Nice Travel Guide

Antibes

Antibes is a pleasant excursion a few miles east of Cannes. It has one of the best markets on the coast and an excellent Picasso museum in its ancient seafront castle, the 16th-century Château Grimaldi. Picasso was lent a room in the castle to use as a studio in 1946; several extremely prolific months followed before he moved to Vallauris, leaving all his Antibes output to what is now the Musée Picasso. Although Picasso donated other works later, most of the collection dates from this one period, including the best known work, . Picasso himself is the subject of some of his paintings. There are also works here by some of Picasso's contemporaries, including Nicholas de Stael. Alongside the castle is a cathedral which dates from Medieval times; only the choir and apse survive from the original Romanesque building, the nave and magnificent facade are Baroque. Nearby is a market which is open every morning over the summer and overflows with local produce.