The French Riviera town of Antibes has managed to preserve a small-town feel which Cannes and Nice (if they ever had it) have long since lost. The town is tucked away behind a headland (called Cap d’Antibes) on the main Riviera strip just a stone’s throw east of Cannes. The headland is studded with villas belonging to the super-rich, but the lively town centre itself retains a refreshing air of normality. Antibes pulls an arty crowd as well as the yacht squad, and it can be very overcrowded in mid-summer. But it’s a great place to while away a few days off-season. The Picasso Museum ensures that Antibes has a place on any art lover’s European itinerary.

The main train station is a modest affair in vivid shades of red, a short walk from the town centre and west of Port Vauban (which is a good spot to leave your yacht). Antibes is extremely well connected by rail. There are several TGVs each day to Paris, all taking less than 5 hrs 30 mins for the journey. There are regular services to Marseille where you can change for onward connections to Toulouse and Bordeaux. There are occasional international trains to Genoa and Milan, but many travellers opt to just take a local train to Nice, where the choice of onward services to Genoa and beyond is much better.

For those looking to make local excursions from Antibes, there’s a superb network of Riviera connections, including two trains per hour to Cannes, Nice, Menton, Monaco and the Italian border town of Ventimiglia. There is also a useful hourly train to the inland town of Grasse.