Cannes Photos
Recommended Reviews - Cannes
Start your review...
We had a very enjoyable & relaxing time in Cannes. We visited on the day before the film festival. It was a beautiful Monday morning! The vibe was more of a beachy resort outside of the glitz and glamor of everything along the strip of Blvd de la Croisette. You know... kind of like Ocean Drive in Miami and Sunset Strip in Beverly Hills. There are ritzy private hotel beaches, designer shops & boutiques, and that huge convention center called the Palais des Festivals which hosts the Cannes Film Festival every year. That building also has a casino. Go figure! Let's just say that it's the first building you see when viewing the shoreline from the Mediterranean Sea. We decided to take a leisurely walk around Vieux Port and the historical parts. There were a few shops open, but mostly cafés. There were residents in the public squares and beaches enjoying the beautiful weather. We even saw a couple of teams playing a friendly game of boules. This is what I love about these charming beachside towns. It's all very reminiscent to our previous visit to Cassis, but without the shelter of the calanques. It had the same vibe. It's really a great place to be for those who can afford to stay, or as a port of call from a cruise ship. There's a little train that will take you around Cannes and up to Le Suquet. A full day would be plenty of time to take in the sights and history. A hop-on hop-off or a private tour would be better. Perhaps a day visit from Nice or Mougins would be a better option. We had a great time just walking around and taking in the local culture all around us. Even with many contractors & photographers out and about preparing the city for the onslaught of celebrities and their fans. It was a cool experience! read more
Forgot I hadn't written a review! Cannes--everyone's probably heard of this place as the home of the famous international film festival. Its location on the Côte d'Azur along with Antibes, St. Tropez, with their beaches and namesake turquoise blue waters off the coast--make it a sure fire destination for summer trippers and sunbathing on their pebbly beaches. Aside from the Palace of Festivals and Congresses of Cannes, which is the exhibition center where annual film festival takes place, where you see the red carpet rolled out with a walk of fame (handprints of celebrities similar to Hollywood's walk of fame) and the adjacent theatre complex, honestly there's not a whole ton to do for your average visitor aside from admire the views, take in the atmosphere, eat at restaurants, a number of smaller museums, and walk around exploring the city. Now that I've written it out, it's probably enough to keep you occupied for a long weekend haha. When it's not peak festival and tourist season, the town is sleepy and low key, a bit of a quieter escape. On a weekday morning you hear school children playing in the school yard, observe locals commuting and living their everyday lives like any other small city. Worth mentioning like other seaside towns some restaurants close or take breaks during winter months during low season, though not as significantly as smaller towns as Antibes and St. Tropez, which are more true resort spots. If you're here for a luxury South of France experience, there are plenty of luxury hotels lining the main promenade along the oceanfront and the famous Croisette Beach. Tons of yachts sit in the two harbors, including several super yachts. read more
This is a beautiful city and very easy to walk. There are loads of little parks, plenty of comfortable seating underneath swaying palm trees overlooking the deep blue sea. The old city is spectacular with bakeries, restaurants, wonderful art. read more
10 years ago
One of my Top 3 places, probably third place; tough to topple Barcelona and Florence! One advantage of Cannes is that it's all pretty compact, right off the port of call. Definitely walkable instead of taking a bus/cab, though there was a cute trolley-like, hop in /hop off with the wooden benches and all. Right off the waters, it's a great view walking inwards to the main action, DT area with lots of eateries, restaurants, and of course shopping. Very pedestrian-friendly except for the main road, so it's pretty safe. Only sucky part was finding any public washrooms, even if you wanted to pay. Only the Mcdonalds is close enough with any purchase, or the more northern, 12-min walk to the train terminal for just one euro or so, but that was very clean. There was one major shopping plaza that had the usual designer names, ie. Boss, etc but plenty of other walk-ins. Liked the cobble stone in some parts. A cool market place for fruits/veggies, etc., and closed up shop in the afternoon. Would love to return again. read more
