ANTIBES

For centuries, Antibes has captivated and been home to artists like Picasso, Monet, Renoir, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Charlie Chaplin, and Guy de Maupassant. You can feel the creative energy with each step you take through the old town, as if it lives and breathes right alongside this coastal city's residents and visitors.

My favourite spot was Artist's Alley, just inside the town walls from the marina. It's lined with art galleries, painters studios, potters workshops and incredible jewellers displaying their work. Browsing some of the most gorgeous ceramic homewares I have ever seen, I met Pauline, a potter from Paris who had moved to Antibes a year ago. She shared how she and five other potters shared the workshop, playing with clay and dining together at the communal table just outside their shop. I think I fell in love with Antibes in that moment. Such a different life than the hustle culture of the Gold Coast (or Australia in general). I felt so inspired, imagining a life spent making art with your friends, living slowly and intentionally. Is that not the point of the human experience?