Antibes is a fantastic base from which to explore the French Riviera with St Tropez, being about 90 minutes drive to the east and Monaco being less than 1 hour to the west. There is much to see and do within the area and a short weekend just would not do the area justice, even a week wouldn’t be long enough.

Starting with the immediate vicinity i.e. within 2km, you have a wonderful selection of beaches, restaurants, bars, hotels and shops, in both Antibes and Juan les Pins. A complete day could, and should, be spent just in Antibes Old Town for example. Start by visiting the Provencal Market which is on every day except Monday and although it opens at 6.00am if you arrive about 10am you’ll still have loads of time to take everything in. why not buy some of the wonderfully fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and cheeses for supper? Take the time to take a coffee and just sit and watch the hustle and bustle of the market. The market closes up around 12.30pm and that’s a sign that it’s time to have lunch, so pick a sunny spot in one of the many pavement cafes and order up some lunch and a carafe of wine. A word of note however, in the South of France they still religiously adhere to lunch times and you’ll find that all the shops, banks and businesses close for lunch between 12 and 2, many of the shops won’t re-open until 3 or 4pm (but will then stay open until 7 or 8 pm in the evening). So don’t fight it. Go with the flow, make sure that you take time to take lunch between 12.30 and 3.00pm and enjoy life – the French do.

After lunch you could perhaps visit the Picasso Museum – he spent many years of his life in Antibes, then wonder around the Marina in the evening, marvelling at the size of the yachts therein (despite the fact that Antibes is the largest deep water marina in the Med, Abramovich’s boats – yes plural !- are so large that they have to anchor outside the harbour wall), take an aperitif in one of the many bars within the old town and then wander back home to cook all that fantastic fresh produce you bought earlier in the day.

Alternatively, if you don’t fancy cooking, why not go across to Juan with its many restaurants, bars and vibrant night life. If you get there before sunset, as Juan faces west you’ll be rewarded with magnificent views of the setting sun. in summer, Juan really comes to life at night time and many market traders and local artisans set up their stalls along the edge of the sea, it’s wonderful and interesting to promenade along the sea front and spend time haggling for souvenirs and trinkets you didn’t know you wanted until you saw them.

Going further afield there are some wonderful villages surrounding Antibes, many of which are well worth a visit, such as Biot, Mougins, Vielle Cagnes, St Paul de Vence (with the famous Colomb d’Or restaurant) to name but a few.

Cannes is well worth a day out and by car it will take you about 20 mins to drive there.

Nice is also worth a day out, especially in the late afternoon and evening when you can wonder around the old town, old port and the Fish Market – which is no longer a fish market but has now been given over to restaurants and flower stalls.

If you want to go further afield then Grasse, Eze, Menton & Monaco can all be recommended. In fact, if you wich to drive to Monaco, don’t take the autoroute (although that’s a lot quicker), take the Corniche – the coast road and take the Bas Corniche on the way there, stopping at the many beautiful villages you pass through on the way there, and take the Moyen Corniche on the way back to enjoy the magnificent views across the Med.


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