Chauffeur service

Chauffeur service in Antibes: bollards and the port

The old town is 22 km and 25 minutes from Nice airport. Tolls and parking are included, and the fare agreed at booking does not move. The old quarter is closed by bollards, and the car park by the port stops at 1.90 m.

At the bollard, you talk to the municipal police

The permanent pedestrian zone in the old quarter covers rue du Bas Castelet, rue Vandenberg, rue Fersen, rue de la République, rue Raybaud, rue du Championnet, rue Fontvieille, boulevard d’Aguillon, rue Paul Arène, the Porte Marine, the Rampe des Saleurs and the promenade des Remparts. Driving and parking are banned there, with deliveries tolerated from 6 am to 10 am.

The municipal text describes the mechanism plainly. The user presses the intercom, is connected to the municipal police urban surveillance centre, and access is only granted once identity has been checked. It adds that following an authorised vehicle through the open bollard is pointless, because the bollard rises again automatically behind it.

So there is no drop-off at the door, and no trick. There is a meeting address, at the edge of the zone, chosen before departure.

The car park by the port stops at 1.90 m

At 20 avenue de Verdun, the Pré-des-Pêcheurs car park holds 569 spaces and stays open around the clock. Its stated maximum height is 1.90 m, so a van does not go down. On the same avenue, the Vauban car park is listed at 1,000 spaces and imposes no such limit.

Further along, the quai Camille Rayon falls under the international ship and port facility security code. Its operator presents it as a private access. You enter through a control post, with clearance prepared in advance, not by turning up at the gate.

Cours Masséna closes in the afternoon, on different days by season

Cours Masséna, rue Maizière, rue Vauban, rue de la Tourraque and rue Aubernon become a temporary pedestrian area from 3.30 pm to 1 am. From 1 June to 30 September that applies every day. From 1 October to 30 April it applies on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only.

Read both periods carefully: May is covered by neither. That is a regulatory gap we will not fill in for the council, and it is checked on the ground on the day. A Saturday in July at 6 pm, on the other hand, needs no checking: the market street is closed and the drop-off moves elsewhere.

Local details and sources

At a bollard in the old town of Antibes, entry goes through the intercom and then an identity check by the municipal police urban surveillance centre; following the authorised vehicle achieves nothing, because the bollard rises on its own.

Pré-des-Pêcheurs car park, 20 avenue de Verdun, 569 spaces, maximum height 1.90 m

Source : Town of Antibes Juan-les-Pins, « Bornes et zones piétonnes » ; Q-Park, Pré-aux-Pêcheurs car park factsheet ; Antibes Juan-les-Pins tourist office, « To park » and « Les marchés » ; Port Vauban, IYCA page

Before you arrive

Your questions.

Can you follow an authorised vehicle through a bollard?

No, and the town says so in its own wording: the bollard rises again automatically behind the authorised vehicle. The car following it takes the bollard under the chassis. Entry is requested on the intercom, and the urban surveillance centre checks identity before the bollard retracts.

Can a van use the Pré-des-Pêcheurs underground car park?

No. The operator states a maximum height of 1.90 m for this 569-space car park at 20 avenue de Verdun. A van drops off at street level instead. The Vauban car park, on the same avenue, is listed at 1,000 spaces and stays the simplest meeting point near the port.

Can a car reach the quai Camille Rayon?

Not freely. The port operator describes that quay as a private access under the ISPS code, meaning a restricted port area. Any drop-off is arranged at the control post and agreed in advance with the vessel, never at the foot of the gangway.

When does the provençal market clear the cours Masséna?

The tourist office gives 7.30 am to 1 pm, and to 1.45 pm from 1 June to 31 August. The market is closed on Mondays from 1 September to 31 May, and runs every day from 1 June to 31 August. Loading is allowed in the pedestrian streets from 6 am to 10 am.

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