Introducing Cannes

During the film festival in May, Cannes is crammed with more money, more bubbles, more mobile phones and more cleavage than Hollywood. This aside, apart from posturing palatial hotels, boutiques and restaurants for the très affluent, Cannes has pleasant beaches, great shops, and oodles of poodles.

Like elsewhere along the coast, Cannes' star ascended in the 19th century when an influx of London's high society built here. Synonymous with its two-week film festival, the city basks in its glow for the rest of the year, but also hosts an ever-increasing number of other festivals and congresses.

Along France's Côte d' Azur about halfway between Monaco and St Tropez, Cannes looks out over the Mediterranean Sea, with several sandy beaches running through town. Cannes is part of the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the arrondissement of Grasse. To the southwest, the forested hills of the Massif de l'Esterel form a mountainous hinterland. Just 20 minutes offshore by boat, four tiny islands make up the Îles de Lérins. Cannes' glitter starts to appear along its main shopping street, rue d'Antibes, a couple of blocks south of the train station on rue Jean Jaurès. Several blocks further south, east of the Vieux Port, is the huge Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, home of both the film festival and the tourist office. The resplendent waterfront promenade blvd de la Croisette begins at the Palais des Festivals and continues east along the Baie de Cannes to Pointe de la Croisette. Place Bernard Cornut Gentille, where the bus station to Nice is located, is on the northwestern corner of Vieux Port. The old town, known as the Le Suquet quarter, is to the west of the Vieux Port.

Things to do in Cannes are mostly are centred around the beach, consuming (via mouth and wallet) and general hedonism. Surrounding hills, gorges and rivers are within easy reach if you (or your hip pocket) fancy a break, or else simply strolling through town is a rewarding activity in itself.

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Holidays & Events:

The French honour anything from a local saint to the year's garlic crop with festivities. While there's certainly a variety of celebrations in Cannes, the only event the locals care about is the one with all the film stars. Naturally, it is ridiculously busy and expensive around May. Public holidays revolve around the usual events such as New Year, Easter, and Christmas. Make a note of the particular French ones though, as nothing opens.

Photos:

Getting Here & Around:

getting there and away

Nice airport is only 35km(20mi) from Cannes city centre. Trains run from Gare Nice St Augustin train station, 500m from Terminal 1, every 40 mins. Buses are also regular and leave the airport for Cannes every 20 - 30 mins. If you want to drive, car hire is easy at the airport; the A8 is the most direct route. Destinations within easy reach include Nice (30min), Grasse (25min) and Marseille (2hr), as well as St Raphaël (30min), from where you can get buses to St Tropez and Toulon.

getting around

Serving Cannes and destinations up to 7km (4.3mi) away is Bus Azur (08 25 82 55 99, 04 93 45 20 08; pl Bernard Cornut Gentille). Bus 8 runs along the coast from pl Bernard Cornut Gentille to the port and Palm Beach Casino on Pointe de la Croisette.You can flag down the Élo Bus anywhere you see it passing through the city; there are no set stops. Car-rental agency JKL (04 97 06 37 77; 59 angle de la Croisette) offers cars fit for a star. There are plenty of pay car parks, including the Palais underground car park right next to the tourist office, which lends out free bicycles if you park here. The easy-to-spot entry is off blvd de la Croisette.Alliance Location (04 93 38 62 62; 19 rue des Frères Pradignac) rents motorcycles and scooters. Taxis (04 93 38 91 91, 04 93 49 59 20) can be ordered by phone. To get to the islands, Compagnie Maritime Cannoise (04 93 38 66 33) runs ferries to Île Ste-Marguerite, while Compagnie Estérel Chanteclair (04 93 39 11 82) operates boats to Île St-Honorat with skeleton schedules in winter.

Weather:

The climate in Cannes is pleasantly temperate. Summers are warm without being uncomfortable, autumn can be wet and winter brings cool days and chilly evenings, so bring a few extra layers. You can leave the thermals at home, though - it rarely reaches freezing temperature. Spring is perhaps the nicest time of year, with sunny days, little rain and lots of colour.

Jan
6º - 13º Rainfall: 51		 Feb
6º - 13º Rainfall: 32		 Mar
8º - 15º Rainfall: 23		 Apr
10º - 17º Rainfall: 54		 May
14º - 20º Rainfall: 27		 Jun
17º - 24º Rainfall: 27		 Jul
20º - 27º Rainfall: 9		 Aug
20º - 28º Rainfall: 12		 Sep
17º - 25º Rainfall: 64		 Oct
14º - 21º Rainfall: 97		 Nov
9º - 16º Rainfall: 78		 Dec
6º - 14º Rainfall: 54

Average temperature (ºC); Average total precipitation ( mm )

Places to go:

Vieux Port

Address: La Pantiéro, Vieux Port
Hours:
Phone: 08 20 42 55 55
Price:
Website: www.riviera-ports.com

The "Vieux Port" (Old Port) is literally in the centre of town. It is bordered by the "Gare Maritime" (Marine Railway Station), the pretty Allées de la Liberté where the morning "Marché aux Fleurs" (Flower Market) is held, the "Hôtel de Ville" (Town Hall) and the main shopping streets. For boating enthusiasts, it has 750 mooring berths and 150 stopover berths.

Palais des Festivals et des Congrès

Address: blvd de la Croisette, Baie de Cannes
Hours:
Phone: 04 93 39 01 01
Price: varies depending on event
Website: www.palaisdesfestivals.com

The first Palais des Festivals et des Congrès was built in 1949 to host the Cannes Film Festival. As the festival grew, more space was needed, so the current Palais was constructed on the site of the municipal casino and opened in 1982. Today, the space (25,000 sq km/9650 sq mi) is used for exhibitions, screenings, shows, receptions and conferences.

Plages du Midi

Address: blvd Jean Hibert, Vieux Port
Hours:
Phone:
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Website:

The central, sandy beaches along blvd de la Croisette are sectioned off for hotel guests, where sun worshippers pay by the day to stretch out in a lounge chair with a parasol. You'll find one of the best public (aka free) beaches, Plages du Midi, stretching westward from the Vieux Port along blvd Jean Hibert.

Cruise St-Tropez

Address: , City Centre
Hours:
Phone: 04 92 98 71 30
Price: under 4: free
Website: www.trans-cote-azur.com/an/stropez_cannes

You head out to sea and gaze back at the coast, relaxed and content. Floating in to St Tropez, things just get better. Despite an international reputation for glamour and exclusivity, provincial charm still lingers here. The village, port, Citadel, shops, Ponche district, church, Annonciade Museum and the market - you might have to come back again tomorrow.

Musée de la Castre

Address: Pl de la Castre, Vieux Port
Hours:
Phone: 04 93 38 55 26
Price: adult/under 18yr/18-25yr 3 EUR/free/2, 1st Sun of month free
Website:

Near the Église Notre Dame d'Esperance you'll find the Musée de la Castre, home to a diverse collection of art, antiquities and ethnographical oddities.

La Discoteca

Address: 22 rue Macé, City Centre
Hours:
Phone: 06 11 91 69 99
Price:
Website:

La Discoteca has all the bells and whistles you might expect from a club in Cannes, but with considerably less class. If you want that casting director to notice you, ordering a jeroboam of champagne sees your table spot-lit as a gong goes off. On the off-chance Hollywood doesn't beckon, at least you can get very drunk.

Le Pastis

Address: 28 rue du Commandant André, City Centre
Hours:
Phone: 04 92 98 95 40
Price:
Website:

Le Pastis is the perfect start to a night on the town. It's one of the new kids on the Cannes block, but you would think it had been here forever. Charismatic barman Manuel mixes show-stopping cocktails, and there's a great wine list as well as a blackboard menu.

L'Atelier

Address: pl Franklin Roosevelt, Palm Beach
Hours: 20:30-05:00
Phone: 04 97 06 36 90
Price:
Website: www.lepalmbeach.com

Anyone who's anyone heads to this spectacular club within the Palm Beach Casino. The interior - a minimalist mesh of Byzantine, Greco-Roman and Oriental - has a restaurant and lounge bar. Recently saved from bulldozers and spectacularly restored, it's well worth a nosey. DJs spin jazz and lounge music early on and R&B later on.

Astoux & Brun

Address: 21 rue Félix Faure, Le Suquet
Hours: 10:00-01:00
Phone: 04 93 39 21 87
Price:
Website: www.astouxbrun.com

If you're a seafood connoisseur, this world-renowned place needs no introduction. Every type and size of oyster is available by the dozen, as well as sophisticated fish platters, scallops and mussels. In summer, the chefs prepare the slippery suckers out front.

Mahatma

Address: 5 rue François Einesy, City Centre
Hours:
Phone: 04 92 99 72 00
Price:
Website:

Within the ode to design that is Hôtel 3.14, this opulent purple restaurant under the direction of chef Mario D'Orio does majestic Indian/Mediterranean fusion cuisine using exotic spices. On sultry nights, a table on the outdoor terrace is pure magic.

Barbarella

Address: 14-16 rue St-Dizier, Le Suquet
Hours: Tue-Sun 19:00-23:30
Phone: 04 92 99 17 33
Price:
Website:

At the top of the old town in a trompe l'oeil-painted building with groovy, upbeat interiors, this gay-friendly establishment, named after the psychedelic sci-fi 60s flick, does ab-fab fusion food such as roasted duck glazed in coffee sauce.

Useful Info:

Language Spoken: French, Catalan, Basque, Breton, Corsican

Currency Used: Euro, EUR

Cuisine: Generally, you'll find the least expensive restaurants in and around rue du Marché Forville. If you want to spoil someone (or yourself), head to the stone streets of rue St-Antoine and rue du Suquetif, where you'll pay a little more for a quaint yet exquisite experience.

Time Zone: +1

Area Code: 04 93

Country Dialing Code:

Electricity Voltage: 230V

Electrical Plugs Used:

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Books:

  1. King of Cannes: Madness, Mayhem, and the Movies
    By: Stephen Walker
    Walker is a documentary film-maker who was commissioned by the BBC to follow four ambitious film-makers around as they completed their films for Cannes. Written in diary format, it's filled with the sort of wisecracks and innuendo you might expect from a late-night talk-show host. A lively, if predictable tale.
  2. Super-Cannes
    By: J.G. Ballard
    Paul and Jane arrive at Eden-Olympia, a corporate lodge in Cannes. They are given the house of a local doctor, who one day went on a murder spree, killing ten people. In true Ballard form, the protagonists develop irregular interests. Jane has ménages with a Belgian couple and Paul takes up tranquilisers with a vamp while becoming obsessed about the massacre. He finally reveals the horrific nature of the lodge, where the brutal drives of corporate executives are harnessed in therapy sessions.
  3. Cannes - A Festival Virgin's Guide
    By: Benjamin Craig
    The essential handbook for anyone who wants to make a success of themselves at the Cannes Film Festival. Specifically written for film-makers and industry professionals, it promises to demystify the event and provide advice for those attending. For spendthrifts with a credit card habit, it also offers tips on budgeting whilst in town.