France is a wonderful holiday destination, especially in the summer. One of the major tourist attractions is Nice. Nice is one of those few cities that have beaches just minutes from the centre of the city. It has, not one, but up to 30, stretching from Cote d’Azur Airport all the way to the Port. However, all of them are stony, which does not make them the perfect place for tanning. Add to that the fact that they have steep slopes, which also makes them unsafe for beginner swimmers.

All is not lost, however. There are many beautiful beaches near Nice that can be reached by car. Here is a list.

Villefranche-sur-Mer

Villefranche-sur-Mer is a small resort close to Nice. It doesn’t have very fine sand, but it’s still better than the Nice beaches. Since the town is really small, there are fewer people – and tourists – here which makes for a nice and quiet experience. Still, this town does get a lot of traffic during summer season.

Antibes

Antibes has a large number of beaches as well. Old Antibes is small and sandy. It gets quite crowded as well. It faces the sun (westward) so you can see the sunset perfectly from here. It has a breakwater which makes it a safe place for children to swim in. The Ponteil and La Salis are also very popular in Antibes. La Salis is very large, but crowded during summers. Ponteil has a breakwater like Old Antibes.

Juan les Pins is located on the other side (of the peninsula) and has a huge sandy area. The large amount of space here makes it a popular place. You can also find shops here selling inflatable toys for the tourists. The fancy beach on Antibes is the Garoupe beach on Cap d’Antibes. Protected from the wind, it faces east which means you’re not looking into the sun.  All the beaches close to Nice are easily reached with car hire which is obtainable here on this website or through http://www.hireacar.ie/ all year round. There are restaurants, paid beach chairs and also a public section.

Cannes

Cannes has both public and private beaches. The public ones are clean, just like the private ones. They can be crowded during the summers, but you can also get quiet days towards the start and end of the summer holidays. One of the free ones is located behind the Palms casino. The private ones are located at the Croisette and you pay a premium for the privacy. All the beaches in Cannes face south, and the sand is quite fine, which makes them very popular. Private beaches on the Plage de la Croisette have beds as well as drinks. One of the best private areas is Midi beach.

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