If you are looking for property to buy in the South of France, and more particularly on the French Riviera behind Cannes, you will almost certainly have come across the name Sophia Antipolis. Sophia Antipolis is recognized today as being the largest scientific park in Western Europe. The main force behind the the park has been Pierre Lafite. In the 60’s he had the idea to create a “Quartier latin aux champs” in which universities, schools, research centers, advanced technology and sophisticated service industries, could operate in an attractive environment away from the constraints of the traditional urban centers.
The name Sophia Antipolis comes from the Greek word for wisdom and the Greek name for the town of Antibes, to the north of which were the 10 hectares that originally comprised the park in 1970. Early arrivals to the site were the Ecole de Mines, the CNRS and IFP research institutes, and some companies including l’Oreal.
Having grown over the following years the Sophia Antipolis now occupies 2,400 hectares, covering in part the communes of Antibes, Biot, Mougins, Valbonne and Vallauris. There are over 1400 companies of which 40% engage in R&D and more than 10% are foreign owned. These companies employ more than 30,000 people in addition to the 4,000 publicly employed research workers and 5,000 students, all helping to make Sophia Antipolis a world reference in terms of innovation.
Coast and Country has helped numerous people employed in Sophia Antipolis find property to buy and we have several villas, houses and apartments for sale convenient for Sophia Antipolis in Antibes, Biot, Mougins, Valbonne and Vallauris as well as other towns on the French Riviera.
