Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TRAIN
Antibes' train station is on the main line between Nice (€4.20, 30 minutes, five
hourly) and Cannes (€2.70, 10 minutes, five hourly).
VALLAURIS
Picasso (1881-1973) discovered ceramics in the small potters' village of Vallauris in 1947. Attracted by its artistic
vibe, he settled in Vallauris between 1948 and 1955. During that time, he produced some 4000 ceramics (many on
display at the Musée Picasso,
Click here
, in Antibes) as well as his last great political composition, the
Chapelle La
Guerre et La Paix
(
War and Peace Chapel
), a collection of dramatic murals painted on plywood panels and tacked
to the walls of a disused 12th-century chapel. It is now part of the
Musée Picasso La Guerre et la Paix
(
04 93
64 71 83;
www.musee-picasso-vallauris.fr
;
Place de la Libération; adult/child €3.25/free;
10am-12pm &
2-5pm Wed-Mon)
, which also runs various contemporary-art exhibitions.
Picasso left Vallauris another gift: a dour bronze figure clutching a sheep,
L'Homme au Mouton
, now on place
Paul Isnard (adjoining place de la Libération). But his biggest legacy was the revival of the ceramics industry in Val-
lauris, an activity that might have died out had it not been for the 'Picasso effect'.
Biot
POP 9353
This charming 15th-century hilltop village was once an important pottery-manufacturing
centre specialising in large earthenware oil and wine containers. Metal containers brought
an end to this, but Biot is still active in handicraft production, especially glassmaking. The
dynamic
tourist office
( 04 93 65 78 00;
www.biot.fr
; 46 rue St-Sébastien; 9am-
noon & 2-6pm Mon-Fri, 2-6pm Sat & Sun)
has various itineraries to discover this arts her-
itage (downloadable as the Visit Biot app).
The village was also the one-time headquarters (1209-1387) of the Knights Templars,
then the Knights of Malta: the picturesque
place des Arcades
, dating from the 13th and
14th centuries, is a reminder of this illustrious past.
Biot's main attractions are located outside the historic village, however. The famous
Verrerie de Biot
( 04 93 65 03 00; www. verreriebiot.com; chemin des Combes; ad-
mission free, 45-min guided tour €6; 9.30am-6pm Mon-Sat, 10.30am-1.30pm &
2.30-6.30pm Sun)
is at the foot of the village and within walking distance. Its bubbled
glass is produced by rolling molten glass into baking soda; bubbles from the chemical re-
