Cannes
Riviera Resort Of The Cannes Film Festival And The Palm Lined Croisette, Facing The LéRins Islands · Cannes, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
Cannes is a Riviera resort between the red Esterel hills and Antibes, known around the world for its film festival in May. Its seafront boulevard, La Croisette, runs for about two kilometres past palm trees, grand hotels and designer shops, with sandy beaches below: many are private concessions with loungers and restaurants, and free public stretches lie between them. At the western end stands the Palais des Festivals, whose red-carpeted steps anyone can climb for a photo outside festival time. Behind the old port, Le Suquet, the original fishing quarter, climbs a small hill to a medieval tower and church with views over the bay, and the covered Forville market sells produce most mornings. Offshore lie the Lérins Islands: Sainte-Marguerite, with the fort where the Man in the Iron Mask was held, and Saint-Honorat, still home to monks who make wine. The festival is a trade event, and most screenings need accreditation or an invitation, so ordinary visitors in May mostly meet crowds, barriers and high prices. Big trade fairs through the year raise prices too.
La Croisette and Le Suquet, Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, Cannes, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France
La Croisette, the public beaches, the old port and the lanes of Le Suquet are public spaces open at all hours, and the Palais des Festivals steps can usually be climbed for photos whenever no event is being set up; during the film festival and big trade fairs the area around the Palais is fenced and reserved for badge holders. Private beach concessions generally open from spring to autumn, from morning until early evening, and some stay open for lunch in winter; confirm with each one. The Forville market runs most mornings except Monday, when it is traditionally given over to a flea market; confirm the current pattern. The Musée des Explorations du Monde in the castle on Le Suquet keeps seasonal hours and is closed on some days of the week, so check before climbing up. Boats to the Lérins Islands leave from the quay by the old port several times a day all year, more often in summer, with a last return in the late afternoon or early evening; the fort museum on Sainte-Marguerite has its own hours and a weekly closing day in low season. The abbey church on Saint-Honorat is a working monastery with services and quiet rules.