French Riviera by Emilie

Antibes: Picasso at the château, then the sea along the ramparts

In Antibes, I suggest starting at the Picasso Museum and leaving the ramparts until afterwards. Château Grimaldi housed the painter's studio in 1946: some of the works were made here, in this building facing the Mediterranean. When you step back onto Place Mariéjol, the old town and seafront are still ahead of you, with no need to return to the car.

An illustration of imagined ramparts and a museum courtyard beside the Mediterranean.

In 1946, the château becomes Picasso's studio

The curator Dor de la Souchère invited Picasso to work at Château Grimaldi. The painter, then staying in Golfe-Juan with Françoise Gilot, spent part of the autumn there. He would leave Antibes paintings and drawings made on site.

That history gives a particular reason to visit, even if you already know other Picasso museums. Here, the building is part of the works' creation. You can look at the paintings with that studio above the sea in mind, then find the view opening onto the coast again at the end of your visit.

With children, I recommend looking at the museum's information sheet for “La Joie de vivre” before coming. A dancer, musicians, little goats: the figures give you things to find and talk about. The work brings a mythological world together with familiar activities, making music and dancing. Check the current display if you hope to see the painting in the galleries.

From Place Mariéjol to the Promenade Amiral de Grasse

After the museum, head for the Promenade Amiral de Grasse near the cathedral. The ramparts follow the seafront, and you can continue towards La Courtine, also known as the Promenade Gismondi.

I would leave lunch in the old town until after this walk. Stop when you feel hungry, then return to the streets and squares rather than leaving straight away. The museum, ramparts and lunch are already enough for an enjoyable morning stretching into the afternoon.

Cap d'Antibes deserves a separate outing. If you want a longer walk, give it a day of its own, with a suitable route and weather. That avoids following a museum visit with a hike nobody had really planned for.

Arrive early enough that the lunchtime closure does not interrupt your visit

From mid-September to mid-June, the museum opens from 10 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm, and is closed on Mondays. Arriving at 10 am gives you the morning ahead. In summer, from 15 June to 15 September, it opens continuously from 10 am to 6 pm. In both seasons, ticket sales end thirty minutes before the galleries close.

Leave suitcases and backpacks at home; they are not admitted. The museum has wheelchair access. Contact it to arrange arrival at Place Mariéjol and a car drop-off if needed.

If you visit in early October 2026, some rooms are closed for exhibition installation, from 29 September to 10 October inclusive. Picasso's works on the second floor, Hartung and Bergman on the ground floor, and the terrace are listed as remaining accessible. From 11 October, the exhibition of Claude Picasso's photographs offers another reason to come, until 10 January 2027.

Sources and practical information

All walks and days out