A Day Trip to Antibes from Nice, France – French Riviera

July 2024

A Day Trip to Antibes from Nice, France – French Riviera

Antibes is one of the highlights along the French Riviera coastline. Originally founded by Greeks dating back to the 5th century (known at the time as Antipolis) and passed around various conquests until the 15th century when the French took over. Antibes is located on the western side of Nice and right next to Cannes which makes visiting Antibes and Cannes an easy day trip to pair together.

Antibes is easily accessible from anywhere in the French Riviera by train. The walk from the train station to downtown is a bit long and for the time we arrived, desolate. At each turn I wondered when we would be in the action and after fifteen minutes of walking, we arrived to a small are that was packed with lunch goers, ice cream shops, and store fronts. The artisan stores here were really great to hop into. But our agenda was lunch.

We had a few recommendations here and unfortunately a few were open for dinner only – and if we had more to do in Cannes, we would have arrived here for dinnertime but instead we were rushing to find a place that would still be open serving lunch. There are quite a few Michelin star restaurants in Antbies so it was definitely disappointing to miss out on that opportunity. So needless to say, our options were limited but we did find Chez Jules which seated us without hesitation. 

The vibe here was certainly catered to a tourist crowd but the reviews were not all bad and actually fairly positive. The restaurant actually takes up four rooms of the intersection so it clearly has the foot traffic. Since we were on the later side of lunch, we kept it light by ordering a Nicoise salad and an order of fried calamari. We were both pleased that the portions were quite generous and actually very tasty as well. It may not have been our first choice for dining in Antibes but I will say, it was quite good. 

Our wandering around town began as we stumbled into an antique flea market and a bookstore with English books. It was a great spot to get some air conditioning but we really enjoyed this store. You know Kevin can hardly pass up a bookstore and this one had many books of interest. After a few more stores, we popped into the church as well. Unfortunately the market was already closed by our arrival but I read great things about this market so make sure to get here early if you want to visit as it closes at 1PM.

We continued our walk around towards the water and passed the Picasso museum we heard so much about. When Picasso came to Antibes for an extended visit in 1946, many of the artwork he created during that time was left to the town. So Antibes turned the castle he was staying in into an art museum displaying over 250 pieces of his works. It was actually the first museum in the world dedicated to Picasso. We were not in an art museum mood so we waved and continued walking to the coast.

And wow when we turned the corner to see the water, the view of the coastline was stunning. This walkway is a definite must see! There were many people enjoying the water but since the visibility was so clear, you really could see all the towns along the Riviera. 

We had the option of venturing outside of the downtown towards the peninsula where the beach clubs and nature areas are located but we opted to cut our time short and head back to Nice. 

Overall, Antibes is a chill town and I think if we timed our visit, we could have found a bit more to fill the time. In looking back, I am glad we did not base ourselves here though many do recommend to do so. It is certainly a quieter, more reserved destination than Nice so it does depend on what you want your evenings and down time to look like. For us, I wanted to make sure we had ample amazing dining locations for any time, be in the center of the action, and very accessible to the rest of the Riviera. But I know people that loved centralizing their trip in Antibes so definitely do not be afraid to do so if that is what you want!

We certainly did not see or do everything in Antibes so if you plan to spend more time or stay here, consider these additional things for your itinerary:

• Food options: I had these marked to visit – Restaurant Le Safranier, La Trattoria, La Guinguette Antibes, Restaurant L’Arazur, and Gelateria Del Porto. Make sure to check the Michelin guide as well!
• We missed everything outside of Old Town
  • Fort Carré is a military base turned prison with one of the famous prisoners being Napolean Bonaparte. There is also a great viewpoint from here of the coast and Antibes.
  • Cap d’Antibes looks absolutely spectacular and is home to the Bay of Antibes Billionaires. The beaches along the entire Cap d’Antibes look spectacular as do the beach clubs so do not miss this for a proper beach day.

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