Friday 10th to Sunday 19th May



 

 

We flew to Nice then travelled by road to a very nice apartment near the beach in Juan Les Pins for a ten day holiday. The weather was warm enough to make the beach enjoyable but the sea was still cold. As the season doesn't start until June there was plenty of space.

 

We were only just over a mile from Antibes and there was a frequent bus service. There were some lovely yachts in the harbour and Forte Carre provided a scenic backdrop.

Antibes beach is well sheltered by the old defensive harbour walls.

The nearby streets are very picturesque.

Chapelle de la Garoupe on the highest point of Cap d'Antibes.

We caught the train for the one hour ride to Monaco. The station is in France and you enter Monaco as you walk to the entrance.

The Hotel de Paris (Louis XV) near the casino - outside were some very expensive cars. Prices here start at £848 per night.

The Monte Carlo Casino is on the same corner near some very expensive jewellery shops.

Both face onto these gardens. The tiered seating was being erected for the Grand Prix.

We spent some time in the Café de Paris opposite the hotel watching the comings and goings.

Walking uphill brought us to the lush Gardens of Africa.

Further east we came across this hairpin bend - famous in the Monaco Grand Prix.

By the shore a new harbour is being constructed.

Our destination was the Japanese Gardens which were a cool and green oasis.

We left via the coast road which took us through the tunnel under the Casino. Windows on the left gave good views of the construction.

This brought us to the main harbour.

We walked along past the pole position on the road - filled by Lewis Hamilton a few days later.

The next day we caught the bus into Antibes and walked past the harbour where more yachts were moored. In the background is the biggest private yacht in the World "Dilbar" which can accommodate 40 guests.

 

We visited the Picasso museum with lots of his paintings and sculptures. We were able to stand in his actual studio and see the works he produced there.

The view of the Mediterranean from this courtyard at the museum was fantastic. Antibes was an ancient Greek town which is named after anchovies which were processed there. This building was once the Chateau Grimaldi.