Beaches in Antibes — 15 of Our Favourites

These hidden coves are only accessible if you're walking the route known as the 'Sentier Littoral' around the coast line of Cap d'Antibes. However we would not recommend any of these areas as actual 'beach' and would not advise you to head there for a day's sunbathing, swimming and beach games.

The Cap is actually very large and you cannot walk the whole way around as private properties block the path in places thereby forcing you back onto the road away from the coast. As such, it's best to approach the beaches from either the Antibes side, the Plage de la Garoupe coastal path, or from the Juan les Pins side of the Cap. There is parking along Boulevard Bacon, Plage de la Garoupe, Villa Ellen and Boulevard Bd Maréchal Juin.

If you’re coming up to the coves and rocks of the Cap d’Antibes for the day, bring a picnic. There’s a small Petit Casino on the Cap, but it’s a bit of a walk from the sea, so if you’re catching the bus it’s probably better visiting one of the bigger supermarkets in Antibes or Juan les Pins to pack your hamper. Even better, hit the famous Antibes Provencal market for olives, cheeses and baguettes.

You will find some popular beach clubs towards the Square Franck Jay Gould end of the beach, including Plage Les Pirates beach club. However, there is also a fair amount of public space on this beach so that you can lay your towel down on the sand without the price tag.

There are public toilets and showers at this beach. There are also public pay toilets and a toilet block in the nearby Parc de la Pinede.

Yet as the beach runs towards Golfe Juan, past the little sailing boats and kayaks pulled up on the shore, it becomes a public beach, with the main road and the train line running right alongside.

Like many Riviera beaches, dogs are ostensibly forbidden between mid April and the end of September because of the crowds. I have seen dogs being walked on the public end though, but keep your eye out for inspectors and be aware that you could cop a fine.

In summary there's good sand, a great view, decent facilities, watersports equipment for hire and it’s less crowded than further along.

This beach is predominantly public, which makes it hugely popular. In the corner there’s a lovely private beach club called Royal Beach, which is open from late April/May to end of September (weather dependent).

This is a great beach with an exceptional view and good facilities. Even better, the wide promenade with shady trees and park benches is a place where everyone likes to gather and walk in the evenings, giving it real character year-round. However, in mid-summer, be prepared to get to this beach early otherwise you might find yourself queuing for a patch of sand and waiting for others to leave.

In the long summer twilights, big groups of families and friends gather at this beach for volleyball and picnics until late, and there’s a gorgeous walkway or ‘promenade’ behind the beach with lots of park benches shaded by trees where you can sit and look out to sea.

It has disabled access via a long paved walkway behind the beach and ramps rolling down to the sand. In high summer, the council has cordoned off a part of the beach with a mat rolled right down to the water for wheelchair users. There are free public toilets on the far side of the Sailing Club building or some coin-operated toilets mid-way along the beach in the carpark. There are showers on the edge of the water.

Dogs: From mid-April until October dogs are ostensibly forbidden on these beaches between 06:00 and midnight due to the crowds. However, you’ll find that on wet or windy days or early in the morning the locals still walk their dogs there anyway.

These grey shingle beaches edge the coast road all the way down from Nice to Antibes, where the iconic Fort Carré marks the end of the stony beaches and the beginning of Antibes’ sand beaches. As such, those looking to escape Antibes’ summertime crowds on the sand beaches have the option of visiting the pebbled beaches that begin at the rocky and narrow Plage du Fort Carré and stretch westwards to the wider and busier section called Plage de la Fontonne at Biot.

However, there is no shade along this coast, just pebbles and sea. There are few facilities and it backs the major coastal road, meaning this stretch of coast tends to be an acquired taste. The great advantage of this entire stretch of beach is that it's completely public.

There are fresh water showers at this beach and a few food kiosks and vans parked up in the summer months, but it’s a good idea to bring a picnic if you’re looking for variety. The closest toilets are at Biot.

Because it’s an unprotected beach as we mentioned, this beach doesn’t have any shelter from the cool winds. Not a great choice for winter sun except on calm, windless days. You could walk your dog on here, but the road backing very closely onto the beach could prove a hazard.

These tend to be good beaches if you don’t want to overlap your towel with a stranger’s, as happens on many Riviera beaches. However, the rocky beach and lack of facilities mean that these beaches are generally for hardier souls.

Sheltered by the stone jetties on either side this small beach is sheltered and offers a nice alternative to the main beaches in Juan les Pins. To one end you will find the Le Cap Beach Restaurant and their private beach where you can hire sun loungers, parasols and enjoy food and drinks service on the beach.

On the public stretch of beach there are toilets and showers available.

Grande plage beach is entirely public with good facilities and only a short walk to town, therefore it’s no surprise that this beach is absolutely heaving in high summer.

If you don’t like crowds, try your luck at Plage de la Gallice or Plage du Crouton instead, or head to one of the hidden beaches of Cap d’Antibes.

Dogs are forbidden on this Riviera beach between mid-April and October, although you might get away with it on a slightly cooler or rainy day. Because this beach is so open and there are many overlooking buildings, this might not be your best bet for a sneaky dog walk in summer, keep your eye out for the locals and see what they do.

It’s even plenty big enough for a spread-out game of cricket on a quiet day (You’ll struggle hitting a six over those huge rampart walls). A fabulous advantage of Plage de la Gravette is that it’s a purely public beach, meaning that unlike so many other Riviera beaches, the best stretches of sand aren’t claimed by private beach clubs. In high summer, you’ll have to get up early to claim a patch of sand down by the water though.

Because it’s a public beach, there isn’t much at Gravette in the way of the facilities that you’ll find elsewhere at the glamorous private beach clubs. There are fresh water showers by the water’s edge and outside the beach you’ll find public toilets built into the ramparts wall.

Be aware that the council locks the gates to the beach at night, around 20:00 and opens them again in the morning. While they do get opened most days in winter, we’ve found that on the stormy cold days they sometimes don’t get opened.

Out of season: In winter or the shoulder seasons, you’ll be in heaven on a sunny day. Depending on the wind direction, the high ramparts block the wind and the beach becomes a beautiful sun-trap that is very quiet for much of the day. Lunchtime on sunny winter days bring the sun-worshipping locals out to sit on the ledge underneath the wall in the sun, eating baguettes and reading newspapers, feet in the sand. Some brave souls even swim here year-round.

Dogs: There is a sign on the gates saying dogs are prohibited, but like many things in France, the laws are sometimes interpreted loosely and in this case with a good dose of common sense. Because the beaches are so crowded, you really can’t take your dogs on the beach in high summer - it is illegal. As of October through to mid-April, dogs are permitted on French beaches and it’s often a very social affair, and in the height of winter the council don’t clear the beaches of sticks, meaning huge piles of them collect when the winter storms roll through. This is stick heaven for happy dogs.

Plage de la Gravette is a great beach with great sand, great setting, great for kids. The only real drawback is the water quality in summer, but with such a central location this is a hard beach to beat.

This entire stretch of beach is public, making it a rarity out of Riviera beaches. Anywhere you see free is yours to occupy and you’ll find everyone brings their umbrellas and beach chairs along, making it a free-for-all.

It's a lovely white sand beach with great views and basic facilities but lacks a little of the atmosphere of its neighbour, Plage du Ponteil. However, the sand quality seems softer and whiter on this beach, there are fewer rocks in the water, and it seems a little easier to find a spot to lay your towel in high summer. There are free public toilets on the far side of the Sailing Club building, and open-air showers on the edge of the water.

Off-season this beach does get lovely winter sun, but isn’t quite as well protected as the neighbouring sun-trap on Plage du Ponteil. Through the winter months, the council rarely removes the seaweed and debris that rolls in with the winter storms so while you’ll still be able to find stretches of lovely soft sand, you’ll find this beach does get quite full of sticks, logs and seaweed. On the bright side, it’s a lovely spot for a dog-walk on a cool winter’s day.

Dogs: From mid-April until October, dogs are ostensibly forbidden on these beaches between 06:00 and midnight due to the crowds. However, you’ll find that on wet or windy days or early in the morning the locals still walk their dogs there anyway. Whatever you do, pick your dog mess up: it’s illegal not to, and anyway, no-one wants to step in dog surprises at the beach. You will still find many French people bucking the law to pick up (and other French people chasing them and yelling at them, which is very amusing) so keep your eyes peeled.

This town beach has a central location with a good number of private beach clubs and pontoons, as well as some areas of public beach along towards the Plage Promenade du Soleil.

There are no public toilets or showers at this beach, and it’s not wheelchair-accessible. There are public pay toilets and a toilet block in the nearby Parc de la Pinede, and you’ll find more paid portable toilets nearby.

Dogs are forbidden on this Riviera beach between mid-April and early October, and because there are so many overlooking buildings, this might not be your best bet for a sneaky dog walk in summer.

This beach is often photographed in tourist brochures for the Côte d’Azur.

Nestled on the Cap, but easily reachable by car along Bd Maréchal Juin, this gloriously pretty beach is filled with colourful fishing boats anchored in the crystal clear water. With a fine pebble/sand mix in a small curved cove looking out across the bay, this is lovely place to spend a day.

There are a few parking spots on the corner of Bd Maréchal Juin and Bd John F. Kennedy, but this beach fills up quickly.

This beach has a wonderful history. During the late Belle Epoque and the early Jazz Age, the French Riviera was considered only as a wintertime resort. In the 1920’s, however, a famous American socialite couple, the Murphys, bought a villa on the Cap d’Antibes and spent countless hours cleaning Plage de la Garoupe of seaweed and old fishing nets in order to attract their wealthy and famous friends to summer here. It certainly worked: Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Picasso were just a few who came to attend the glittering parties and enjoy the pretty little beach their friends had prepared.

Not a problem for the Hemingways or Picasso, but for today's visitor selfies are banned on Garoupe Beach, arguing that people at this sophisticated beach should be enjoying the moment rather than being preoccupied taking photos to brag to their friends back home. That’s us told, then.

This beach is almost entirely taken up with private beach clubs with just two very small patches of gloriously soft sand reserved for the public in the summer months. As of mid-October through to April though, this stunning beach can be all yours again. Plage Keller is extremely sophisticated, with yellow deckchairs set up on a wooden jetty stretching out over the water, and white tablecloth tables set up on the soft sands. Petit Plage and Plage Joseph are also rather ritzy.

As mentioned, the private beach clubs close in late September/early October, so the beach opens up again. However, during the winter storms this beach piles up with an incredible amount of seaweed and driftwood. You can see how the Murphys had their work cut out for them clearing the beach each spring.

Not only is this a supremely pretty beach, but when sitting on it you can take pleasure in the knowledge that this tiny patch of sand was largely responsible for the launch of the French Riviera as the glamorous summer resort we know today. Not to mention that Hemingway, Picasso and Fitzgerald once sat on the sand here and played in the waters, looking out across the bay and planning their masterpieces.

Named after the nearby street of Chemin des Ondes, the small beach of Les Ondes is popular with locals and offers a pleasant, if narrow, strip of fairly sheltered beach. This is the first sandy beach on this side of the Cap.

It has a concrete wall and road at its back, but has a picturesque tower sitting in the shallows, and a lovely view across the bay to the Esterel mountains and the Cannes Islands.

It has toilets and showers and a few (highly contested) paid parking spaces. You’ll find lots of locals on this beach. Take the bus or walk from Juan les Pins unless you’re planning to park here very early.

It’s also a lot more casual than those popular beaches with their buzzing watersports and posh beach clubs, making it a great place to relax with a picnic and a good book. This charming, low-key beach is completely public, without a glamorous beach club to be seen.

It’s a relaxed and pleasant place to spend a day, far from the noise and pretention you find at some nearby beaches. Soft sand, calm waters, lovely view, what’s not to like?

Like almost all Riviera beaches, dogs are ostensibly forbidden between mid-April and the end of September because of the crowds. However, I’ve been there on a sunny day in early September and there were several happy hounds running about and no-one made a fuss. However, keep your eye out for inspectors and be aware that you could cop a fine. Pick up after your dogs, don’t let them be a pest to others and don’t take them when it’s really crowded and there’s a good chance you’ll be fine.