Cannes, Cote D’Azur, French Riviera

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Cannes is an amazing city, not only famous for its Film Festival with Palm d’Or prizes, glamorous celebrities and vivid nightlife, but it is also very popular for rich historical sights, candid nature, crystal clear beaches, amazing fresh food, gourmet restaurants, luxury shops and so many more. 

Cannes Film Festival is organized only in May and attracts lots of different celebrities from all around the world. It is of course a major event, but not the only interesting event to attend, as Cannes has many other festivals all year round. Starting from Games Festival in February to Yacht shows in September, it is very attractive for tourists. All this makes Cannes always a busy city, and also not a budget friendly one to spend your holiday. With so many points of interest, there is a need of detail planning to visit it.

Cannes is very accessible from Nice airport via train, so there is no need for a car. The train station, which is Nice St Augustin, is located 15 mins from the Airport, and you need to walk or take the airport shuttle to get to it, but it is fast and you will be in Cannes in around 50 mins. 

Prices can be really high during the season(which is considered from June to August) so you might think to visit this city in September when the weather is even better for beach and a relaxing vacation. We visited in different periods of time and we stayed either in budget hotels like Hotel Lutetia, Hotel Des Orangers, or in Airbnb apartments. We found the apartments more comfortable for a longer stay, especially if you want to cook and you need your own kitchen. Apartments in Montfleury are usually better for a budget, but you need to walk around 20 mins to get to the beach, and it can be a little tiring. On the other hand, if you are planning to cook a lot, in Montfleury you can find 2 major grocery shops, Casino and Lidl, which have great deals for food. Other great places to shop for food are Forville marche, which is the largest in Provence, and is packed with an abundance of fresh fish, vegetables and meat, and Place Gambetta (which is a smaller version of it, but also very good if you are staying nearby).

But is Cannes worth visiting if it is so expensive? Yes of course, it has lots of good restaurants and interesting places to explore.

Cannes is very famous for its incredible cuisine, casual cafes and fine dining restaurants, there are plenty of different dining options in this city.

Rottiserrie(at place Gambetta). Offers great meat chicken, turkey, lamb and provencal potatoes with different sauces, really comfortable to just take away and have a decent lunch or dinner.

Boulangerie Marcelino:  features salads, sandwiches, wraps, and more to eat in or take away, most famous for its panne aux chocolate and pastries, so try a cake or dessert before you leave.

Da Laura: Da Laura Italian restaurant to enjoy your authentic meal. This charming restaurant has years of experience and offers great food

A La Potiniere Great Restaurant, with Provencal tipic food, they have great offers for lunch or dinner, but are not working on Sundays.

Cafe Hoche – cute place to enjoy coffee or dessert, or even bruch.

La Pizza Cresci– best for italian Pizza and salads with very good prices. 

New York best known for its delicious steaks, but they also serve good pizza poke bowls and many more. Usually crowded during the season so better to book a table in advance

And actualy what can you do in Cannes?

Le Suquet – is the medieval historic center of Cannes with charmful Old buildings and narrow streets, it preserves its antique value. On top of the hill, there is the castle dating from 12th century and it opens to a stunning panoramic view of the city of Cannes. Above the fortress there is the church Notre Damme d’Esperance which was built a little later in 14th-16th century. 

La Croissette, This splendid Boulevard is the center of main activities. It is very large, more than 3 km, and is very diversified. Full of hotels, restaurants, shops it is the place where where famous hotels meet Casinos, stores of well-known brands, sandy beaches, and the harbor alltogether. So, just walking around can be very fun and impressive

Rue D’Antibes If you feel more like shopping this street is packed with different brands and nice cafes.

Marché Forville Marché Forville is the biggest market, located close to the center. You can find and taste all types of fresh fruits and vegetables, provence herbs, seafood, and truffle sauces. This is a must visit while in Cannes.

Ile St Marguerite – take the boat to this beautiful island where you’ll find yourself in the middle of the nature, in a splendid quiet environment. It’s like an isolated retreat place, where you can walk all around it( it has around 3 km) and submerge in it’s beauty. Also, the island is most famous for its fortress prison (the Fort Royal). And for a unique experience, you can try La Guerite cafe, which is famous for brunch with live music. On the other side, there are not so many options for dinning, as the island is not populated, and you might think to grab a sandwich and some fruits to have a nice picnique in the middle of the nature. 

Cannes is a very beautiful place to spend a nice holiday, or just for visiting during the festivals or other events. It offers many interesting activities as sports, creativity events, business conferences and so many more. Cannes is famous for being very divers, artistic, energetic fun city with plenty of interesting things to do, so it is definitely worth discovering. 

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