JUAN-LES-PINS – ANTIBES
Calm Glamour Cove of the French Riviera
Essentially
a “suburb” of
its near brother Antibes, the Mediterranean coast town of Juan-Les-Pins
(pronounced "j-wan
lay pan")
is one of the many beach resort towns
of the French Riviera. Once famed in the glorious days of France’s
Bel Age, its Chateau of Juan-les-Pins was the mansion
home of Rudolph Valentino, turned in 1929 into the world renowned luxury
hotel The
Belles-Rives.
This famous hotel has been recently undergoing a renovation to turn it
again into the destination once a favorite of Pablo Picasso, Josephine
Baker,
Edith
Piaf. The wealthy jet still go to the Hotel du Cap and
its Eden Roc restaurant on the Cap-d’Antibes peninsula.
One of the attractions of Juan-Les-Pins
is that it is quieter and calmer than its more well-known neighbors,
Cannes and Nice and the beaches are
better. The beaches of Nice are actually made of pebbles instead of sand,
so sun bathers, topless or not, spread their thick blankets on the hard
surface and bare it. Cannes well-known beaches sandy and soft, but also
crowded and often windy. The
cove of Juan-Les-Pins is protected by the Antibes Peninsula. Water-skiing
was actually invented
here
in
the calm
bay along the Promenade du Soleil. Umbrella shaded lounges on the beach
here like most of the Riviera are obtained by reserving at a hotel
or one
of
the beach
side restaurants like the Pinede Plage or Les
Pirates.
There
are a number of grand hotels and mansions, mostly from the 20’s,
the Villa La Vigie, build by Jay Gould and the “Art
Deco” Le
Provincal. The Le Juana is still a listed historic
monument as well as a flagship Riviera hotel. Juan-Les-Pins is tightly
connected
with the
Jazz age, still the home of the Gould Pine Grove hosts the, one of the
world’s important stops for jazz
where Miles Davis and Ray Charles were first introduced to Europe (see Jazz a Juan Festival). For upscale
nightlife
seeker,
the Eden Beach Casino offers a local alternative to
Monaco (see Monaco
Casino), with evening wear the standard after dark.
And the
pine grove quarter offers bar and restaurants with de rigueur street
tables for beautiful people watching.
Getting around the beach and
town are an easy stroll or take the little Petit Train. Antibes
and its museums like the Picasso
Museum at
Chateau Grimaldi are a 5-10 minute city bus ride away and
Cannes is one stop away on the
SCNF rail line which runs along the Riviera coast. Take a bus loop from
the Antibe central bus terminal to The Musee Napoleonien of
Napoleon memorabilia (see Route
Napoleon) in a former fortress, the Eden Roc and
the magnificent villas of “Billionaires Bay” on the southern
tip of the Cap d’Antibes. The villa of Eilenroc opens
its gardens to the public on Wednesday afternoons.
For the tourists not on a budget
for the Hotel du Cap or making a rail stop on the French Riviera, the Best Western Astoria Hotel is
two blocks from Juan-Les-Pins SCNF Gare rail station and three blocks from the
beach
and the seaside restaurants. Many
of
the
rooms
have
balconies
and
some with ocean views. For arrivals from Cote d’Azure Airport at Nice
you can take the train, or easier is a bus from the bus departure center,
just tell the driver to let you off nearest to Avenue Marachal Joffe.
For trips to Cannes (see Cannes Film Festival on a Budget), Nice or Monaco you can get a daily or multi-day pass from the ticket machines at the train station. Cannes and Nice are 10 minutes and Monaco is about 25 minutes away. © Bargain Travel Europe
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Juan
Les Pins Tourism
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See Also:
ROMAN AMPHITHEATER ORANGE PROVENCE
FAMILY
ENTERTAINMENT COTE D'AZUR
FRAGONARD PERFUME TOUR - GRASSE / EZE
