Cap d'antibes cruise tour

Distance Nice - Antibes: 50 km return ride incl. Cap d'Antibes.
​Main routes: The road along the coast. There are cycling paths Nice-Antibes. It is flat most of the way with a few hills at Cap d'Antibes.
Close to: Cannes, Biot, Valbonne, Vence, Tourettes-sur-Loup
Level of difficulty: Easy
Season: All year
Tip: You can cycle to Antibes/return by following the cycling path along the coast road without doing the tour around Cap d'Antibes. The cap is a unique landscape and definitely worth the ride.

Cycling to Antibes from Nice is for you who want a day cruising the flat roads next to the beautiful azur waters of the Côte d'Azur. You will find no mountains to climb on this road!

When you start in Nice, you find your way to the Promenade des Anglais. Simply start pedaling the cycling path towards the airport. It is a two-way cycling path all of the way to Villeneuve-Loubet. You can cycle on the road as well if you are prepared for sometimes heavy traffic and quite a few traffic lights.

When you reach Nice airport, the path will curl a bit along the airport area. Follow the path and pay attention to the intersections that cross the cycling path. Although a lot of drivers in Nice are friendly to cyclists, you will meet some who do not necessarily stop for cyclists in an intersection. Therefore, always be prepared to stop!

Keep the pace down as you pass the airport. There are often travelers, who cross the cycling path without being aware that there is one and that they may walk in front of a cyclist.

You will soon cross the bridge over Var river and enter Saint-Laurent-du-Var.

Keep following the cycling path. When you have passed through Saint-Laurent-du-Var, you come to Cagnes-sur-Mer with the cycling path surrounded by palmtrees.

On a sunny day there will be a lot of people walking, rollerblading, scooting, cycling on a one wheel cycle or the rentable cycle-cars. Basically you meet all sorts of traffic here and with a speed limit set for max. 10 km/hour! - you do need to pay a lot of attention for whatever is moving on the path. Sometimes even the police hiding behind palm trees to catch offenders of the 10km/hour rule! (Most often the police officers have better things to do).

If you feel like having a pause for a drink there are plenty of cafés and restaurants along Cagnes-sur-Mer beach front or in the Villeneuve-Loubet Marina (the landmark big white houses that are shaped like triangles).

The last stretch from Villeneuve-Loubet to Antibes offers a nice 5 km flat ride on a cycling path on the right side of the road with only a few traffic lights. It can be quite windy - on days where you have the wind in your back, you can get a good pace here! (When it is in your face, it is another story).

Embrace the rolling waves cheering for you on your left hand side. Before you know of it, you are in Antibes.

Antibes is a sweet town that has one of the biggest harbours in Europe. You often find some of the biggest yachts in the world here. Antibes also has an old charming town with a lot of restaurants and shops.

If you want to cruise around Cap d'Antibes, you can follow the road all the way along the coast passing the old chateau that now houses a Picasso Museum.

There is around 10-15 km cycling around the cap depending on which ways you choose. There are some great views and extraordinary big villas. If you miss a climb you can do a short one up to see the view from the lighthouse. You will eventually pass through Juan-les-Pins before you go back to Antibes.

To go back to Nice, you simply find the harbour in Antibes and follow the same road as you came.

Tina Baltzer
​Lifesparkz Bike Tours