Antibes is a resort town of southeastern France, on the Mediterranean Sea in the Côte d'Azur, located between Cannes and Nice. It is c. 20 km by rail southwest of Nice, and is situated on the east side of the Garoupe peninsula. Its inhabitants are called Antibois or Antipolitains.
It was formerly fortified, but all the ramparts (save the Fort Carré, built by Vauban, and the ramparts along the sea coast) were demolished in the 1860s. A new town then rose outside the former defenses.
Antibes has the largest yacht marina (by total tonnage) on the Côte d'Azur, built in the 1960s on the site of a Roman harbor. There is still a local fishing industry, much diminished from its size a century ago. It was formerly a site of perfume distilling; the surrounding country once produced an abundance of flowers. Perfume distillation is still carried out on a commercial scale in nearby Grasse.
Tourism:
The major attractions of Antibes are its history, climate, art, beaches and yachting. The sand beaches of Antibes are all manmade; the natural beaches are gravel (shingle in British English); in summer, these beaches are maintained using large tractors towing a device which scoops-up, sieves, spreads, and rakes the sand. Antibes' beaches east of Fort Carré (that is, going toward Nice) are still the original rough materials.
Miscellaneous:
Next to Fort Carré, facing the N 98 Bord de Mer highway is a marble statue of a World War I soldier, said to be the tallest war memorial in France. Unfortunately, he is holding his rifle at Order Arms (rifle held vertically, butt on the ground, barrel held near muzzle end) next to his LEFT leg, which is a gross mistake since Order Arms is only alongside the RIGHT leg; French veterans reportedly went berserk over this egregious error.
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Antibes has one of the largest yacht marinas on the Côte d'Azur, built in the 1960s on the site of a Roman harbor. There is still a local fishing industry, much diminished from its size a century ago. It was formerly a site of perfume distilling; the surrounding country once produced an abundance of flowers. Perfume distillation is still carried out on a commercial scale in nearby Grasse.
The major attractions of Antibes are its history, climate, art, beaches and yachting
