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| SPOTLIGHT | | Sandy
beach, is great for diving, swimming, sailing, snorkeling, and windsurfing. |
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| France
Most Beautiful Beaches |
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France Antibes Travel Information
Overview
Antibes was founded in the fifth century B.C. by Greeks from Phocaea and named "Antipolis", meaning the town lying opposite the settlement of Nikaia Polis (Nice). The settlement became a Roman municipium, later a bastion against the barbarians. From the 14th century onwards it was a frontier town between Savoy and France. In 1481 the town together with the whole of Provence fell to the French throne. Later the old fortifications were remodelled by Vauban and Fort Carré, of which only a few remains still exist, was built. The castle in the Old Town was for many years the seat of a bishop and a holiday residence of the Grimaldi family.
Today Antibes, Cap d'Antibes and Juan-les-Pins form a three-part community.
Antibe has a fine situation on the northeast side of the cape between the little bays of Anse St-Roche in the north and Anse de la Salis in the south.
Above Anse St-Roche rises the picturesque 16th century Fort Carré, a relic of the town defenses. Nearby is a sports and youth center.
South of the old fort lies the harbor (Port Vauban) which was laid out by Vauban himself.
The town of Antibes - to which the resorts of Cap d'Antibes and Juan-les-Pins belong - lies to the east of Cannes at the western end of the Baie des Anges (Bay of Angels), which reaches as far as Nice. Cap d'Antibes, which extends south into the Mediterranean, closes off the huge sweep of the bay. The actual area of the town occupies the Peninsula of Garoupe.
Flower-growing is of great importance to the economy; roses, carnations etc. are grown under about 3sq.km/1.2sq.mi of glass.
8km/5mi inland along the D35/103 the Sophia Antipolis Industrial and Technological Park has been developing since 1972. At the end of 1990 it covered an area of 580ha/1,450acres, on which 834 firms with 14,000 employess had become established. Of those some 60 were foreign firms, and 700 companies and organizations were working in advanced fields of technology such as electronics and telecommunications, energy and environmental research, chemistry and biotechnology. More than a half of the work force are "white collar workers", and of them 40% are foreigners from 50 different countries. A further 32,00ha/8,000acres are expected to be developed by the year 2000. There should be advantages in the proximity of the Sophia Antipolis University, which is expected to take 25,000 students.
Plage Joseph on Plage de la Garoupe is really good fun for children in the Summer and the Petit Plage has shallow warm water and interesting rocks to play around.
The beach is divided into sections, two of which are public non-paying. But the others are good value and an enormous amount of work goes into cleaning away the incredible amounts of seaweed that accumulate over the winters and keeping it clean during the season.
At the end of the beach is Plage Joseph with the yellow Keller beach next door. Lots of people go there, especially people wanting to see people who want to be seen. Quieter La Joliette is in the middle with two sandy public sections each side. The people there are very nice, friendly and jolly. At the end of the main part is Le Rocher, which for food is my favourite with Monsieur Crampe's Crepes. Just around the corner is Petite Plage which is my favourite place to swim and has the best value mattresses and parasols as well. Slightly up the hill is the smartest place of all, the Garoupe Beach Restaurant |
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Top Beaches of France |
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 Bonifacio |
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Bonifacio (Bonifaziu) enjoys a superbly
isolated situation at Corsica's southernmost point, a narrow peninsula of dazzling
white limestone creating a town site unlike any other. |
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Corse |
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Reached by a flight of six hundred
steps, Nonza's long grey beach is discoloured as a result of pollution from the
now disused asbestos mine up the coast. This may not inspire confidence, but the
locals insist it's safe. |
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| Cargese |
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The best beach in the area,
plage de Pero, is 2km north of the village - head up to the junction with the
Piana road and take the left fork down to the sea. Overlooked by a Genoese tower,
this white stretch of sand has a couple of bars and easily absorbs the crowds
that descend on it in August. |
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| Golfe de Porto-Vecchio |
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A few kilometres
further along the same road takes you to Santa Giulia, a sweeping sandy bay backed
by a lagoon. Despite the presence of several holiday villages and facilities for
windsurfing and other noisier watersports, crowds are less of a problem here,
and the shallow bay is an extraordinary turquoise colour. |
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| Campomoro |
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The main attraction here
is a two-kilometre-long beach, overlooked by an immense and well-preserved Genoese
watchtower. In late July and August, it's swamped by Italian families from the
adjacent campsites, but for the rest of the year Campomorro remains a tranquil
enough place. |
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| Propriano |
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The nearest of these, plage de Lido, lies 1km west, just
beyond the Port de Commerce; it's patrolled by lifeguards during the summer and
is much safer and more appealing than the grubby plage de Baracci, 1km north of
town, where the undertow is precariously strong. |
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| Desert des Agriates |
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A couple of rough
pistes wind into the desert, but without some kind of 4WD vehicle the only feasible
way to explore the area and its rugged coastline, which includes two of the island's
most beautiful beaches, is by foot. From St-Florent, a recently inaugurated pathway
winds northwest to plage de Perajola, just off the main Calvi highway (N1197),
in three easy stages. |
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| Porto-Vecchio |
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Today a third of Corsica's
wine is exported from Porto-Vecchio, but most revenue comes from tourists, the
vast majority of them well-heeled Italians who flock here for the fine outlying
beaches: spectacular stretches of shoreline lie to the south, with Palombaggia
the most popular and Golfe de Santa Giulia coming a close second, while to the
north |
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| Ajaccio |
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The town has none of Bastia's sense of purpose and can seem to lack a definitive identity of its own, but it is a relaxed and good-looking place, with an exceptionally mild climate, a wealth of cafes, restaurants and shops. |
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| Bastia |
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A better alternative is the long beach of L'Arinella at Montesoro, a further 1km along the same road, the beginning of a sandy shore that extends along the whole east coast. A bus to L'Arinella leaves from outside Caf? |
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