Antibes is a resort town of southeastern France, on the Mediterranean Sea in the Côte d\'Azur, located between Cannes and Nice. Integrated to Antibes Juan-les-Pins, the technological park of Sophia-Antipolis is located north east of the city.

Antibes is a busy town that is a favourite with holiday makers. There is much beauty to be seen in the old town with its fortifications along the coast, tiny lanes lined with lovely shops selling all sorts of curios, sidewalk cafes and restaurants. Today Antibes is affectionately called Antibes-Juan-les-Pins. The Juan-les-Pins part is the area that many tourists flock to as this is where the beaches and the nightlife can be found.

Climate

Antibes enjoys a classic Mediterranean climate, which means long warm summers, plenty of sunshine and relatively mild winters. The French Riviera remains one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, so summers here are guaranteed to be overcrowded and expensive.

Summer

July and August are the hottest and busiest months of the year in Antibes. Most of France goes on holiday during the second half of July and all of August, resulting in long traffic jams, annoying crowds and jacked up prices. By all means, try to avoid this area during these months.

Winter

After All Saints Day (1 November), the whole Riviera begins to wind down for the winter. Many of the main resorts and lots of the restaurants, bars and shops will be closed until Easter. However, there are still plenty of places that stay open and the weather is delightfully cool and sunny

Beaches

There are 48 beaches along the 25kms of coastline that surround Antibes and Juan les Pins. Each one has its own unique character and atmosphere. There are small family beaches where children can play, sporting beaches with all the popular water activities on offer and long beaches with fine golden sand, which are perfect for sunbathing. Most of the good beaches are private, but you are welcome to stay here if you rent a mattress for the day. The private beaches usually have restaurants on-site which serve up delicious fresh seafood. The main public beach is La Salis, on the edge of the Cap d’Antibes. Public beaches are very crowded during the summer months, so it’s a worthwhile investment to pick a nice private beach and rent a mattress for the day.

Parks and Gardens

* The Exflora Park

The Exflora Park is a five hectare garden open to the public. Next to the large olive grove, there are different styles of meditteranean gardens, from ancient Rome to the exuberant Riviera of the 19th century. The main terrace is at the entrance to the park in the style of the Italian renaissance and from where visitors can view the entire garden. Fountains and ponds stretch along the terrace, making a waterway 500 m long. Antibes is renowned for rose production, and recognizing this, rose bushes line the path leading to the sea. The luxuriance of the exotic garden and palm grove is reminiscent of the belle époque, when English gardeners succeeded in planting flowers that bloom in winter, the season when the aristocracy visited the Cote d\'Azur. A liitle further on is the theatre de verdure, inspired by Italian gardens, and a panoramic viewpoint with a glorious view of the sea and the Iles des Lerins.

In the style of Provencal gardens of the 18th century, there is a maze with sculpted hedges where you can amuse yourself for a while, wandering at will. Further on, Islamic gardens are featured, with an orange grove where the ground is patterned with terracotta irrigation pipes similar to those in the celebrated Seville Cathedral in Spain.

The vegetable gardens and orchards in the Arsat are planted in hollows as in Morocco, to protect them from the sun and maximise shadow and humidity. There is a representation of a Moroccan house with a square courtyard and pond within, with plants and ornamental pots. The kiosk, with its attractive blue varnished roof pays hommage to the painter MAJORELLE, creator of the beautiful blue garden in Marrakesh. This completes this part of the park.

In another area, the winter garden contains plants that flower in winter, such as mimosa and camellias, but naturally can only be seen at that time.

* The Eilenroc Gardens

Villa Eilenroc was built on a rock in the middle of a virtual desert. The area was transformed into a glorious garden through the patience and talent of Jacques Greber, landscape architect and consultant to the Great Exhibition in New York in 1939. He was commissioned by Mr Beaumont to create this luxuriant park of 11 hectares. The gardens with all their luxuriant vegetation lie thirty metres above the sea with a view across the bay of the Cap. Planted with traditional meditteranean species such as marine and parasol pines, Alep and Canary pines, cyprus, oaks, olive trees, arbutus, lavender, thyme, rosemary, eucalyptus, ficus, etc., as well as three kms of pittosporum hedges, a whole part of the park has been created with plants found in the Antibes area in 1920.

* Thuret Park

In 1857, Gustave Thuret discovered the wonderful, unspoilt Cap d\'Antibes and bought five hectares of land where he built a villa and began the creation of a glorious park. Bequeathed to the state by his heirs, the property is now managed by the INRA (National Institute of Agronomin Research). The superb collection of trees and exotic plants, and the rich earth, provide many opportunities for learning, and the cross-fertilisation of plant species that grow on the meditteranean coast.

Garoupe Lighthouse

The old lighthouse of Antibes provides one of the best views in the region from its lofty hilltop. To get here, you must walk about one kilometre up the Chemin de Calvaire from the Plage de la Salis. It makes for a nice half-day stroll.

Church of the Immaculent Conception

The central church in Antibes was first built in the 11th century with stones used from earlier Roman structures. Its current façade was constructed in the 18th century and is a wonderful blend of Latin classical symmetry and religious fantasy. The interior houses some impressive pieces such as its Baroque altarpiece and life-sized wooden carving of Christ’s death from 1447.

Hôtel du Cap-Eden Roc

This villa, set in \"a gorgeous forest\" at the tip of the Cap d\'Antibes peninsula, re-creates a nineteenth-century château. Since 1870 the glamorous white-walled Hotel du Cap on the French Riviera has been one of the most storied and luxurious resorts in the world. Guests who flocked there included Marlene Dietrich, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Winston Churchill. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton conducted an affair and honeymooned there.

Port Vauban

This old port was the heart of the ancient Greek city of Antipolis and has a long and colourful history which includes Ligurians, Romans and Crusaders on their way to the Holy Land. Today, it is the largest marina in Europe and is full of life. Local fishing boats are moored next to luxury yachts and the docks are lined with fresh fish stands. It’s a great place to spend an afternoon watching the fishermen go about their daily lives.

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