Antibes, Biot, Picasso Museum

Antibes

During the weekend of the Grand Prix, trains and buses were jammed with people headed east to Monaco. Instead, I went in the other direction, to Antibes and Biot. I took the train west to Antibes and quickly got lost, as the Tourist Info office had recently moved to a new location, and I was without a map (yes, I still use them!) to guide me. After wandering around for a while, I stumbled on it by chance, next to the city bus hub. Since I was already near the bus to Biot, I decided to head there right away, then return later to explore Antibes.

An artist's rendition of Biot. 

Unfortunately,  I got off the bus too soon, at the Biot train station rather than the village, and had to wait 45 minutes for the next bus. Arriving in Biot, another quaint hill town, was a pleasant surprise, with facades of the buildings adorned in natural ochre shades of yellow/orange, soothing to the eye. It immediately felt like an artist community. I had read something about Biot being famous for its pottery production,  but I misunderstood what that meant. I had envisioned a village filled with potters and their wares, but that was not the case. 

A scene in Biot

From the 16th century, Biot specialized in making large storage containers for alimentary use that were exported far and wide. These jars had the reputation of not altering the taste of the food inside, and their production brought prosperity to Biot. However, production began to wane in the 19th century and declined altogether in the 20th century. Artists began to settle in Biot, and the Biot glass factory , with its unique bubbled glass, was established in 1956.  

The work of glass artisans.

Biot is also well-known for the Fernand Leger Museum, named for the cubist artist who moved there to start working with ceramics. The glassblowing factory and the Leger Museum are not located in the village on the hill, but 30 minutes down the hill instead, so I missed out on seeing both of them. I don't mind so much about the glass factory, as I've seen outstanding creative glassblowing before, but the Leger Museum is another matter. Leger's ceramics are quite unique, continuing his focus on cubism, and I would have enjoyed seeing the museum devoted to his work. There was a Museum featuring the history of ceramics in Biot, but it didn't open for several hours, so I headed back to Antibes. 

Plage de la Gravette

Back in Antibes, I headed down to the port, where billionaires store their yachts, and walked along the ramparts that hug the area, passing a popular beach. 

Nomade sculpture, by Jaume Plensa, made of words.

A view of the ramparts on the left. 

For lunch, I stopped at an outdoor Cafe and ordered Salade Nicoise, a local specialty through the Cote D'Azur. It was superb, and only 14 euros!

I spent the rest of my time in Antibes walking around the old town, enjoying the ambience, with fewer crowds than in Nice, and saw two wedding groups near the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Next door is the Chateau Grimaldi, which houses the Picasso Museum, one that offers a good collection of his works. I'd seen a more extensive collection in Barcelona, but this one focused on works after WWII, when color and light were more evident in his work. I especially enjoyed the collection of his ceramic plates on display.

Faune blanc, 1946

All in all, Antibes and Biot are easy day trips from Nice, and well worth the effort. I wouldn't mind spending more time there someday.