A walk in Antibes got Rick thinking about walls, wild wealth and public access: blog.ricksteves.com/blog/a-walk-on-cap-dantibes-where-public-is-a-dirty-word/

Insightful video! Baltimore got it right when it mandated public access to their inner harbor. This spurred urban redevelopment and became a shared public space that anybody can enjoy. Still plenty of luxury dwellings nearby. Cap d'Antibes can learn something from Baltimore!

You are describing the situation in California---we have a law guaranteeing public coastal access. A venture capitalist recently tried to shut off access to property he had acquired, and a surfers foundation sued for access under the coastal access law and won. Vive la liberte!

Rick, you are one of my all time favorite people.

Thanks for taking me to places I will never see myself I love seeing Antibes and often use Google Earth to explore there - your journeys are mine as well I've traveled the world with you and never miss a Sumday on PBS with you for more than 15 years

Rick love your program! Glad to see (hear) your not always politically correct... "Public" is a word the super wealthy don't like (walls, gates, security cameras).

ACCESS APPROVED

When so much wealth can gorge themselves on the beauty of the mediterranean....

Hi Rick, As you know, in Washington(your home) and Oregon, the public DOES have a right to the sea AND the beach- all beaches are public. In California it is the same case BUT you do have issues with the very wealthy building homes RIGHT up to the Public by pass and trying, often without success, to restrict people access to the beach. In South east and Northeast of the country it is a different matter- you have public beaches, but you have stretches that are owned by housing coops or large estate holders. In those states the public does not have a state wide right of way.

Isn't there private beachfronts up and down the the Hamptons and spots of the California coast?

I am glad you are not just traveling and not ...seeing...what really is. Actually when you show royal this or royal that, like castles it sickens me, rather then like the brainless tourists that pay to see these gaudy, rub in the common man face riches built upon slavery. This is not to be praised Rick..it is to be thought upon deeply and then one must ask ..why is this sold to us as a..good thing.. for one human being to own so much while so many are starving? We are in a corrupt downward cycle in history where the rich are stealing the people's hard earned money thru excessive tax and thru crashing the bond/pension market soon. Then they buy up the best ocean real-estate and try to create their own world of heaven behind secure gates. Sad they don't follow history to know this cant last with just the few being happy at the expense of the many. The guillotines are getting dusted off as we speak. Stay tuned, we all have a front row in this part of history to watch the collapse of society just like the people did in the French revolution or Rome. There are cycles to all things in life..history does repeat.

In California on Highway 1 between Santa Barbara and San Francisco, beaches are inaccessible for tens of miles, with long stretches of fences that prevent people from enjoying nature. There are no houses or constructions yet of any kind, but somebody bought these natural sanctuaries and now you can only look at the beaches from afar and if you dare go over the fences, you will be arrested for trespassing... ON A BEACH!!!

Try Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat :)

hey what road is that?

Funny video.

What's up with the video quality?

:)

Good point showing this, but is it possible to seize the estates in order to make the beaches in this area public ? In the GDR during communism, the wealthy lost their beach houses on the island of Rugen, those houses then became vacation homes for the high members of the communist party. The homes were later on given back to the original owners after the fall of communism.