One of the glorious resorts on the Cote d'Azur, Antibes was born in the distant VI century. BC BC when Greek sailors anchored in a Mediterranean bay near Cape Garoupe. On the other side was Nicaea, now called Nice, and the colonists named their settlement Antipolis, which means “the city opposite”. The history of Antibes is closely connected with the Roman Empire. During its heyday, the city expanded and took an important place on the route from Rome to Gaul. In the Middle Ages, the Savoyans registered here, and at the end of the 15th century. Antibes became part of the French crown. Now the city lives on income from tourism, entertainment and perfumery and is the largest yacht port of Lazurka. Going to its beaches, be sure that you can see in Antibes both medieval architectural sights and the most interesting exhibits of museum collections.
TOP 10 attractions of Antibes
Grimaldi castle
Grimaldi castle
The first defensive structures in Antibes appeared during the Roman Empire. In the Middle Ages, a castle was built on the ruins, which became at the end of the 12th century. episcopal residence. In 1385, the fortress passed into the possession of the Grimaldi family, which ruled the Genoese Republic in alliance with representatives of three more noble families.
The residence in the stone castle of Antibes has belonged to the Grimaldi family for almost 250 years. In the XVI century. the owners expanded and rebuilt the fortress, making it more convenient and comfortable, without neglecting, however, defensive qualities.
The further fate of the Grimaldi castle was not too happy. For many decades, the fortress stood in desolation and was destroyed, until in 1925 the municipality of the city bought it from the descendants of the previous owners. This was followed by years of restoration, and then the Grimaldi Castle received the first exhibits of the museum collection. Today, its halls display works by Modigliani, Leger, Picabia and the great Picasso.
Pablo Picasso Museum
Pablo Picasso Museum
In 1946, the castle of the Grimaldi family became for several months the home and workshop for the greatest artist of the 20th century. Pablo Picasso. The master, having arrived in Antibes, was looking for a place to work, and the city authorities kindly provided him with spacious and bright rooms of the old castle.
Picasso worked in Antibes for about six months and thanked the city in the best way an artist could think of. The maestro donated his canvas "Fishing at night in Antibes" and several sketches.
Now the gallery is known as the very first Picasso museum in the world, and at the end of the twentieth century. the collection has been significantly replenished with new exhibits. The artist's widow Jacqueline donated four paintings, a dozen drawings, prints and ceramics to the Grimaldi Castle. Today you can see 245 works of the great artist in Antibes.
Amusement Park "Marineland"
Amusement Park "Marineland"
If you are relaxing on the Côte d'Azur with children, do not miss the largest entertainment center between Antibes and Nice, which includes several theme parks:
- An amusement zone, where you will find not only roller coasters, but also bungee cars, a Ferris wheel, labyrinths and panic rooms.
- An underwater tunnel, the vaults of which invite you to admire the underwater inhabitants of the Mediterranean. In the tunnel you will meet sharks, rays, all kinds of fish and shellfish.
- The swimming pool for dolphin, killer whale and fur seal performances is equipped with comfortable seats for spectators. Tailed Star Shows are held several times a day.
- Marineland Waterpark offers water slides, pools with and without waves, pipes and descents along mountain rivers and other water activities that are especially relevant for visitors on a hot summer day.
- Those wishing to cool off will love the area of the park where the ideal conditions for the inhabitants of Antarctica - funny penguins - are created.
In the amusement park, you will be offered to watch polar bears, dive into a pool with sharks, stroke a live stingray, enjoy a bright show of butterflies in an exotic insect greenhouse and take a trip along a mountain river.
Chapel of Notre Dame de Garoupe
Chapel of Notre Dame de Garoupe
Outside, this chapel in Antibes next to a hilltop lighthouse is unlikely to impress the old-world traveler. But for the inhabitants of the city, it is very important. The building is dedicated to the Mother of God, who protects sailors and fishermen, as well as everyone who, for any need, went to sea. Residents of Antibes and surrounding cities bring their gifts to the chapel as a token of gratitude for the miraculous salvation during a storm or shipwreck, and therefore the interior of Notre-Dame-de-Garoupe resembles an exposition of a small museum. You will see paintings on the marine theme, embroidery, skillfully executed models of ships - about three hundred exhibits in total.
During the Crimean War, sacred relics were brought here from Russia - the icon "The Mother of God and the Child", painted in the 16th century, a cross carved from wood, and a shroud. The latter belonged to the family of Count Vorontsov, whose palace in Alupka is known to everyone who is interested in the history of the Crimean peninsula.
Lighthouse Antibes
Lighthouse Antibes
Next to the Chapel of Our Lady of Garoupe, you will see a small lighthouse, which is called the hallmark of Antibes. He appeared on a cliff above the sea in 1837. Initially, vegetable oil served as fuel for the lamp, which gives light, and the caretaker monitored its level. Then oil was replaced by oil, and only in 1997 electricity was installed at the lighthouse. At the same time, the signaling system was made fully automatic, and the profession of a lighthouse keeper in Antibes sank into oblivion.
The Antibes lighthouse is considered one of the most powerful on the southern coast of France. Its light on a clear night is noticeable even from the coast of Corsica: the beam is capable of covering a distance of 60-80 km.
There is a road leading to the lighthouse at the top of the hill, which you can climb on foot or by car. A beautiful panorama of the surroundings and the Cote d'Azur opens from the platform next to the lighthouse.
St Andrew's Bastion and Museum of Archeology
Bastion of St. Andrew
Famed as one of the most fortified cities on the coast, Antibes has been concerned about its defenses since ancient times. It became another fortification in the 17th century. Bastion Saint-André, built by engineer Sebastian Vauban. The strong walls and towers of the citadel allowed observing the approaches to the city from the sea and successfully repelling enemy attacks.
In the middle of the last century, the Museum of Archeology was organized in the bastion, where objects found during excavations near Antibes are exhibited. The collection includes ceramics from the times of Ancient Greece, found at the bottom of the sea in sunken ships, burial urns, gravestones, antique jewelry and medieval weapons.
Fort Carré
Fort Carré
The fortress in the form of a four-pointed star in the Antibes park today presents an exposition of museums dedicated to archeology and the era of Napoleon's reign. And in the XVI century. the fort was built to defend the border between the principality of Nice and the French kingdom, which ran along the river Var. Each "ray" was named as the direction that the bastion covered - "Antibes", "Corsica", "Nice" and "France".
Fort Carré is also famous for the fact that in 1794 the then unknown Napoleon Bonaparte, who was suspected of having connections with revolutionaries, was serving a sentence there.
The frescoes of the 18th century are worthy of special attention. in the tower of the chapel of St. Lorenz.
Hotel Du Cap Eden Roc
Hotel Du Cap Eden Roc
At the end of the XIX century. American businessman Gordon Bennett, publisher of the New York Herald and a very well-known master of outrageousness in his circles, moves to live in Europe and buys a palace on Cape d'Antibes on the Cote d'Azur. He rebuilds the mansion and opens the hotel, which today takes its own place on the list of city attractions.
Hotel Du Cap Eden Roc is rapidly becoming popular with film stars, fashion singers, diplomats and ministers. Presidents and participants of the Cannes Film Festival stayed at the most luxurious hotel in Antibes. His numbers were chosen by John F. Kennedy, Marlene Dietrich, Charlie Chaplin and Madonna.
At the hotel you will find elegant villas and rooms worthy of being hosted by royalty. If you are not a fan of high hotel costs, Du Cap Eden Roc is just for lunch or dinner: several of its restaurants offer dishes and snacks, prepared and served in full accordance with the canons of fine French cuisine.
Paine and Humorous Drawing Museum
Peine Museum
A world-famous French graphic artist, Raymond Payne worked as an illustrator for newspapers and painted pictures for advertising booklets for Parisian department stores, until in 1942 he created the first plot of a series that made him famous throughout the world. The picture was called "The Lovers", and the orchestra in the park of Valence, performing the song "Lovers on the Park Benches", inspired the author for the lyrical drawing. Since then, a young poet in a bowler hat and his fiancee with a fashionable hairstyle have become permanent heroes of Paine's works, and a few years later they were recognized on all continents.
During his life, Raymond Payne created about 6,000 drawings with his favorite characters. In Antibes, you can look at the most famous ones on display in the city museum. Other exhibits include sculptures and theatrical sets made by the artist, his ceramics, porcelain and costumes.
Thuret Botanical Garden
Thure Botanical Garden
In 1857, the French scientist and explorer Gustave Thuret, who devoted most of his life to the study of plants, bought a plot of land in Antibes to create a garden. His goal was the acclimatization of plants from the tropical belt of the Earth, which, as the scientist believed, could well, literally and figuratively, flourish on the Cote d'Azur.
The four hectares bought by Thuret have grown significantly today, and thanks to his efforts and the work of his followers, on the banks of Antibes, you can see representatives of 3000 plant species from the tropics, the equatorial belt and other exotic places.
In the Gustave Thuret Botanical Garden, you will see Caribbean palms and Australian eucalyptus trees, desert cacti and equatorial vines, tropical orchids and predatory plants.
Thuret's experiments on the acclimatization of exotic plants were not only crowned with success, but also allowed to plant flowers and trees on the streets and embankments of the Côte d'Azur, which have become a real decoration of European resorts.
