France · French Riviera
Cannes
Home of the world's most famous film festival: the Croisette, the red-carpet steps, an old hilltop quarter and monastery islands just offshore.
Cannes is the Riviera's glamour town, a fishing port turned winter resort for English aristocrats and now known worldwide for the Cannes Film Festival, whose red-carpet steps climb the Palais des Festivals on the seafront. Beyond the festival it is a compact, walkable resort: the palm-lined Croisette with its grand hotels and private beach clubs, the old hill quarter of Le Suquet above the harbour, and the quiet Lerins Islands a short ferry ride offshore.
Suggested stay
2–4 days
Language
French
Currency
EUR
Timezone
UTC+2
Why you'll love Cannes
The festival town The Palais des Festivals and its red-carpet steps are open to walk past year-round, with stars' handprints set in the pavement nearby
The Croisette A palm-lined seafront promenade of belle epoque palace hotels, designer boutiques and raked private beaches facing the bay
Le Suquet The old fishermen's quarter climbs a hill above the harbour to a castle museum and views over the yachts and the Esterel
The Lerins Islands Pine woods, a fortress prison and a working monastery with its own vineyards, a short boat ride from the port
Best time to visit
Jan-Sep
14-29° days
43.551° N, 7.013° E
UTC+2 · Europe/Paris
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Weather & when to go to Cannes
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Jan-Sep
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Cannes
No truly bad season: winters are mild, which is why the English made this a winter resort. Autumn brings the most rain, sometimes in heavy storms, and summer is hot, crowded and expensive, with the beaches packed. Festival and trade-fair weeks fill hotels and close parts of the seafront, so check the calendar before booking.
Top things to do in Cannes
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Palais des Festivals - the red-carpet steps
culture arts 👍 PopularThe concrete festival and congress hall at the head of the Croisette is where the film festival unfolds each spring. Outside festival time you can climb the famous steps for a photo, and look for the Allee des Etoiles nearby, where film stars' handprints are set into the pavement.
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La Croisette - the seafront promenade
scenic shopping 👍 PopularThe palm-lined boulevard curves around the bay from the Palais to the Pointe de la Croisette, lined with belle epoque palace hotels, luxury boutiques and private beach clubs with their rows of loungers. Walk it end to end, ideally late in the day, and look out for the public beaches between the private ones.
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Ile Sainte-Marguerite - the Man in the Iron Mask's prison
history nature wildlife ⭐ Highly recommendedThe larger Lerins island is a pine-shaded nature reserve ringed by footpaths and swimming coves. Its Fort Royal held the mysterious Man in the Iron Mask in the late 17th century; his cell survives, and the fort also houses a maritime museum with finds from Roman shipwrecks.
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Ile Saint-Honorat - the monks' island
history scenic ⭐ Highly recommendedThe smaller island has belonged to a monastic community since the 5th century. Cistercian monks still live and work here, tending the vineyards that produce the island's wine, and you can walk among the vines to the fortified medieval monastery tower on the shore. Quiet, car-free and very peaceful.
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Le Suquet - the old town on the hill
history culture arts 👍 PopularCannes began on this hill above the Vieux Port. Climb its steep lanes to the Notre-Dame d'Esperance church and the medieval castle, now the Musee de la Castre, with its collection of world art and musical instruments and a watchtower with the best view over the bay.
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Marche Forville - the covered market
foodThe town's main food market, a short walk from the port below Le Suquet, is the place for Provencal produce, local fish, cheese and socca. Go in the morning, when it is busiest; it turns into a flea market on some days of the week.
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Rue d'Antibes and Rue Meynadier - shopping streets
shoppingOne street back from the Croisette, Rue d'Antibes is the main shopping strip for fashion and mid-range brands, while the narrow pedestrian Rue Meynadier near the old port is lined with delis, cheese shops and small food stores.
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Vieux Port - the yacht harbour
scenicThe old port under Le Suquet is where fishing boats share the quays with large yachts. The waterfront Allees de la Liberte, shaded by plane trees, host games of petanque and markets, and the Lerins ferries leave from the quay alongside.
Best areas to stay in Cannes
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
La Croisette
Classic luxury stays $$$Palace hotels and private beaches
Explore hotels in La Croisette →
Le Suquet
Old-town character $$Old hilltop quarter of steep lanes
Explore hotels in Le Suquet →
Centre and Rue d'Antibes
Rail travellers $$Busy shopping streets near the station
Explore hotels in Centre and Rue d'Antibes →
La Californie
Quiet and views $$$Leafy hillside of villas and views
Explore hotels in La Californie →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Cannes
Getting to & around Cannes
Getting there
Fly into Nice Cote d'Azur (NCE), about 30 km east, then continue by coach, train or car along the coast
Flight
Nice Cote d'Azur Airport (NCE)
An express coach runs from the airport terminals to central Cannes in under an hour, or take a regional train from the station near the airport along the coast. Taxis and private transfers take around half an hour outside traffic.
Train
Gare de Cannes
The central station is on the coastal line between Marseille and Ventimiglia, with direct high-speed trains from Paris and frequent regional trains to Nice, Antibes and Monaco
Cruise
Vieux Port
Cruise ships anchor in the bay and tender passengers ashore to the old port
Getting around
Walking
The centre, the Croisette, the port and Le Suquet are all within an easy walk of each other
Free
Bus
Local Palm Bus lines link the centre with the hillside districts, Le Cannet and neighbouring coastal towns
TBC
Ferry
Boats to both Lerins islands leave from the quay at the old port, with separate operators for each island
TBC
Train
Regional trains along the coast are the easiest way to reach Antibes, Nice and the Esterel villages
TBC
Day trips from Cannes
Lerins Islands
Half dayIsland monastery and fort
Sainte-Marguerite has the Fort Royal, pine woods and coves; Saint-Honorat has the monastery and its vineyards. Each island has its own ferry, so most people pick one, or give the day to both.
Getting there
ferry
15-30 minutes by ferry from the old port
Antibes
Half dayWalled old town
A ramparted old town with a busy morning market, the Picasso Museum in the Chateau Grimaldi above the sea, and one of the largest yacht harbours in the Mediterranean. Add the beaches and villas of Cap d'Antibes and Juan-les-Pins.
Getting there
train
About 15 minutes by train along the coast
Grasse
Half dayPerfume hill town
The historic capital of French perfume, where the big perfume houses run factory tours and there is an international perfume museum. The old town of stepped lanes looks down over the hills to the coast.
Getting there
bus | train | car
About 30-45 minutes by bus, train or car into the hills
Esterel Massif
Full dayRed-rock coastline
Red volcanic cliffs and rocky coves drop into a blue sea west of Cannes. Drive the Corniche d'Or coast road through Theoule-sur-Mer, or hike the trails of the massif above for views back over the bay.
Getting there
car | train
About 20-40 minutes by car or regional train west along the coast
Nice
Full dayRiviera city
The Riviera's capital: the Promenade des Anglais, the flower and food market of the Cours Saleya, the tangled lanes of Vieux Nice and the Matisse and Chagall museums up in Cimiez.
Getting there
train
About 30-40 minutes by train along the coast
A little history of Cannes
A Ligurian and then Roman settlement stood on the hill of Le Suquet, but Cannes owes its early shape to the islands offshore. Saint Honoratus founded a monastery on Lerins around 410, and the monks, among the most influential in early medieval Gaul, held the fishing village of Canua for centuries and built the castle on the hill to defend it.
The resort was born almost by accident in 1834, when the former British Lord Chancellor Lord Brougham, stopped on his way to Nice by a cholera quarantine, stayed in Cannes, liked it and built a villa. English and Russian aristocrats followed, the railway arrived in the 1860s and the Croisette filled with palace hotels. A film festival planned for 1939 was halted by the war; it opened in 1946 and made the town's name worldwide.
Saint Honoratus founds a monastery on the island that now bears his name
Spanish forces seize the Lerins Islands, held until the French retake them in 1637
The Man in the Iron Mask is brought to the Fort Royal on Sainte-Marguerite
Lord Brougham, halted by a cholera quarantine, settles in Cannes and launches its life as a winter resort
The railway reaches Cannes, bringing a wave of wealthy winter visitors
The first film festival is scheduled but cancelled by the outbreak of war
The first Cannes Film Festival is held
The present Palais des Festivals opens on the seafront by the old port
Know before you go
Payment
Cards everywhere
English
Widely spoken
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type C / E
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+33
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FAQs about Cannes
▸ When is the best time to visit Cannes?
Most of the year works. Late spring and early autumn bring warm sea and fewer crowds; midsummer is hot, busy and at its most expensive. Winter is mild and quiet, when the hills behind the coast turn yellow with mimosa, though many private beach clubs close. Autumn is the wettest stretch, with the odd heavy storm.
▸ Can you go to the Cannes Film Festival?
The festival itself is industry-only, with screenings in the Palais for accredited guests. Visitors can still watch the red-carpet arrivals from the crowds along the barriers, and free open-air screenings on the beach are open to the public. Hotels book out and prices peak, so plan well ahead or avoid those weeks.
▸ Are the beaches in Cannes free?
Many stretches of sand along the Croisette belong to private beach clubs that charge for loungers, but there are public beaches too: small ones between the clubs, and longer free stretches west of the old port toward La Bocca and at the Pointe de la Croisette.
▸ Is Cannes expensive?
It is one of the pricier towns on the Riviera, especially for seafront hotels, beach clubs and restaurants on the Croisette, and costs climb sharply during the festival and big trade fairs. The market, the old town and eating a street or two back from the sea are noticeably cheaper.
▸ Cannes or Nice as a base?
Nice is a larger city with a bigger old town, more museums and better connections along the coast. Cannes is smaller, easier to walk and more polished, and it has the Lerins Islands on its doorstep. Both are linked by frequent trains, so either works for day trips.
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