A Day in Antibes

On a bright sunny day during our trip to the French Riviera, we decided to take a day trip to Antibes.

Antibes in located between Nice and Cannes, and is easy to get to via the local trains. Some sort of town has existed here since the Greeks showed up in the 5th-century BC. The area’s natural harbor provided a perfect place for trading. More recent history finds Antibes as a wonderful tourist destination with beaches and museums.

We wandered out of the train station and headed towards the water, with an eye towards following the coast around to the Picasso museum, one of the attractions we wanted to see. As we walked, we passed the local marina and saw a fort looming over the yachts:

Fort Carré, Antibes

Fort Carré is a 16th-century star-shaped fort that stands outside Antibes, and is apparently only open for special events. I love the view above with the boats in front, and the mountains behind. This was to be my first clue of how photogenic Antibes was.

Walking along the city walls, you can also get a nice view of the Saint-Jaume bastion, with a large sculpture at the end. Access to this was closed during our visit, but research after the trip tell us more: the sculpture is named Nomade, and is made of letters. It’s hard to tell from my photo, and I wish we had been able to walk out and get a closeup photo.

Nomade sculpture, Antibes

Continuing along the seawall, we came up the Château Grimaldi, home of the Picasso museum. Picasso worked out of this ancient building for a time in 1946, and it now houses a small collection of his works.

Picasso Museum, Antibes

The museum was busy with schoolchildren the day we visited, many were drawing and sketching. The museum doesn’t allow photos of the works inside, though it does allow photos outside on the terrace, where there is a sculpture garden. These aren’t works by Picasso, but I did enjoy photographing them against the beautiful sea:

Sculpture at Picasso museum, Antibes

Alongside the Château Grimaldi is the Church of the Immaculate Conception. A religious structure has stood here since the 11th century, the current facade dates from the 18th century:

Church of the Immaculate Conception, Antibes

Walking further along the sea, you get better views of the town and the walls:

Antibes

The same view from a little further down:

Antibes

Walking back toward the town, we decided to get a bite to eat and spend some time in the old town. This area is charming, full of narrow streets with fun shops and restaurants. On this particular day, it was busy, but not overwhelmed:

Antibes

After eating, we walked back toward the marina where there was a nice view of the beach. It’s a located in a protected cove, and it looked like a fun place. We didn’t bring our swimsuits, perhaps next time.