Biot

Biot is perched up high and and overlooks hills covered with mimosas and olive trees, not 20 minutes from Antibes. Visiting Biot is to take a real tour through Provençal history which dates back to 154 BC

It's streets and alleys are names accordingly : la Calade, Le Portugon, Le Cul de Sac, La calade des Migraniers, Les Croûtons, place de l'Airette, rue Rondon, rue des orfevres, place de la Catastrophe (where two houses collapsed on June 12, 1898), and place des Arcades which is outlined on two sides by Romanesque and Gothic arcades.

 Do visit the glass and ceramic shops as well as Le Mas des Orangers, an interesting shop selling provençal goods.

Also the fascinating shop Harmonie Decoration is worth seeing at 16, Chemin Neuf with its wonderful interior design pieces. 

Biot has been a source of pottery since antiquity. The region is rich in fine clays, sand, manganese and even volcanic tufa for making the kilns. (Read "Under Sophia" in A Brief Geological Tour.) Amphorae made in Biot were exported worldwide, from Antibes and Marseilles, until the 18th century.

Biot is currently renowned for its glass works, typically a clear or coloured transparent glass with little bubbles. There are several glassworks down the hill around the outskirts of the village, and you can watch the glass-blowing process as the articles are made.

Art du Verre, 1 chemin Neuf - tel: (33) 4 93 65 51 63

Jean-Paul Van-Lith, 44 bis rue St Sébastien - tel: (33) 4 93 65 13 47

La Verrerie de Biot, 5 chemin Combes - tel: (33) 4 93 65 03 00 Glass-blowing Classes  -"stages" (in French) for initiation in glassblowing. One week (5 days) of 1.5 hours per day, for 200 Euros. Website: http://www.verreriebiot.com

Verrerie Luzoro, 1520 rte Mer - tel: (33) 4 93 65 62 18

Verrerie du Val de Pôme,288 chemin Val de Pôme - tel: (33) 4 93 65 03 78. Website:  http://www.verrerieduvaldepome.com/

Verrerie du Vallon ,173 chemin Combes: - tel: (33) 4 93 65 14 30

Verrerie du Village,16 rue St Sébastien - tel: (33) 4 93 65 06 50 Website: www.verrerieguyot.com