Work has just begun on rehabilitating the Pinède beaches, where Juan-les-Pins hosts its famous jazz festival, in the latest stage of a massively ambitious coastal project on the French Riviera. The project includes the beaches along Juan-les-Pins and Cap d’Antibes, one of the most sought-after destinations for the rich and famous. (PLEASE NOTE: These private beaches in Juan-les-Pins ARE open for the 2025 season.)
The 20-million euro overhaul is aimed at reinstating the natural beauty of the Côte d’Azur, reducing the private beaches, and expanding the public beaches to cover 80% of the coastline.
In future only 20% of beaches will be allocated for the region’s famous private beaches. Well-known restaurants along the seashore have already been demolished, and will be replaced with portable constructions that can be easily set up for the summer, and removed at the end of the season.
Antibes Juan-les-Pins mayor Jean Leonetti has called the project “ambitious and virtuous” – ambitious thanks to its hefty price tag, and virtuous as it will “liberate” the area for pedestrians and improve the coastal landscape, resulting in more natural beaches and unspoilt views over the Mediterranean for all.
There are three main areas that are being rehabilitated: Boulevard Baudoin (which began after the summer of 2024); La Garoupe; and La Pinède.
Leonetti visited the new Pinède construction site this week and revealed that this section will have “a very large and very beautiful public beach with a majestic staircase which leads from the natural pine forest to the natural sea via the sand.”
Restaurant and business owners will be able to return but they will be positioned below a new promenade, allowing for visitors to enjoy a more breathtaking and panoramic view over the entire bay of Juan-les-Pins.
For those who are worried about the implications for your summer vacation, construction is set to stop at the end of June to allow for all the usual summer activities to take place, and will resume in September, according to Raphael Simon, local Director of Health, Environment & Coastal Affairs. (Please note: not all beaches are open for the summer. The mayor’s office has decided to push through and finish the work on the beaches along the promenade from Cafe de la Plage so Helios, Miami (Juanita) and Jetee etc. will remain closed. Please see the Juan-les-Pins beaches that are open here.)
Work has commenced on the Pirates side, and will continue after the summer in the direction of the small Marco Grilli passage (which leads through to Hotel Belles Rives).
The Pinède project, which is expected to be completed by Spring 2026, is costing 5-million euros of the budget.
La Garoupe
The La Garoupe rehabilitation is divided into two stages. The first has already begun on the Le Rocher side. The popular restaurant will reclaim its spot, but in a totally transformed environment that allows an unspoilt view of the sea, with a public esplanade above and a public beach below. This should be finished by the summer (2025).
The second stage involves the promenade around Cap d’Antibes and the renowned Plage Keller section. Parking above the beaches is also set to improve. Work on this phase will only begin in the winter of 2025.
The La Garoupe project, which is expected to cost a total of 4.82-million euros, is set to take two years altogether to complete.
In the meantime, to access the Sentier du Litterol (the Cap d’Antibes coastal walk) use the Chemin des Contrebandiers and Sella Avenue to access the Boulevard de la Garoupe.
