two bays, honestly compared
The beaches of Beaulieu-sur-Mer — Fourmis, Petite Afrique, and the third option.
Beaulieu has two proper beaches, both calm, both family-kind, and locals split loyally between them. Here is how to choose — and where the swimming gets better than either the moment you have a hull under you.
Petite Afrique
Baie des Fourmis: the postcard one
The Bay of the Ants — named for the black rocks that once speckled it — curves under the casino gardens at the town’s front, with the Villa Kérylos closing the view on its point. It is the beach for the classic Beaulieu morning: flat, clean water, palms behind, a promenade for the post-swim stroll. Arrive before eleven in summer; the bay is small and word is long since out.
Petite Afrique: the warm one
Around the port to the east, the Petite Afrique sits under a high cliff whose banana palms and lush overgrowth earned the name a century ago. The cliff traps the heat — this is measurably the warmest corner of the bay, which the fig trees and the winter swimmers both confirm — and the beach is longer and more local-family in temper than the Fourmis. There are lifeguards in season, a beach restaurant, and shade at the back if you plan.
shall we put a date in?
We reply within the day
The third option: stop sharing
The honest hierarchy of Riviera swimming puts every beach below a boat. The coves of Cap Ferrat — ten minutes from the Beaulieu quay by water — offer what the beaches cannot: depth-of-glass clarity, no neighbours within fifty metres, and a deck to come back to instead of a crowded towel line. Our day charters build whole afternoons around exactly this; the beaches are what we love the town for, the coves are what we love the boat for.
The short answers
Two of the prettiest on this stretch. Baie des Fourmis, palm-lined beneath the promenade, with water so clear the boats seem to float on nothing — and Petite Afrique under the cliff, sheltered and glassy from the first swim of the morning. From the boat we simply anchor off and you swim in.
Petite Afrique — longer, warmer, lifeguarded in season, with easier parking and a restaurant on hand. The Fourmis wins for beauty and for being two minutes from the town’s cafés.
Your next summer story begins here.
One boat, one crew, up to 10 guests, and a coast that is entirely yours for the day. Tell us how you want to spend it and the rest is ours to arrange. The day is yours and it is our pleasure to be part of it.