A Brief History of Antibes

Antibes was first discoverd at the beginning of the 20th century by American millionaires, who built enormous mansions on the Cap d’Antibes or took over ones built half a century earlier, such as Eilenroc, designed by Charles Garnier in the the 1860s. By the 1920s and 1930s, the era the French call l’age du pyjama, they had turned it into a winter resort on their social schedule of Europe.

Among them, the legendary Murphys, immortalized by F. Scott Fitzgerald in his novel Tender is the Night, took up residence on Cap d’Antibes. Murphy was an early jazz afficionado. His collection included Louis Armstrong’s first recording. Before long, his parties were drawing notable society beauties, flappers, musicans, artists and poets. F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald were regular visitors. So were Hemingway, John Dos Passos, Rudolph Valentino, Mistinguet and her lover Maurice Chevalier.

The Murphy’s lifestyle inspired Fitzgerald’s Tales of the Jazz Age and the term, which originated in the Casino at Juan, was taken up by all and sundry to describe the roaring twenties. The party went on right up until WWII and then continued again in the 1950s.

Picasso came to stay for a few years and so did Nikos Kazantzakis, author of Zorba the Greek. Grahame Greene moved to Antibes after the war. Jazz continued to be an established part of the of the scene, with Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Domino all performing at the Casino.

In the 1960s the jazz connection was formalized with launch of Jazz à Juan, one of Europe’s oldest jazz festivals. Today, the festival, in a pine wood named after American millionaire Jay Gould, continues to attract top jazz musicans from throughout the world. Recent performers have included Marcus Miller, Wynton Marsalis, Salif Keita, Diana Krall, James Carter and Joshua Redman.

Antibes was originally founded by the Massalian Greeks in the fourth century BC. It was one of a series of coastal towns where the Greeks traded with the native Ligurians. Some believe its Greek name, Antipolis, meaning “the town opposite,” derives from its position across the Baie des Anges from Nice, another Greek settlement.

In the usual history of this coast, Antibes was a Roman town for a while before being overrun by barbarians and pirates. In the Middle Ages, it passed between bishops and various noble families. From the end of the 14th century, it was once again militarily important, since it marked the frontier between France and the Kingdom of Savoy. Henri IV of France bought it from the Grimaldis (who now reign in Monaco) and fortified the town. Fort Carré, overlooking Antibes harbor, and the ramparts along the seawall are all that remain of these works.

Antibes Today

Antibes is an important center of commercial flower growing. There are nearly 1,000 flower businesses, growing roses, carnations, anemones and tulips.

Just outside of the city, Sophia Antipolis, a vast and successful new town devoted to international development in science, technology, education and commerce, enables Antibes to remain vibrant and viable while protecting the serene ambiance of the town center.

Getting back to those cinema images of the Riviera, wasn’t there always someone waterskiing in the background? It must have been Antibes because, according to the Antibois, waterskiing was practically invented here. Whether you’ve never done it before or water ski to championship standards, this is the place do it. Other watersports, including parascending, wake boarding and windsurfing, are available along the beaches. There are also a number of diving clubs and deep-sea fishing excursions.

The French, busy as always classifying everything in sight, have named Antibes “the second most athletic city in France.”