Cannes Guide
Sleek, sunny and celebrity-studded, this French Riviera city is a curving crescent of beaches, designer shops, art deco architecture and weather-beaten pétanque (French boules) players wedged between the Mediterranean and the back-county hills.
The 19th-century mansion of modern art, La Malmaison sits on La Croisette promenade with its pathway of celebrity handprints leading to the home of Cannes festivals, the Palais des Festivals. The fortress-like La Castre Castle looks down over Le Suquet's winding streets towards Forville Market's vegetable-sellers and fishmongers.
Hang out at the latest nightspots: the diminutive club Privé on Rue du Batéguier with its modernist white sofas and R'n'B ambience, or Palais on La Croisette, which opened in July 2006 to long queues of clubbers keen for a glimpse of the upbeat interiors and rooftop views over the Mediterranean.
Spend on designer labels from Chanel to Christian Lacroix on La Croisette, high-street fashion on Rue d'Antibes and bargain finds on Rue Meynadier. Fill up a basket with freshly caught fish, artichokes and pungent cheeses at Forville Market or flowers at Allées de la Liberté.
On the Riviera's long, sunny days, sun worshippers head for Hotel Martinez for Cannes' largest beach or the Hotel Majestic beach for jet-skiing. Others escape to the shade of parks beneath the magnolias and cedars of René Cassin Square or the umbrella palms and tamarisk of Verdun Square.
On summer evenings, watch fireworks light up the Bay of Cannes or listen to open-air music. Go to the La Castre Museum's courtyard for classical concerts or the gardens of Villa Domergue for jazz. All year around, the Palais des Festivals welcomes ballet troupes and pop icons.
Cannes is a city for spring-to-autumn alfresco dining and coffee-drinking in cafés with tables spilling out on to wide pavements. Splash out on Michelin-starred food along La Croisette, posh Italian nosh around Rue du Commandant André, fish specialities on Quai Saint Pierre and Rue Félix Faure, or traditional French cuisine in Place du Suquet.
Enjoy 360° views of La Croisette promenade as you swing on the ancient carousel or look down over the city from beneath the linden trees in the old town's Place de la Castre.
