Antibes

Antibes can be a charming base while visiting France's Cote d'Azur region. An old town perched on the banks of the Mediterranean Sea, it offers a quaint appeal that is hard to find elsewhere in this beach-rich area. The small harbor in Antibes is especially attractive, not to mention largely responsible for turning the town into a hot tourist destination.

Found near Nice on the Bay of Angels, Antibes is a port town that has been seeing an increase in visitors in recent years. This has a lot to do with the town's quaint aspects and its proximity to inviting coastal strips. The coastline in and around Antibes is quite diverse, featuring rocky areas, creeks, and pebble beaches. There are also sandy beaches, however, and they are most popular with people who wish to do some swimming and sunbathing.

The best Antibes beaches include Old Antibes Beach, which is small and faces west. The sunsets are particularly good at this beach and the swimming safe, making it a fine place for children. Safe swimming can also be had at the sandy beaches of Plage du Ponteil and Plage de La Salis.

All of these beaches, as is true of the French Riviera beaches on the whole, tend to get very crowded during the peak summer season, so you might arrive early to get a good spot. As for what you can do in Antibes as it relates to the beaches and the water, parasailing, water skiing, diving, and fishing are just some of the options, so you don't have to stick to sunning and swimming if you don't want to.