Antibes is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat to the northeast, is one of the best known landforms in the area. The capes house the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc and Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat respectively, widely considered two of the most exclusive hotels in the world. The town of Juan-les-Pins is in the commune of Antibes; the Sophia Antipolis technology park is northwest of it. In 2020, the commune had a population of 74,709, making it Alpes-Maritimes's second-most populated.

History

Origins

Traces of occupation dating back to the early Iron Age have been found in the areas of the castle and cathedral. Remains beneath the Holy Spirit Chapel show there was an indigenous community with ties with Mediterranean populations, including the Etruscans, as evidenced by the presence of numerous underwater amphorae and wrecks off Antibes. However, most trade was with the Greek world, via the Phocaeans of Marseille.

Greek colony of Marseille

Antibes was founded as a Greek colony by Phocaeans from Massalia. They named it Antipolis (Greek: Ἀντίπολις, lit. "Opposite-City") from its position on the opposite side of the Var estuary from Nice (Greek: Νίκαια). Current research suggests that Antipolis was founded relatively late in classical Greek period (4th century BC), to benefit from the protection of Marseille with its trade routes along the coast and strongholds like Olbia at Hyères, and trading posts such as Antipolis itself and later Nikaia; it is mentioned by Strabo. The exact location of the Greek city is not well known. Given Greek colonial practices, it is likely that it was set at the foot of the rock of Antibes, in today's old city. Traces of occupation in the Hellenistic period have been identified around the castle and the church (former cathedral).

Late Antiquity

The Bishopric of Antibes was established c.450 by Pope Leo I, the first two bishops being Armentarius and Agroecius.

Middle Ages

The dust eventually settled to leave Antibes within the territory of the County of Provence, itself part of the Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles and from 1033 the Holy Roman Empire. In the tenth century the coastal areas of Provence were menaced by 'Saracen' raiders from Muslim Spain, who were finally driven out when Count William I of Provence captured their stronghold at Fraxinetum in 975. William rewarded the knights who had fought for him in this campaign by enfeoffing them with the liberated lands in southern Provence. One of these knights was a certain Rodoald, who became Lord of Antibes. Rodoald's great-grandson Raimbaud appears to have relocated inland to Grasse around 1050, and House of Grasse sold the Lordship of Antibes to the bishopric during the episcopate of Bishop Bertrand (fl.1166-76). During this period Antibes was still being raided periodically by Saracen pirates, and in 1124 they burned down Antibes Cathedral. The marauders continued to prey on the town over the following century, and in 1244 the Prince-Bishops of Antibes moved to Grasse to escape their depredations. They remained there for the next five centuries, despite an attempt to lure them back to Antibes by rebuilding the cathedral in 1250. When the Western Schism began in 1378, splitting the Catholic world between two rival popes, the Bishop of Grasse backed Pope Urban VI even though Marie de Blois, mother of and regent to the infant Count Louis II of Provence, was a supporter of Urban's enemy Antipope Clement VII. In 1383 Marie therefore confiscated the Lordship of Antibes from the Bishops of Grasse and two years later awarded it to the brothers Marc and Luc Grimaldi, of the Genoese House of Grimaldi. The new Grimaldi lords built the Château Grimaldi as their residence in the town. After the deaths of the Grimaldi brothers (Marc in 1398 and Luc in 1409), control of the Lordship of Antibes passed to five co-heirs. As a result of this fragmentation of power, the actions of individual local lords became increasingly irrelevant to the town's history, with the higher authority of the Count of Provence assuming greater significance instead.

Early Modern era

With the death in 1481 of Count Charles III, Provence was inherited by King Louis XI of France and thereby annexed to France. As Antibes was in the far southeast of the County of Provence it therefore became the border town at France's southeastern extremity, guarding the frontier with the County of Nice, which was part of the Savoyard state. As such it was on the front line during the Italian Wars waged by France against Emperor Charles V, and was sacked in 1536 by Andrea Doria, a Genoese admiral in imperial service. Henry II of France therefore ordered the construction of Fort Carré in 1550 to guard the town against any future attacks, and the citadel was later reinforced by the renowned French military engineer Vauban. In December 1746, during the War of the Austrian Succession, an Austro-Savoyard army under the command of Maximilian Ulysses Browne invaded France and besieged Antibes, subjecting the town to a heavy bombardment. The arrival of French reinforcements, and a revolt against the Austrian garrison at Genoa, obliged Browne to lift the siege on 1 February 1747, but by that point his guns had levelled 350 houses and also destroyed the cathedral again. The latter was subsequently rebuilt by Louis XV of France, and this version of the building is the one that has survived to the present day.

Modern era

On 1 March 1815, Napoléon Bonaparte landed on the beach at Golfe-Juan, 5 km southwest of Antibes, having escaped exile on the island of Elba. He hoped for a warm welcome in Antibes, which had been supportive of his regime, but the townspeople closed their gates to him and he was therefore obliged to move on northward without stopping. He successfully reached Paris and seized power again, only to be conclusively defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. Today Golfe-Juan marks the beginning of the Route Napoléon, which traces the path taken by the emperor on his return from exile. Under the Treaty of Turin (1860), Nice was ceded to France by the new Kingdom of Italy, and Antibes therefore ceased to be a border town as the frontier moved 50 km eastward to Menton. Antibes was transferred from its former department of Var to the new one of Alpes Maritimes in 1860. The harbor was again used for a "considerable" fishing industry and the area exported dried fruit, salt fish, and oil. By the First World War, it had been connected by rail with Nice and most of its fortifications had been demolished to make way for new residential districts. In 1926, the old Château Grimaldi was bought by the local municipality and later restored for use as a museum. Pablo Picasso came to the town in 1946, having visited his friend and fellow painter Gerald Murphy and his wife Sara there in 1923, and was invited to stay in the castle. During his six-month stay, Picasso painted and drew, as well as crafting ceramics and tapestries. When he departed, Picasso left a number of his works to the municipality. The castle has since become the Picasso Museum.

Culture

Conservation

On 25 May 1999, the town was the first in the department to sign the State Environment Charter, which pledges to actively conserve the natural environment.

Sports

Sport is an important part of the local culture; the town hosts the National Training Centre for basketball. The now demolished Jean Bunoz Sports Hall hosted several games of the 1999 FIBA EuroBasket. The city is home to Olympique Antibes, a professional basketball team of France's top division LNB Pro A, which plays its home games at the Azur Arena Antibes. The local football team is FC Antibes, who play at the Stade du Fort Carré, best known for when it hosted one game of the 1938 World Cup, between Sweden and Cuba. The town is also home to the Antibes 6 Day Race and the Antibes Yacht Show. The town has various athletic associations and host a fair in September at Fort Carré that allows residents to meet the various athletic associations and explore their offerings.

Theatre and music

The Théâtre Antibea, Théâtre des Heures Bleues and Café Théâtre la Scène sur Mer all offer a variety of performances from orchestra music to dramatic plays. Music of all types, from live jazz to DJs spinning techno, can be found in the bars and nightclubs and there are a number of festivals and special outdoor concerts during the summer. Jazz is still the speciality around here. M83 (an electronic band) hails from Antibes.

Festivals

Antibes and Juan les Pins host a number of festivals, mainly during the summer months. There's not much in the way of traditional cultural festivals in Antibes; most of the festivals focus on music and contemporary activities.

Demographics

Politics

Presidential elections second round

Sights

Beaches

There are 48 beaches along the 25 km of coastline that surround Antibes and Juan les Pins.

Museums

Parks and gardens

Garoupe Lighthouse

The old lighthouse of Antibes provides views from its lofty hilltop. To get here, you must walk about one kilometre up the Chemin de Calvaire from the Plage de la Salis.

Church of the Immaculate Conception (Antibes Cathedral)

The Antibes Cathedral was first built by Bishop Armentarius in the fifth century. It was destroyed multiple times during its history, notably by Saracen pirates in 1124 and by Austrian bombardment during the 1746-7 Siege of Antibes. Its current façade dates to the rebuilding that followed the latter catastrophe, and blends Latin classical symmetry and religious fantasy. The interior houses some impressive pieces such as a Baroque altarpiece and life-sized wooden carving of Christ's death from 1447.

Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc

This large villa, set in "a forest" at the tip of the Cap d'Antibes peninsula, re-creates a 19th-century château. Since 1870 (then called Villa Soleil) the glamorous white-walled Hôtel du Cap on the French Riviera has been one of the most storied and luxurious resorts in the world. Guests who flocked there included Marlene Dietrich, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and Winston Churchill. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton conducted an affair and honeymooned there.

Ports

There are many yachting harbours which provide moorings for a range of ships ranging from fishing vessels to full sized yachts.

Climate

Antibes enjoys a Mediterranean climate. On average, it experiences 7.9 days per year with a minimum temperature below 0 C, no days per year with a minimum temperature below -10 C, no days per year with a maximum temperature below 0 C, and 28.2 days per year with a maximum temperature above 30 C. The record high temperature was 38.5 C on 17 July 2003 and 1 August 2006, while the record low temperature was -4.4 C on 1 March 2005.

Shopping

Transport

The Antibes station is the railway station serving the town, offering connections to Nice, Cannes, Marseille, Grasse, St Raphael, Les Arcs, Milan, Ventimiglia, Paris and several other destinations. This railway station is in the centre of town. There is another railway station, Juan-les-Pins. The nearest airports are Nice Côte d'Azur Airport and Cannes Airport.

Notable people

Born in Antibes

Lived or living in Antibes

Twin towns – sister cities

Antibes is twinned with: