Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting There:
Take bus #2 (catch it at the bus station, along Boulevard Albert 1er,
oratPlagedelaSalis)forabout15minutestotheLaFontainestopatHôtelBeau-Site(re-
turn stop is 50 yards away on opposite side, get return times at station). Walk 10 minutes
down to Plage de la Garoupe and start from there. By car or bike, follow signs to
Cap
d'Antibes,
thento
PlagedelaGaroupe,
andparkthere.Thetrailbeginsatthefar-rightend
of Plage de la Garoupe.
Near Antibes
Juan-les-Pins
The low-rise town of
Juan-les-Pins,
sprawling across the Cap d'Antibes isthmus from
Antibes, is where the action is...after hours. It's a modern waterfront resort with good
beaches, plenty of lively bars and restaurants, and a popular jazz festival in July. The
town is also famous for its clothing boutiques that stay open until midnight in high season
(people are too busy getting tanned to shop at normal hours). As locals say, “Party, sleep
in, shop late, party more.”
Buses, trains, and even a tourist train (see “Getting Around Antibes” earlier) make
the 10-minute trip to and from Antibes constantly.
(€1 = about $1.30, country code: 33)
My favorite Antibes hotels are best by car or taxi, though walkers and bus users can man-
age as well. Pickings are slim when it comes to centrally located hotels in this city, where
restaurants are a dime a dozen but hotels play hard to get. Air-conditioning is rare.
Outside the Town Center
$$$ Hôtel Pension le Mas Djoliba***
is a fair splurge that's better for drivers but also
workable for walkers (10 minutes to Plage de la Salis, 15 minutes to old Antibes, 30
minutes to the train station). Reserve early for this traditional, bird-chirping, flower-filled
manor house where no two rooms are the same. From May to September, they definitely
prefer (but won't insist) that you dine here. It's hard to pass up once you see the setting:
After a busy day of sightseeing, dinner by the pool is a treat. The cuisine is average but
copious. Some rooms are small, the bigger rooms are well worth the additional cost, and
several rooms come with small decks (Sb-€107, Db-€125-182 depending on size, several
good family rooms-€200-275, figure €95-120 per person with breakfast and dinner; air-
con, Wi-Fi, cool
boules
court and loaner balls; 29 Avenue de Provence—from Boulevard
Albert 1er, look for gray signs as you approach the beach, turn right onto Boulevard
