Cannes & Around - Provence and the Cote d'Azur - page 204

Activities

WALKING

Cap d'Antibes
Starting from the pretty but relentlessly popular Plage de la Garoupe , a scenic and sign-
posted path skirts the shores to Cap Gros , the cape's southeastern-most tip. The contrast
between the ruggedness of the coastline and the manicured lawns of the millionaires'
mansions are typical of the cape. Signs on chemin des Douaniers and avenue de Beau-
mont take you back to the beach.
The southwestern tip of the cape is crowned by legendary Hôtel du Cap Eden Roc .
Dating from 1870, it hit the big time just after WWI when a literary salon held here one
summer (previous guests had come for the winter season only) was attended by Heming-
way, Picasso et al. The icing on the cake was the immortalisation of the hotel (as the
thinly disguised, fictional Hôtel des Étrangers) by F Scott Fitzgerald in his novel Tender
Is the Night (1934).

Artists & the Mediterranean Sea
( www.antibesjuanlespins.com ; adult/student/child €7/3.50/free) Antibes has a rich and
complex history: not only does it go back a very long way (more than 25 centuries), it has
also inspired numerous artists. The tourist office ( www.antibesjuanlespins.com ) runs 1½-
hour tours: one of the Vieil Antibes and another on artists (Graham Greene, Picasso,
Prévert, F Scott Fitzgerald, among others) and the Mediterranean Sea.

WALKING TOUR

Beaches
(sun-lounges per day from €21) Right in the centre of Antibes, you'll find Plage de la
Gravette Offline map Google map (quai Henri Rambaud) , a small patch of sand by the rem-
parts (ramparts). Twenty minutes out of town is Plage de la Salis , with unbeatable views
of old Antibes and the Alps. For a more party-like atmosphere, opt for Juan-les-Pins .
The stretch of coast between Plage de la Salis and Cap d'Antibes, especially the section
around Pointe Bacon , is fringed with rocks coves, where snorkellers frolic in clear wa-
ters. On the cape itself, Plage de la Garoupe was famously first raked clear of seaweed in
1922 by Cole Porter and American artist Gerald Murphy to create a sandy beach. Far from
an idyllic paradise today, it is packed with sun lounges.

SWIMMING