Antibes and Vallauris: between nature, history and the works of Picasso

The old town and its alleyways, its covered markets such as the colourful Marché Provençal, its beautiful squares (Place National and Place des Martyris de la Resistance in particular), which at Christmas time are filled with lights, stalls and children's games and which offer year-round refreshment at the outdoor tables of the many open cafés. Antibes presents itself to its guests in many ways and one of them is the beautiful elevated seafront promenade from the marina past the Picasso Museum. A visit to this exhibition space housed in the 15th-century Grimaldi Castle, where the artist lived in 1946 for two months and set up his atelier, is a must: around 150 works are on display, including paintings (among them one of his masterpieces, "La Joie de vivre"), drawings and ceramics, as well as 60 engravings and some previously unpublished photographs portraying Picasso in this place. For those who enjoy walking in nature, the Sentier de Tirepoil (or Sentier du Littoral) is a wonderful outdoor experience that can also be done in the winter months. From the city centre or from Plage du Ponteil, you can take the line 2 bus to the Fontaine stop and then walk down to the sea along a well-marked path: from the southern end of Cap d'Antibes and from here starts a roughly 3 km walk along the promontory (in some places you walk on stone steps between the rocks), in an almost lunar landscape with the rock that changes shape and colour and leads to the Plage de la Garoupe, a wide sandy shore preceded by a sheltered cove where the less cold-hearted can dive even on fine January days. From the beach, one returns to the stop along one of the many streets populated by luxurious villas with gardens that characterise the entire Cap. Another place dear to Picasso's heart is neighbouring Vallauris, which also lives by the sea in the seaside resort of Golfe-Juan. Visit the inland village to discover the many artisans and works on display at the Magnelli Museum that revolve around the tradition of ceramics and visit the Picasso National Museum to admire 'War and Peace', the Spanish master's greatest pictorial work. Finally, not to be missed, on the weekend of 28 February-1 March, are the festivities celebrating Napoleon Bonaparte's landing at Golfe Juan from the Island of Elba and the beginning of the 'Hundred Days' that marked the resumption of power.