ANTIBES
How to get to Antibes
Antibes is a large port of call on the French Riviera. It's an important town in the Alpes Maritimes. The technology park at Sophia-Antipolis to the north provides a huge percentage of the employment in this department and brings with it many international residents. Antibes is also an anchor town on the Cote d'Azur in terms of tourism. It is home to the largest pleasure boating marina in Europe, has miles of sandy beaches and the large historical old town provides a unique back drop for any holiday.
In short, finding it is not a problem and public transport systems to and from Antibes are well established, easy to use and cater for tourists and residents alike. See below for information on getting to Antibes from distant locations or scroll down for more local information.
Getting To Antibes By AirThe closest international airport to Antibes is Nice Cote d'Azur. It is France's second busiest airport, after Paris with more than 9 million visitors using it each year and there are daily scheduled flights from almost every continent.
There are daily direct flights from North, South and Central Europe as well as North Africa, the Middle East, the United States and Canada. Use Nice Cote d'Azur international airport website to see which airlines fly and to get their contact details. It is one of the better airport sites with great information about getting to and from Nice and it is in multiple languages.
There is also a smaller private airport at Cannes that is closer to Antibes but it for private charter planes or helicopter transfers. Find contact details for both airports in our directory.
Getting To Antibes By Rail The European rail network has been in operation since the late 1800's and it was the first mode of mass public transport into the French Riviera, inspired by her famous and far-flung fans. There are several online cooperative sites that will coordinate inter European rail travel and make booking tickets and planning journeys a one stop shop. It's a useful service as the many independent rail companies criss crossing Europe can have difficult websites to comprehend or translate. Look in the RG Directory under 'Transport' in any area to find details of useful websites.
From most European major cities, the Eurostar or National French train links connect through Paris. From Paris the TGV (high speed train) takes you as far as Nice and from there you will need to catch a local train to Antibes as the TGV is a direct service. There are Taxis in a rank outside the main exit although most places are a short walk away.
From the Italian side, trains from Rome arrive direct into Nice where you can take the local coastal train to Antibes. Trains from Eastern Europe, Milan and Turin connect through Genoa. For information on trains further afield use the contact details in the RG Directory.
The journey from Paris to Nice takes about five and half hours on the TGV and costs about €125 one way. From Nice the local train to Antibes takes about twenty minutes. See below for more local information on trains on the Cote d'Azur.
Getting To Antibes By RoadThe road network in most of Western Europe is exceptionally good and in particular people find navigating through France very simple. There are a few tips that may help you to make this process even easier with regards to driving in France in general.
The motorways in France are signposted with blue signs. They may also be marked with the word 'Péage' and this means that you are going onto a tolled section of the motorway. It does not mean that you necessarily will end up paying a toll, especially if you are just moving about locally and you use an exit that doesn't have a toll booth. You can check online, however, on the French Autoroute website to get an exact price before you leave.
The free national routes or 'RN' roads are marked with green sign posts. The roads are toll free and they often skirt the towns in a series of roundabouts and by-pass sections. They are slow and can be heavy with local traffic but they are also more scenic and easier to skip into local towns for breaks or food.
When you are navigating through France it is better to have a list of place names that are en route rather than road numbers. Also know the names of the small local towns (on white sign posts) that you'll be passing through as well as the larger cities in which direction you are headed (on green or blue motorway signs).
The fuel stations on the motorway services are convenient but you will be paying a premium price for that service. The cheapest places to fuel up are at the supermarket petrol stations of which most reasonable sized town has at least one, so choose a town and take the exit if you prefer to save some money. Choose a town close to a motorway exit and take in a bit of sightseeing or lunch too.
The 'péage' motorways will cost you money but they are not necessarily more expensive. They are generally faster, often cutting the journey time in half, but they will also save you close to a tank of fuel on long distance journeys. The reason for choosing your route then is either for speed or scenery as opposed to cost.
Antibes is serviced by the A8 Autoroute which runs from east to west more or less parallel to the south western French coastline. The junction number is 44 and it is a tolled junction of the motorway so you will need to have €1.30 ready if you are a class 1 vehicle (car). The motorways throughout France are tolled but you can find out how much your journey will cost online before you leave.
For more local road information once you get to Antibes please scroll down to 'getting around Antibes' section on this page.
Getting to Antibes by seaHome to one of the largest marinas in Europe you might think that getting to Antibes by sea is the way to go but the marina is for pleasure boats and does not have a ferry terminal. The closest ferry terminal on the Southern coast is at Marseilles and has limited routes mostly heading south. The main ferry routes, for passenger ferries, into France are in more northerly ports as the Mediterranean is largely used for pleasure boaters and holiday cruisers. Entering France by sea on a commercial ferry route will leave you on the north or western coast and from there you will have to link up to with the road network or rail links.
There are plenty of cruise companies that operate in and around the Mediterranean and there are also visitor berths in the port if you have your own boat although availability is rather restricted.
How to get around Antibes
Antibes is the second largest town in the department after Nice so it is quite large and sprawling as it incorporates Antibes, Cap d'Antibes, Sophia Antipolis and Juan-les-Pins. Getting your bearings and knowing what part of the town your holiday apartment or rental villas is located in is key to getting around successfully. There are plenty of options though and the information below may help you figure it all out.
 | | Once you arrive in Nice International airport then there are Taxi ranks waiting outside each of the terminal buildings. Antibes is about 20km west of Nice and so the journey should only take about half an hour depending on the traffic.
Fares will be from €45 to €60 depending on how many bags you have and what time of night it is. Taxis are more expensive at night and they are reknowned for being expensive. |
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Agree the fare before you leave the airport. It will clarify the charges for you.
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 | | There is a bus terminus outside the arrivals halls of Nice airport terminals 1 and 2. There is a free shuttle between the two terminal and the bus to Antibes leaves from platform 0 at Terminal 1.
The bus number is 200 and will be going to Cannes. The journey will take the best part of an hour and will cost €1 from this year. A new service called Noctam'bus means that there are now night buses running until 4.00am |
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Nice airport website is the best place to decipher the complicated French bus websites.
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Riviera busesThe bus service all along the Cote d'Azur is very efficient but it has, in the past, also been a little confusing with multiple operators in different towns and different pricing structures which was hard for visitors to decipher. The Conseil General has tried to streamline and simplify the service specifically with visiting cusomers in mind. The fares have been standardized so that every journey now costs the same €1, even between towns such as Nice and Monaco or Cannes and Antibes. There are also day passes available to make it easier to hop on and off the buses at will.
All very good however, trying to figure out timetables and routes by using the internet is an exercise in confusion and the only people to sell the day passes are registered Ligne d'Azur agents. You will find some information on the Nice airport website for information on buses from the airport into the hinterland, see the RG directory for contacts, where you can get information translated into English and find out timetables, bus numbers, cost of your journey and how long the journey will take.
For local information try the Ligne d'Azur website or drop into one of their offices and try and pick up a free map of local routes. Failing all that the bus stops have stop names and bus route numbers on them and you can always ask the drivers.
| Getting to Antibes from Nice airport by train first involves a bus ride into Nice Ville Gare to get to the train station. The journey to Antibes will take about twenty minutes and will cost in the region of €5.
The trains are regular and you can buy your tickets from machines or ticket desks in the train station. You can also pre-book tickets online via the website although there is no English translation on the page. |
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The carte Isabel is available from May to September, costs €10 and allows unlimited train travel per day. |
| There are several roads that you can use to access Antibes. The main motorway route is the A8 and Antibes lies at junction 44. The exit is a tolled junction so prepare to pay €1.30 at the exit.
There is also the route national road or RN as it is signed. This follows the coastline more or less and takes you on a scenic trip along the sea. It is the slower route. This road follows all the way along the coast, around Cap d'Antibes, into Juan-les-Pins and off towards Cannes. |
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Signposting in France is accurate, look for the Bord de Mer if you want to stick close to the sea. |
French Riviera roadsThe roads on the French Riviera are well signposted with signs that are consistent and accurate. Always look for place names rather than road numbers though as this is the best way to navigate in France unless you are on the motorways.
The local town signs are always white, national routes are sign posted green and motorways are always signed in blue and are often toll roads or péages. This can get a little confusing in this part of the world if you venture across the border into Italy as the motorways in Italy are signed green. Keep loose change to hand as the tolls are often not more than a few Euro, ranging from 50cents to €3 at local booths. The unmanned booths will give you change from coins, for notes you'll have to queue at the manned booths.
Always have an idea of which direction you are traveling in and what town names to look out for. For example driving from Nice to Antibes it would be helpful to know that you will be traveling in the direction west for Cannes. The sea and the mountains are the ultimate for keeping your bearings however and getting lost on the French Riviera is really not very easy.
As with anywhere else in the world, roads are busy at peak times and August is notable for it's traffic problems, especially on the single routes in and out of places. St Tropez is a particular hazard. To make your trip easier then try and travel outside peak times. Head to the beach earlier than everyone else and leave later or use alternative modes of transport, boats and helicopters service this part of France with some regularity.
 | | Antibes does not have an airfield itself and the closest airport is in Cannes which is small and only accepts private planes, helicopters and small charters.
Your holiday rental may have a helipad in which case there are helicopter flight operators, based in Nice, Monaco and Cannes who can arrange flights for you. The International yacht club in Antibes also has a helipad and often open their doors for events such as the Antibes yacht show. |
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Nice has the most frequently flying airlines but there are also airports at Toulon, Nimes and Marseilles.
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 | | Well Antibes certainly has no problem with providing facilities for boats, it is the largest Marina in Europe for pleasure cruisers spread over three ports. The problem comes in it's popularity.
There are almost 3000 berths in Antibes and it houses some of the largest and most spectacular privately owned yachts in the world. There are however limited visitor berths and they have to be reserved some time in advance. |
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The Capitanerie in each port is the place to get all the information that you'll need. |
Renting holiday Accommodation in Antibes
Now that you know how to find Antibes perhaps you are interested in renting a holiday apartment or a vacation let in Antibes. Incorporating Juan-les-Pins and Cap d'Antibes you will find a variety of short term rentals from single apartments to luxurious villas in this area. Please use our search facility below or click on 'Browse Rentals' in the main menu. You will be able to see what is available to rent in Antibes or surrounding areas. Thank you and Happy holidays.
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A selection of our holiday rentals in Antibes |
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New and stylish villa set in the heart of the famous Cap D'Antibes. It is very elegantly constructed and tastefully...
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An apartment that has everything, sea view and a lovely swimming pool. Located in the Juan Les Pins district of...
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This fantastic apartment is located in the heart of Juan les Pins, in the district of Antibes in a new building...
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