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| Antibes, Old Port and Fort Carré |
On the western edge of the Baie des Anges across from Nice, Antibes is another Mediterranean jewel. Although there are plenty of modern high rise apartments, the old port and the old city are charming, with the Fort Carré (the square fort) looking down over both. Of course, only the smaller of the big sailing and motor yachts can fit in the old port, which also houses a small fishing fleet. There's another entire port called the Port Vauban where the big motor yachts tie up. It is, for the most part, an exhibition of retched excess, but every once in a while there's a beautiful old
wooden ship.
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| Port Vauban |
In the old town, the Cours Masséna has a morning market and there are interesting restaurants and traiteurs (take-aways, but nothing like our notion of what that means) everywhere. Laura and I found one that specializes in Lyonnais cuisine on the Rue de la République from which we've purchased some wonderful meals. I'm prejudiced when it comes to the cuisine of Lyon, one of my favorite places in France.
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| Street scene, Antibes |
Walking the streets of the old town is really a treat. Keep your eyes open for an interesting building or staircase, or an especially cleverly decorated window and you will not be disappointed.
Of course, Antibes is also famous for its Picasso Museum, housed in the old Grimaldi Palace. The Grimaldis were powerful princes of Genoa during the Italian Renaissance. Their domaines spread across much of Northern Italy and well into France. The Grimaldi family rules Monaco to this day.
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| Grimaldi Palace, Picasso Museum |
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| Picasso Museum |
Perched on the edge of the sea, this beautiful palace/fortress is a perfect place for a museum. There are not many Picassos inside, but among them are some wonderful pottery pieces and a few paintings.
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Courtyard Sculpture, Picasso Museum
Antibes |
Otherwise, the museum houses an interesting collection of works by modern artists, including some glorious sculptures of women by the French artist Germaine Richier, which are perched on the edge of the terrace overlooking the sea. I particularly liked the statue of broken guitars in one of the courtyards.
