bike there. Official parking is very few and for the hidden ones you have to know your way around....

Accommodation

Between Antibes and Juan-les-Pins you'll find many hotels, perhaps the most glamorous being the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, a hotel with 33 dressing rooms on and an infinity pool overlooking the Mediterranean. To give you an idea of how legendary this place is, it served as the inspiration for Fitzgerald's classic novel "Tender is the Night." Another place that was a favorite of Fitzgerald's is Juan-les-Pins's Hôtel Belles Rives, the former Villa Saint Louis where the writer and his wife Zelda once lived.

Today, the hotel - the first on the French Rivera - houses 43 guest rooms and a Michelin-starred restaurant, La Passagère.

For all those whose vacation budget does not allow this accommodation or whose way of enjoying vacation is different, there is consolation: campsites can be found a ½ to ¾ hour by car from Antibes in Grasse or La-Colle-sur-Loup.

Where you eat

In the winding streets of the old town, you'll find a number of charming bistros serving classic Mediterranean dishes. For more upscale tastes, we've heard of the family-run restaurant Le Bacon in Cap d'Antibes. Lack of time has kept us from being tempted so far.

For those who prefer to dine directly on the water, head to Cap d'Antibes, one of Antibes' best-kept secrets: the beach at La Garoupe. Here you can relax in one of the many private beach clubs.

What to do

Visit the Musée Picasso: In 1946, the painter Pablo Picasso transformed the 14th century Château Grimaldi into his own studio, leaving behind 23 paintings and 44 drawings. Today, the château is the first art museum dedicated to the artist and houses 245 paintings and sculptures by Picasso (including his Joie de Vivre in 1946) as well as a selection of works by contemporary artists such as Joan Miro, Nicolas de Staël and Fernand Léger.

Visit artisans, die ihre Ateliers in der alten Stadtmauer unterhalten.

Hike along the coast:From the beaches of Garoupe on Cap d'Antibes, a coastal hiking trail leads to the ramparts of the old town on a two-hour easy walk around the peninsula. The Chemin des Douaniers, also known as the Sentier de Tire-Poil, leads to the tip of Cap d'Antibes and Villa Eilenroc, a Belle Epoque beauty designed by the same architect who designed the opera houses in Paris and Monte-Carlo.

Visit the market:Every day from 06:00 to 13:00, cheesemongers, fishermen and florists offer their wares at the covered Provençal market in the Cour Masséna. From mid-June to the end of September, in the afternoons (except Mondays), the market is transformed into an artisan market where painters, sculptors and ceramists present their works. In the summer months of July and August, night markets are held in the evenings on Juan-les-Pins' Promenade du Soleil and Antibes L'proplanade du Pré-des-Pêcheurs.