Visit the old village of Antibes

HOME to some of the largest private yachts in Europe, Antibes boasts a very large port and old town village. Quaint stone paved streets and alleys provide the tourist with hours of exploration. For those seeking tradition, or maybe just some fresh fruit and vegetables a Provencale market is held every morning in Market square, just opposite the Picasso museum.
This medieval village is shielded to the South/East by a wall, used originally to protect its inhabitants from passing sea voyagers. A short walk along the old town walls and you will find Gravette beach. This secluded beach is protected by wave barriers and is ideal for young children. A few minutes further along the old-town wall and you will find Salis beach, which serves as the grand entrance to the famous Cap d’Antibes. Cap d’Antibes is a millionaire’s playground, boasting the most expensive real estate in the region. It is not uncommon for Hollywood celebrities to be spotted dining or relaxing in this secluded and tree-lined cape.
Antibes offers a wide choice in the evening, ranging from traditional Irish pubs, café bars and nightclubs to exquisite French, Italian and Asian cuisine.
Most activity is centred around the old town, and is all within a stone’s throw of our Antibes townhouse.Antibes is a 15 minutes drive to Cannes, 25 minutes to Nice airport and about 1 hour to Monte Carlo, the Gorges de Verdon and St. Tropez.

… and Juan les Pins resort

ATTRACTING families and a younger crowd, Juan Les Pins is just a five minute drive from Antibes, but takes on a completely different personality. Boasting a 200-metre promenade that often plays catwalk to designs from Gucci to Versace, Juan Les Pins is ideal for the people-watching / beach-café tourist.
Juan Les Pins marks the beginning of a 2km stretch of beach that extends out to Golfe Juan to the West. The beach is natural golden white sand, and is well serviced by small sandwich outlets, bars, restaurants and private beach lounges.
The heart of the village is rich with restaurants, late night bars and nightclubs. For the romantic, a meal on the waters edge with your toes in the sand and the lights of Cannes twinkling in the background is hard to beat.
Juan Les Pins also offers a wide range of water sports and a number of activities for children such as go-karting and a fun parlour. In the centre of town you can find a range of designer label outlets and an array of swimwear boutiques. Here you will also be able to treat yourself to some of France’s delicacies – paninis, crêpes and ice-cream!

The climate

OUR CORNER of Provence (the coastal strip from Monaco to Marseille) has the best climate in France and arguably the best in Europe, being more temperate than the more Southerly parts of the continent. We enjoy over 300 days of sunshine a year and have the good fortune of benefitting from both the warming effect of the Mediterranean and the blocking effect of the Alps, so when the rest of France has bad weather, we often have bright sunshine and cloudless skies. Of course it can and does rain or we wouldn’t have such beautiful, lush scenery, but it usually means a quick downpour from a storm and rarely lasts long. The best time to visit depends very much on personal preference. With so much sunshine, you have a good chance it will be bright and sunny almost all of the time, so an escape to the Mediterranean from a bleak English autumn and winter makes an ideal break. You are more likely to have a day or so of rain between November and February than in July, but this is also when you benefit from the greatest contrast with N. Europe as daily temperatures can climb to over 20ºC. April, May and September are warm and sunny (18-28ºC), and if you like the hot days and fabulous long summer evenings, June to early September is the time to come, when temperatures invariably range from 20ºC to 35ºC. Swimming in the pool generally starts in mid-May and goes on until September, weather permitting, while you can swim happily in the sea from mid-late May into November.

Antibes on WIKIPEDIA