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Antibes old town. Resorts of France. Antibes Budget hotels in Antibes

In the pearl necklace of the Côte d'Azur resorts, Antibes is a rather large pearl. The austere profile of the medieval walls and towers of Antibes against the blue sky is one of my favorite landscapes.

This ancient city, founded before our era, attracts with sandy beaches, a well-preserved old center and the beautiful Cape d'Antibes. You can also remember the jazz festival in Juan-les-Pins, merged with Antibes. And of course, literary associations... I love Fitzgerald's work, and the action of his novel "Tender is the Night" takes place here. In addition to Fitzgerald, other writers also sought inspiration in Antibes: Jules Verne, Graham Greene, Stefan Zweig, Ernest Hemingway... It is worth mentioning the long series of artists who glorified the local landscapes, beautiful in any weather. Picasso painted his famous painting “La joie de vivre” (The Joy of Life) here.

For lovers of Russian history, there is also something to keep you busy. For example, look for the villa where the Romanov Grand Dukes who immigrated from Russia lived. It is easier, however, to find Abramovich’s luxurious villa, but this, of course, is not so interesting.

Antibes is not just a resort, it is not one of those places that come to life only during the season. Tourism is not the only source that feeds the city. It has a large research center called Sophia Antipolis, which is called the French Silicon Valley, which provides a constant influx of young and fresh minds.

I visited Antibes in late autumn and winter, when the flow of tourists had practically dried up, and one could see real city life: unhurried and charming in its own way. This city is beautiful regardless of the season and weather and holds many interesting surprises.

How to get there

The most convenient way to fly to Nice airport is Airport Nice Cote d'Azur, which is 17 km from Antibes, and then take a bus or train.

By plane

A direct flight from Moscow and St. Petersburg will take approximately 4 hours. Regular flights are operated by Aeroflot and Rossiya airlines. Ticket price in high season is about 300 EUR. Tickets with transfers are usually cheaper. You can view the price option.

How to get there from the airport:

Depending on the location of your hotel, you can arrive at one of two train stations: Antibes itself ( Gare d'Antibes) and Juan-les-Pins train station ( Gare de Juan-les-Pins), a town administratively part of Antibes. Both stations are within walking distance from the center.

By bus

The above bus number 200 connects Antibes with Cannes and Nice. Ticket price – 1.5 EUR. On average, you can get to Nice in 60–80 minutes, and to Cannes in 20–30 minutes. It is convenient to look at the schedule and routes of other buses here.

By car

If you decide to travel to Antibes by car from Russia, you will have to travel a long but picturesque route.

By ferry

Port Vauban regularly receives small ships from a variety of cruise companies. The port is located near the old town, so tourists can easily reach the main attractions on foot.

The Juan-les-Pins marina is connected by ferry routes to Cannes (19 EUR return), (55 EUR return) and (55 EUR return). However, due to the high cost and duration of such a trip, the ferry is more of an entertainment than a mode of transport. Ferries also regularly leave from Juan-les-Pins to the island of Sainte-Marguerite. See prices and schedule.

Clue:

Antibes - the time is now

Hour difference:

Moscow 1

Kazan 1

Samara 2

Ekaterinburg 3

Novosibirsk 5

Vladivostok 8

When is the season? When is the best time to go

Antibes can be visited at any time of the year. Like the rest of the country, it boasts a mild Mediterranean climate. The swimming season lasts from June to early October. Summer is, without a doubt, a great time for a beach holiday. But it's also peak season, with crowds and high prices. My favorite time to visit is early September, when the tourist flow and prices start to wane and the weather is still great.

Antibes in summer

It's the height of the season and that says it all. Excellent sunny weather (on average +26–28 C), warm sea, the most people and the highest prices.

There is also a famous jazz festival in the summer, which can be an additional reason to visit the city.

Antibes in autumn

You can usually swim comfortably until the beginning of October. I was in Antibes in November, and on sunny days it was nice to sit on the beach, but swimming at this time is a privilege for the brave.

Antibes in winter

The advantage of a winter holiday in Antibes is the small number of tourists. You can calmly walk around the old city without bumping into people or ducking to avoid being caught by hundreds of cameras. The weather is usually moderately warm (+10–16 °C).

Antibes weather by month

Clue:

Antibes weather by month

Districts. Where is the best place to live?

Antibes is a large city by the standards of the Cote d'Azur, it consists of many districts. If you come on vacation, you will be interested in the following places of residence, which I have marked on the map.

The old town of Antibes is a very beautiful area. Nearby there is a huge Provencal market, shops, cafes, and a marina. There are places to go and have fun. The other side of the coin is the possible noise from the walking public, bars and cafes, which are open until late at night in the summer season.
Antibes city center – for me this location is ideal as it gives easy access to sandy beaches and the old town. At the same time, it is not so noisy here, although less beautiful.
Cap d'Antibes - mostly expensive villas are located here. There are few hotels available to the mere mortal. I would recommend this place to those who are looking for privacy and have a vehicle. The beaches of the cape are small and mostly rocky.
Juan-les-Pins. American bohemia introduced fashion to this town. Its advantages are good sandy beaches, a promenade with restaurants where you can dine a few meters from the surf, lush Mediterranean pine trees, thanks to which Juan-les-Pins got its name. In the center of the town there is a casino, many clubs, bars, and restaurants, so nightlife lovers have somewhere to roam. At the same time, with the exception of the aforementioned noisy center, it is quite quiet and peaceful here, making Juan-les-Pins good for families with children. The downside is that the old town of Antibes is a bit far away (you have to take a bus or walk about 2 km), and there aren’t too many attractions in Juan-les-Pins itself.

Prices in these areas do not vary very much (Juan-les-Pins is slightly cheaper), and rather depend on the standard of housing and distance to the beach. It is better to book in advance, several months before the start of the season.

What are the prices for holidays?

Housing

Prices for double rooms in the cheapest hotels in the summer season start from 60-70 EUR. Hostels are a bit tight here, there are few of them, and the price is not at all budget: 30-40 EUR per person. In addition to the room fee, the tourist is charged a tourist tax for each day of stay (with the exception of children under 18 years of age, people with a seasonal work contract, people renting housing costing less than 300 EUR per month). The tax is calculated depending on the hotel category:

4 EUR for the “palace” category,
3 EUR for a 5* hotel,
2.25 EUR for a 4* hotel,
1.50 EUR for 3* hotel,
0.90 EUR for 2* hotel,
0.75 EUR for 1* hotel, accommodation without official star rating, Bed & Breakfast,
0.55 EUR for 4* and 3* camping,
0.20 EUR for 2* and 1* camping, as well as an overnight stay on a yacht in the port.

I most often book hotels on. Hotel prices can also be compared. If I travel with my family, it is cheaper and more convenient to rent an apartment. This can be done, for example, on .

Nutrition

As in other places on the Cote d'Azur, lunch in Antibes will cost 10-15 EUR per person, dinner for two from 60 EUR. Self-catering, if you have a kitchen, will allow you to save a lot. Fortunately, there is no shortage of supermarkets in the city. Of course, it is very pleasant to buy food at the famous Provencal market. But prices here are often higher than in supermarkets.

Attractions and entertainment

If you want to visit several museums in Antibes, it is worth considering purchasing a combination ticket "Le Pass Musees d'Antibes Juan-Les-Pins" for 10 EUR, valid for 7 days.

Another option is to purchase more expensive passes that cover most of the Riviera's attractions. The price, validity period of passes and a list of included places can be seen by following the links I provided.

Sea. Private beaches will cost you from 15 to 35 EUR per person per day. True, I have never used them, since the city has plenty of beautiful free beaches.

Clue:

Cost of food, accommodation, transportation and other things

Currency: Euro, € US Dollar, $ Russian Ruble, Rub

Main attractions. What to see

Antibes is a seaside resort, but it has more to offer than just beaches. The history of this place goes back more than 2500 years, so you can keep yourself busy in any season and in any weather.

Top 5

Beaches. Which ones are better

I'll start with the beaches near the old town of Antibes.

Beaches of Cap d'Antibes.

There are many picturesque small coves on the cape, so it’s a good idea to take a walk along the coastal path and choose a place to your liking. Be careful, some of these bays are very rocky and can be dangerous if the sea is rough. There are also organized beaches on the cape:

Juan-les-Pins is a great place for a beach holiday. It was here, according to local guides, that water skiing was invented. There are a lot of private beach clubs in Juan-les-Pins, but in my article I will try to describe the free places.

Churches and temples. Which ones are worth visiting?

There are several temples in Antibes that I think should not be missed:

Museums. Which ones are worth visiting?

Most of the city's museums are open all year round, with the exception of holidays: January 1, May 1, November 1, December 25. I will describe the most interesting places:

Parks

Tourist streets

What to see in 1 day

10.00. We arrived at Antibes Gare d'Antibes train station. Let's go by Avenue Robert Soleau to the city center. Along the way we will meet a tourist office, where you can get maps and get any information you need.
10.20. A short walk will take us to the square with fountains Place General de Gaulle. From here we turn left and move into the very thick of the old city along the street Rue de la Republique, not forgetting to look into the elegant alleys. Before reaching the square Place Nationale, we turn to see the beautiful interior of the chapel Saint Bernard.
11.00. We return to Rue de la Republique, pass the square with an ancient column and along the street Rue Georges Clemenceau we go out to the square Course Massena, where the market and the town hall of Antibes are located. I think you will definitely want to check out the local delicacies. It’s worth taking a walk around the square itself to see the colorful medieval buildings.

If your appetite works up, you can continue your walk after lunch at one of the many restaurants.
13.00. On the street Rue Aubernon we will go towards the port, leave the old city through the gate in the powerful fortress wall, and walk along the embankment Quai Henri Rambaud and here in front of us "Billionaire's Quay" with its magnificent yachts.

I also highly recommend climbing the Saint-Jaume bastion to enjoy the views of the sea and the city.
On the clock 14.00 and we return back to the old city, but now we walk along narrow streets Place du Revely, Rue du Saint-Esprit to the main cathedral of Antibes Cathedrale Notre Dame de l'Immaculee Conception.

After admiring its impressive façade and perhaps taking a look inside, we go to the Grimaldi Castle, Picasso Museum. If you are a fan of the artist's work, welcome.
Otherwise in 14.30 we go out to Amiral de Grasse promenade and we follow towards the beaches, constantly looking back to take more and more new pictures of the city from an unusually photogenic angle.
A leisurely walk along the sea leads to the beach Plage du Ponteil. This is a great place to spend a couple of hours sunbathing, swimming and simply enjoying the surrounding beauty.

17.00. After relaxing on the beach, we move towards Cap d'Antibes. There are several possibilities: if you are not tired, then go up to the observation deck near the church Eglise Notre Dame de la Garoupe you can walk. If your feet are aching or your shoes are not conducive to hiking, it makes sense to take a taxi.
After a wonderful panorama of the coast opens before you, I recommend going down to Juan-les-Pins and end the evening with dinner at a coastal restaurant.

What to see in the area

Nearby Islands

Not far from Antibes, in the Bay of Cannes there are picturesque Lerins Islands (Iles de Lerins).

Budget

Charlie's, 4 Rue Championnet, Antibes
Pizza Fifi, 112 Boulevard President Wilson, Juan-les-Pins
Pizza and Co, 1 Rue des Casemates, Antibes
Falafel, 1 Rue Aubernon, Antibes
Genco, 20 Boulevard Gustave Chancel, Antibes

Mid-level

La Trattoria, 21 Avenue Pasteur, Antibes
Cafe Milano, 2 Rue de la Tourraque, Antibes
Restaurant Le J, 17 Avenue Dr Dauthéville, Juan-les-Pins
Le Phenicia, 1 Avenue Barquier, 06600 Antibes
La Taverne du Safranier, 1 Place du Safranier, Antibes

Expensive

Restaurant de Bacon (1 Michelin star), 664 Boulevard de Bacon, Antibes
Le Figuier de Saint Esprit, (1 Michelin star), 14, rue Saint-Esprit, 14 Rue du Saint-Esprit, Antibes
La Passagere (1 Michelin star), 33 Boulévard Edouard Baudoin, Juan-les-Pins
Les Pecheurs (1 Michelin star), 10 Boulevard Marechal Juin, Juan-les-Pins
Le Vauban, 7 Rue Thuret, Antibes
Michelangelo, 2 Rue des Cordiers, Antibes

If you try to describe in a few words the atmosphere that reigns in French Antibes, regardless of the time of year or your mood, then the good old phrase “art de vivre” is best suited for this.

Here on the French Riviera, in a town located exactly between Cannes and Nice, you absorb the “art of enjoying life” with every breath.

To catch this feeling, you just need to walk along the embankment, where in the evenings fishermen feed voracious seagulls with fish scraps, or walk to the park, on the paths of which local residents play petanque with genuine passion.

In the photo: playing petanque on the embankment

In the film “Midnight in Paris,” Owen Wilson’s character, Gil Pender, dreamed of Paris in the 20s of the last century, where he ended up every night, getting into another retro car driving along a quiet street of the French capital.

In Antibes, the feeling that you, like the hero of Woody Allen’s comedy, found yourself in that wonderful era when you could see the Fitzgeralds or Pablo Picasso at the next cafe table, arises from early morning and does not disappear until midnight.

In the city where Picasso created perhaps his most cheerful painting “La Joie de vivre”, and Fitzgerald worked on the tender and sad novel “Tender is the Night”, the past is felt no less clearly than the present, and therefore the mood reigning here is desirable. compare with expensive French wine, the bouquet of which, like floral notes, combines echoes of different eras: from antiquity and the Middle Ages to the Belle Époque and the roaring twenties.

It’s worth coming to Antibes not only for the beaches and the party scene, although both are available here, and the city beaches, unlike other places on the French Riviera, are still free. Antibes is an atmospheric and romantic French place, the same “la vie est belle” as we used to imagine it.

OLD CITY

Getting to know Antibes inevitably begins with the old town. It was founded in ancient times; on a stone in the body of the ancient tower in the center of the city you can still find the inscription “Antipolis”, which is what Greek sailors called the settlement in ancient times.

During the Roman Empire, the city grew and became stronger; in the Middle Ages, Antibes was owned by the House of Savoy, and in 1481 the city became part of France. Even today, the old town of Antibes does not give the impression of an open-air museum frozen in time.

The massive fortress wall that used to surround the city was partially dismantled, now in its place there is an embankment, opposite Fort Carre, where Napoleon was once imprisoned, a yacht mooring has been established, Grimaldi Castle, which during its history even managed to be the residence of a bishop, has been modernized to the Picasso Museum, and next to the museum building there are sculptures by Miró.
When you walk around the old city, you can’t help but want to hum Cole Porter’s song “Let’s do it, let’s fall in love” under your breath.

In the photo: yacht anchorage and Fort Carré, Antibes

The mood of romantic retro is especially vivid in the narrow streets, where the walls of houses are covered with vines, and every window is decorated with red geranium flowers.

In the photo: a street in the old town, Antibes

By the way, it’s surprising but true that local residents even manage to produce wine from the grapes that ripen on the streets of the old city. According to ancient tradition, this wine becomes the property of the Antibes community; it is usually drunk at city events.

In the photo: wine is even produced from grapes that ripen on the streets

ANTIBES AND ARTISTS

The best place to watch sunsets is the embankment near the Picasso Museum. However, one would like to speak about Antibes sunsets in verse, because the transparent, changeable colors of the sky and sea of the Cote d'Azur are as much a landmark of the city as Fort Carré, made in the shape of a quadrangular star.

In the photo: a reproduction of a painting by Henri Cross on the Antibes embankment as part of the Riviera Artists project.

It is not for nothing that the best artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries came to Antibes for these sunsets and sunrises, and Clone Monet even stayed in the city for several months longer than planned. The French painter was so impressed by the local sunsets and sunrises that he painted three landscapes in Antibes.

In the photo: we are looking at a reproduction of Claude Monet’s painting “Antibes effet d’après-Midi” on the Antibes embankment.

However, Claude Monet was unoriginal; at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries, every self-respecting painter considered it his duty to come to Antibes. Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonnier, Henri Cross, Eugene Boudin and Henri Joseph Arpigny worked here, but Pablo Picasso stayed in the city the longest.

In the photo: a reproduction of a painting by Eugene Boudin in Antibes as part of the Riviera Artists project.

Picasso first arrived in Antibes in July 1939, but settled here for a long time in 1946, after the curator of the local Museum of History and Archeology Romuald Dor de la Souchère arranged a personal studio for the artist in the Grimaldi Castle. .

Picasso bequeathed all the works painted in Antibes, as well as the figurines and ceramics created here, as a gift to the city. The city authorities did not refuse and opened the artist’s museum in the city, where visitors can see not only the famous painting “La Joie de vivre”, but also sketches of Picasso’s works, as well as the studio in which the founder of Cubism worked. Although Picasso is considered the main artist who worked in Antibes, other artists are also not forgotten here, for example, the Riviera of Artists is organized in the city.

In the photo: installations at the Picasso Museum

The essence of the project is as follows: the city administration installed reproductions of artists’ works in front of the places depicted in the paintings. The Lovers of Raymond Peine, hugging against the backdrop of the old city, look especially touching; this reproduction can be seen on the city embankment.

In the photo: reproduction of the painting “Lovers” by Raymond Peine on the city embankment.

If literature is closer to you than painting, then for the sake of curiosity it’s worth taking a look at the famous Hôtel Belles Rives, where Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald lived.

The hotel still has a Jazz Age feel and regularly hosts Great Gatsby themed parties.

PROVENCEAL MARKET

Reproductions of paintings by artists can be found not only on the embankment. For example, a reproduction of “Le marche du Cours Massena a Antibes” by Emile Charles Dameron is installed near the Provençal market, which, as in the nineteenth century, opens every morning in Antibes.

In the photo: reproduction of the painting “Le marche du Cours Massena a Antibes” near the city market

It is worth going to the market not only for the atmosphere, but also for gastronomic discoveries, for example, in order to find out how the famous multi-colored olives from Nice differ from the olives of Provence, taste confiture made from lavender flowers or try soft goat cheeses - another specialty of the region.

In the photo: olives at the Provençal market, Antibes

Around 10 o'clock in the morning at the market there is nowhere for an apple to fall, there is a crowd of people near each counter, as in the old days, by the way, many stalls have been assigned to the families of farmers for more than one generation, this is evidenced by photographs of the grandparents of the current sellers, flaunting on the shelves next to vegetables or between bottles of olive oil.

In the photo: olive oil, confiture and honey at a Provençal market

If you find yourself at the market, be sure to buy home some Provencal herbs and spices, then upon arrival you can delight your guests with ratatouille prepared at home or other dishes of Provencal cuisine. .

In the photo: spices at the Provençal market, Antibes

By the way, literally across the street from the Provençal market there is a very interesting Absinthe bar. The peculiarity of the place is that here guests are offered to taste real 76-degree absinthe. Bar Absinthe(address: 25, Cours Massena 06600 Antibes, tel: 0493349300) looks like materialized scenery from the movie “Total Eclipse”: small round tables on which stand decanters of ice water, with their help the insidious tincture, the excessive use of which can lead you to conversations with the green fairy, is diluted with water.

If you have never encountered absinthe before, here you will be taught how to properly drink the favorite drink of the creative intelligentsia of the early twentieth century, so as to enjoy the process and avoid bad consequences.

However, the main advantage of this place is not that they serve absinthe, but again in the atmosphere of the establishment.

When you find yourself at a table in Absinthe, the feeling that the past is no less alive here than the present is so strong that you involuntarily begin to imagine that the heavy door of the bar will now open and Pablo Picasso in the company of Francoise Gilot or the couple will appear on the threshold of the establishment Fitzgerald.

In the photo: sculpture Lovers by Raymond Peine

And it doesn’t matter that this is nothing more than an illusion, because, as Scott Fitzgerald wrote in The Great Gatsby: “No tangible, real charm can compare with what a person is able to accumulate in the depths of his fantasy.”

ROMANCE OF ANTIBES IN PHOTOS

In the photo: grapevine on the street of the old town

Yulia Malkova is the founder of the website project. In the past, he was the editor-in-chief of the elle.ru Internet project and the editor-in-chief of the cosmo.ru website. I talk about travel for my own pleasure and the pleasure of my readers. If you are a representative of hotels or a tourism office, but we do not know each other, you can contact me by email: [email protected]

Antibes is located near Nice, it is a beautiful old town and a famous beach resort. Medieval streets, an ancient fortress and the Cote d'Azur - these are the first associations that can characterize this beautiful, colorful town.

The main symbol of Antibes is Fort Carré, located in the western part. The fort was built in 1565 and has a shape that is very unusual for medieval buildings - a four-pointed star. In the 18th century, the fortress was further strengthened by order of Louis XIV, who made it the main military base. It was here that Napoleon Bonaparte was imprisoned in 1794; here he had to await his death penalty.

The most remarkable buildings can be seen in the so-called Old Town, the main decorations of which are the Grimaldi Castle and the Church of Immacule Concepción. These buildings were erected in the 12th and 13th centuries and have been perfectly preserved to this day. In the 16th century, the castle was significantly expanded, and in 1925 it was converted into a museum dedicated to the history of the city. In the old part of Antibes there is an interesting place for those who like to go shopping, because it is here that one of the largest covered markets in France is located. Copyright www.site

Naturally, the main entertainment for tourists remains relaxing on the beautiful beaches, which are well equipped for water sports. There are many restaurants, bars, taverns and discos open in the coastal area; life here does not subside day or night. At the entrance to the city there is a large amusement park, which, in addition to attractions, has a botanical garden, several parks and restaurants. Vacationers with children should visit the Marineland Zoo, where they can watch a dolphin show, meet the inhabitants of the deep sea and have fun in the water park.

The center of many famous attractions is the Cape of Antibes, where the ancient Groupe lighthouse is located, as well as an elegant old chapel. Today it is a kind of museum, which houses very interesting Russian relics brought here during the Crimean War. A sightseeing tour of the cape necessarily includes a walk through the Thuret garden, which is also historical. It was founded in 1857, the founder of the garden is the famous French botanist and explorer Gustav Thuret. The area of this amazing garden is about 5 hectares, and there are more than 3,000 plants on its territory.

Those who like walking through historical places should definitely check out Grimaldi Castle, which is invariably associated with the work of Pablo Picasso. This castle was built back in the 12th century, and the very first fortifications on its territory were built back in the era of the Roman Empire. Over the hundreds of years of its existence, the castle was rebuilt several times, and at the beginning of the 20th century it fell into complete disrepair. In 1925, the historical building was bought by the city authorities and converted into a museum. In 1946, Pablo Picasso visited Antibes; for a long time he could not find a suitable room for work. Then the city authorities offered him to convert part of the old castle into an art workshop. Today the castle also houses an art museum dedicated to the work of Picasso.

On the coast of Antibes, part of the medieval fortifications has been preserved, including the Saint-André bastion. Today this historical building, which was built back in 1698, has been converted into an archaeological museum. This museum was founded back in 1928 and was originally a small private collection of finds dating back to the Halo-Roman era. The official opening of the museum took place in 1963; today its visitors can admire valuable exhibits that are more than 2.5 thousand years old.

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Antibes old town. Resorts of France. Antibes Budget hotels in Antibes