The circular view
The bay, the harbour, the old town and the mountains.
Abxbay — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sukkoria — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sukkoria — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sukkoria — CC BY-SA 4.0
**On foot** is best: about 20 minutes from the old town on a path past the Port Vauban marina, turning into a dirt track up the rocky headland. The walk itself is handsome, overlooking the sea and the yachts. By car there is parking near the base, but the last climb is on foot regardless. ⚠ The track is **dirt, sloping and uneven**, so it suits neither pushchairs nor open shoes, and in summer there is no shade — go in the morning or late afternoon and take water.
No, and this catches visitors out. The fort is a historic site **run on set times**, and the visit is often a **guided tour** at published hours rather than free entry through the day, with hours differing between summer and the rest of the year. It also closes in **strong wind or bad weather**, because the ramparts are exposed to the sea and are not railed like an ordinary attraction. Check the day's times with the Antibes tourist office before walking twenty minutes uphill.
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A fort shaped as a **four-pointed star** standing on a rocky hill above Port Vauban north of Antibes, surrounded by sea on three sides. It was built in the sixteenth century and later developed by **Vauban**, Louis XIV's fortifications engineer. Its position was no accident: for centuries Antibes was **the last French town** before the frontier with Savoy, which ran at the nearby river Var — so this fort was the effective guard of France's south-eastern border. It has one famous chapter: in **1794** a young artillery officer named **Napoleon Bonaparte** was imprisoned here for some days after the fall of Robespierre, before being released to go on with what we know. A visit today includes going up onto the ramparts, from which there is a **complete circular view** over the bay of Antibes, the harbour, the old town and the maritime Alps behind. ⚠ Getting there means walking up a dirt path from the port, which is part of the experience.
The bay, the harbour, the old town and the mountains.
Four bastioned points on a rock ringed by sea.
The 1794 chapter in the young officer's life.
Avenue du 11 Novembre, 06600 Antibes