Urban sketching. Antibes, France. Itinerary for seeing one of the gem in Provence.

Going to Antibes in France… Why Antibes?

I will tell about the beauty of Provence based on our experience of 10 years. We have had a long relationship that we hope will continue for many years…
We fell in love with the Mediterranean coast of France and its towns right away. We always come back here again and again.

What is the beauty and goodness of Provence? Discovering Antibes: A Traveler’s Guide to Provence

Toronto- Paris- Antibes itinerary, 2019. Our voyage’s feeling always started from an airport door.

People are free from problems and minor life concerns. They exist between countries and continents. The air is full of a vibrant mixture of cultures, customs, and nationalities.

My favorite scene with Kevin Kline and Meg Ryan in the movie “French Kiss” is the take off scene. Everything is behind you…

Freedom of speaking with temporary neighbors is everywhere on a road. At any airport, especially during international flights, is driving my happiness as the traveling artist.

This flight was with Air France. I enjoy their safety movie featuring five young beauties. It reminds me of the French movie Eight Women with Catherine Deneve, Fanny Ardant, and Emmanuelle Bėart. Classic chic madams and mademoiselles and their flared dresses and colored shoes, beautiful and stylish, back in time.

The safety video shows in funny way usually regular boring but must-be learning process. Why not be entertaining and have safety training explanation at once? :)

You had a blast watching the video “Consignes de sécurité Air France – Bienvenue à bord.” It was flirtatiously fun. It felt like a romantic ad at 30,000 feet.

How to get there?

In Provence, south of France, there are many intercity buses. These include both speedy and local buses between Nice airport and Cote d’Azur towns.

We took bus #250 that goes every 30 min from Nice airport to Antibes. It then continues to Cannes. I highly recommend taking the express bus.

It will save your time and energy especially on the first day of your vacation after flight.(information about the bus on the bottom of post)

I started to do my sketches right away :) My Watercolour painting is done with Provençal magic Watercolour box Charvin. In the Nice’s store I hesitated to buy ALL of them.

Finally, 12 clear sea and old Provençal roofs’ building color paints were chosen, and the owner unexpectedly gave me one extra for luck:)

Thank you, I will come back soon.

CHARVIN PAINTS

French Riviera Beach painting on Salis beach (Plage de la Salis)

I will tell you about this wonderful place with some notes as a traveler. My artist’s paintings and drawings of the Antibes will also be included. It is one of the Mediterranean French coast’s cities. Antibes is known for its legends, friendly people, museums, and yummy food. It offers sunny beaches and a warm sea. Most importantly for me, it includes artists’ paths.

Napoleon’s family Legend in Antibes

Let’s start with one of the Antibes’ legends is about Napoleon’s family. Locals are saying that Napoleon’s mother and his sisters lived in Antibes. It is not confirmed in fact. Nonetheless, the locals added some explanation on a house’s sign. Below is the photo from this place.

Antibes beaches with its mild colors, tender rose, blue and violet painting. I was painting this view of local houses and beach with hill surroundings. The long path leads to next town Juan les Pins, our favorite two long sandy beaches, Ponteil and Salis.I was painting sea’s stones on Antibes’ beach. This type of sketches is relaxing time spending…

I was painting sea’s stones on Antibes’ beach. This type of sketches is relaxing time spending…

Antibes is town with lots of energy and has “all in one”.

The old city of Antibes is full of charm

The old city of Antibes is full of charm. Under the south sun, all houses look like gold buildings. Flowers cover their walls.

Antibes has the Archaeological museum, see below the map of the Ville d’Antipolis, how Romans used to call it.

Archaeological museum in Antibes

One day, I visited this small archaeological museum. Even without translation into English, I learned about the ancient history of this place. It was the former settlement of the Greeks, then the Romans, the Etruscan and then Galls.  There are lots of underwater amphorae and wrecks off Antibes. These once held fine wine and were raised from the bottom of the sea.

It was the former settlement of the Greeks, then the Romans, the Etruscan and then Galls. 

There are lots of underwater amphorae and wrecks off Antibes. They once contained fine wine. These were raised from the bottom of the sea.

Another legend is the Etruscan learned to make wine residents of Provence’s French Galas. Interesting, isn’t it?:)

I drew one of their works of pottery’s art Etruscan vase.

10 years ago, I felt a deep connection to the Etruscan culture. It had gone into oblivion. I read some books about Etruscan culture by Jean-Paul Thuillier, Nemirovsky, and Jean-Noel Robert.

It opened my eyes to many things and historical events. After this, we visited the special Etruscan museum and Villa Medici in Rome. Our local Toronto’s museum, ROM, also has an Etruscan section with some good exponents.

Etruscan faces on painting what remained of the exhibits expressed the display of the personality, individuality of a person’s traits. After the influence of Greek culture it started to be prettier but faceless personal features.

Connection between Antibes and Impressionism

Another fascinating story of Antibes is about the connection between the city and Impressionism. This was a new art movement in the 19th century.

It started from Monet, my favorite artist and the creator of impressionism style.

I read the book Monet and the Mediterranean several years ago. Joachim Pissarro wrote it. This book actually opened for me the city of Antibes.

Monet stayed in Antibes for 5 months in 1988. He painted many paintings from this place. His works include “Antibes seen from La Salis”, “Morning at Antibes”, and “Gardener’s House at Antibes”.

Others include “Antibes seen from Plateau Notre-Dame.” There is also “The Gulf of Antibes.” Another one is “View of the Bay and Maritime Alps at Antibes.” Monet wrote to his wife Alice “What I will bring back from here will be pure, gentle sweetness.”

Winding paths offer a view of the ancient city. The silver-violet color of the mountains is visible in the distance. These elements are inviting for a romantic walk.

Old pines are handed close over the path, setting beyond the horizon highlights the sea and the city in distance.

There are some artists discovered this amazing city and landscape around it. Long path near Antibes is very popular among impressionists and post impressionists like Monet, Sisley, Cross, Signac. Their artworks made this town famous.

Everywhere on a long path you see lots of reproductions of artists. They are standing exactly on the places where they created by different artists. This place inspired many artists and me. It can invite you to visit for traveling and producing some artworks.

Gourmet Immigration or Mistress of the Copper Mountain

We once traveled to France for our family summer vacation. During this trip, my husband invented a new expression, “Gourmet Immigration.” It is a brilliant discovery. I hope we will implement it in the future.

Chocolate olives in chocolate, chic, isn’t it? Full impression that it is OLIVES. No, no, no, no, no, no! It is dark and milk chocolates in the form of black and green olives

Two ladies, maybe sisters or friends offer any French chocolate treats. They seem like the mistress of Antibes’ chocolate makers with mouth-watering chocolate. Alternatively, they resemble the legendary Mistress of the Copper Mountain who loves chocolate. Instead of minerals, their product is made from chocolate.

Note. Mistress of the Copper Mountain, also known as the Malachite Maid, is a legendary creature from Slavic myths. She is a fairy tale character and the mountain spirit from the legends of the Ural miners. As the Mistress of the Ural Mountains, she is depicted as a beautiful green-eyed young woman in a malachite gown.

Picasso Museum

I’m not really a fan of Picasso but his story of living in the Antibes is joyful. Picasso lived here after the Second World War when everybody’s feelings were happy because of the end of world war.  Picasso drew local women Antibes, and one of his famous painting is Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (The Young Ladies of Avignon). Then suddenly he decided to learn something new, but again in his style. It was start of the new era of Picasso’s pottery.

My favorite expressions of Picasso from this period are many. One expression is, “I have spent my whole life knowing how to draw like a child.” He famously said, “J’ai mis toute ma vie à savoir dessiner comme un enfant.” Another expression is “I do not seek, I find.” In French, it’s “Je ne cherche pas, je trouve.”

Picasso decided to learn how to make sculptures from scratch when the local pottery master visited Picasso’s exhibition. It turned out to be 7 years of relationship. During this time, the famous artist learned from very basic vases in his 70th at the local workshop. This led to the creation of great and individually recognizable artworks. 

Picasso learned it for many years, and yes, it was free of charge training. Nonetheless, the workshop can copy Picasso’s pottery artworks. These were originally made in this place. They can copy them for a certain number of times and sell these artworks. They are saying that the agreement is still in force. Picasso began with simple vases, and then went on to do art in direction. Some sculptures you see in the Antibes museum.

I’ve drawn and later finished with watercolors some of his vases. This is the advantage to being an artist. You not be allowed to take photos, but pencil sketches are fine under the museum’s rules. Voilà!

Antibes’ locals love cats; there are some signs on the doors in the Old Town. I drew them on the location.

The market in the Antibes is particularly remarkable. Baguettes and croissants, handmade early in the morning, are sold at the market quickly. You can buy real Antibes wine. You will also find Pâté de Foie Gras (goose liver) with colorful ripe vegetables and fruits at the Marche provencal. Address: 27 cours Massena, Antibes

Famous Gelateria is just next to the Market.

Our favorite bakery was near our Royal Antibes hotel. It is a great place that you will enjoy. It is in very close distance to Salis and the private Royal beach with a restaurant on it.

The bakery is just next to the beach, named La-brasserie-de-lillette. I want to highlight some rules inside the small store that sells croissants and other bakeries. Customers must not wear swimsuits, even though it’s just a minute away from the beach. Please respect the “Queen” – French baguette.

Sunset in French Riviera, Antibes

You get up at 7 in the morning and you go to meet the dawn. Nowhere in the world there is no such beauty.

We visited more than 30 locations in Provence in last 10 years, and I am enjoying to paint on location, and Antibes is the city you will enjoy travel and paint with Joie de Vivre (a feeling of enjoyment of life)

Daily trips from Antibes. Transportation

For daily trips I recommend to buy the “Ticket Azur” that allow you to take two transport networks in succession, to finish a journey, including one change between one of the lines on the Departmental Council’s TAM network and a line on one of the following networks: Envibus (Antibes and surrounding area), Communauté de la Riviera Française (Menton and surrounding area), Sillages (Grasse and surrounding area), Bus Varmer (Carros and surrounding area), Ligne d’Azur (Nice and surrounding area), Bus Azur (Cannes and surrounding area)

Bon voyage! Until the next travel:)

You are welcome to visit my personal website pages. There, you can find out more about the artwork I am offering in oil and watercolor paintings. You can buy canvas prints, framed prints, and more artwork.

All paintings belong to the author. No image is to be copied without permission.

• Instagram
• Facebook
• WordPress
• Patreon
• Threads
• Link

Nice Art Store. https://charvin-arts.com/, address 39 rue Gioffredo, 06000

Tools used for my painting include Charvin and Van Gogh watercolours. I also used Pastel GrayPas Expressionist. Derwent watercolour pencils and Faber Castell artist pens were used as well. Paper Strathmore Watercolour and Mixed Media albums, 15×20 cm (6×8 in.)

Brasserie  la-brasserie-de-l-illette24 boulevard Marechal Leclerc, Antibes 06600.

Antibes’ chocolate store . Le Comptoir de Mathilde, votre épicerie fine/chocolaterie à Antibes. Address 20, rue de la RépubliqueAntibes

Antibes’ Gelateria https://www.gelateriadelporto.com/

Royal Antibes Hotel,residence https://www.hotel-royal-antibes.com

Train sites https://www.raileurope.ca.

https://www.raileurope.com

Below is information information for Nice express bus