Guide de voyage à Cannes : que voir

In this travel guide, you will learn why the city of Cannes in France is one of Côte d'Azur‘s most famous towns, and a favorite for billionaires and celebrities. Cannes is known worldwide as one of the best places to go shopping, and one of the best places to dine on the French Riviera. From high-end boutiques to indie designers, and from Michelin-star gastronomic restaurants to trendy cafes — this city has it all.

Basking in the sun, this is a city that the rich and famous have been coming to for over 150 years. It simply sparkles with glamour, whilst the grandeur of the coastal promenade of La Croisette and the Belle Epoque buildings reflect its aristocratic history. Cannes has an aura that melds Beverly Hills and Paris with a fairy tale limestone village and a sun-splashed beach town — with more than a little bit of excess thrown in. That aura still is the allure of La Croisette.

The Palais des Festivals , where the star-studded festival du film de Cannes Le festival de Cannes, qui se déroule chaque mois de mai, se profile comme un paquebot. Prenez une seconde pour vous imaginer à la place de votre acteur préféré et vous faire prendre en photo sur le légendaire escalier du tapis rouge. Mais Cannes ne se résume pas seulement aux tapis rouges et aux célébrités qui attirent de nombreuses personnes dans cette ville cosmopolite de France. Cannes mêle tradition et modernité d'une manière fascinante qui incite de nombreuses personnes, des cheiks aux nouveaux riches, à venir admirer sa beauté.

These days, you will hear a lot of people speaking Russian along the Croisette (although, far less since the war against the Ukraine), and though many come here on their private jets, this is nothing new for Cannes. Frozen Moscovites have long sought refuge in the balmy air of the French Riviera. In 1894, Saint Michael (the Archangel Orthodox Church ) a ouvert ses portes à Cannes à une communauté croissante de Russes afin qu'ils n'aient plus à se rendre à Nice pour assister à la messe.

Cannes is home to the internationally wealthy who provide a ready and willing clientèle to the city’s numerous designer boutiques, swanky bars and lavish hotels. Plenty of gourmet restaurants with terraces spilling onto the pavements line the streets of Cannes. Its waterfront promenade, dotted with private beaches and swanky beach clubs, serve up delicious cocktails under the sun. No wonder Cannes has become the playground of the rich and famous.

Weather & Location

Cannes enjoys eleven hours of sunshine every day during summer. Cannes’ mild climat méditerranéen brings lush palm-tree-lined boulevards and long balmy nights in the summer, along with perfect cycling, running and sailing conditions over the winter months.

Expect mild (light jacket) weather in winter. Check out our guide to the weather and sea temperatures in Cannes.

Things to See in Cannes, France

Cannes is a small city, but there is a lot to see and do. Budget at least 5 hours to walk through the best areas, and at least two to three days if you want to get a good feel for life in Cannes. Here is a list of the highlights:

La Croisette: Beach Restaurants & Designer Shopping

La première chose que vous voudrez faire lors de votre visite à Cannes est de visiter la célèbre Croisette, la promenade en bord de mer et la rue bordée de boutiques de créateurs et d'hôtels 5 étoiles. Les façades de la Belle Époque brillent d'un blanc éclatant sous la lumière estivale, tandis que les dames d'un certain âge balancent des laisses de créateurs attachées à des caniches miniatures.

Peek into the Gucci and Chanel boutiques, then head to the beach for lunch. Have a meal and one of the many beach restaurants or a drink in a lounges with sofas on the sand. Chill on the striped beach chairs, shaded by broad sun umbrellas.

Elegant hotels are sprinkled down the street, across from their respective beach clubs.

Une fois rassasié, faites demi-tour et admirez la Croisette côté rue. En face de la plage, se trouve la principale artère commerçante, avec ses boutiques de haute couture glamour. Traversez la Croisette pour commencer à faire du lèche-vitrine.

Le boulevard est glamour et sans complexe, mais il est aussi assez décontracté pour se promener en tenue de plage légère en lin. Les vêtements de créateurs ne sont pas à la portée de la plupart des mortels, mais la promenade est gratuite et l'observation des passants et la soif de luxe sont incomparables. Tous les magasins et boutiques les plus chics et les plus opulents sont présents à Cannes, ce qui fait du shopping (et du lèche-vitrine) une activité prisée.

Now would be a good time to study our complete guide to shopping in Cannes.

La Croisette is where you can enjoy watching the super-rich buy their favorite branded trinkets. This famous seaside street hosts many of the prominent French brands like Chanel, Dior, and Yves-Saint-Laurent. Out of respect for the €1000 bejeweled sandals on display, as well as a certain French sense of decorum, leave the athleisure outfit in your suitcase and dress up for this walk.

The Carlton Hotel, with its yellow and white awnings, sits sentry on the right, and a row of palm trees does duty on the left. The sun flickers through the fronds. Behind you lies the sea and the rows of beach restaurants. Beyond still, are the mysterious shapes of the Esterel mountains et the islands au-delà du rivage.

Vieux Port : le port de la vieille ville de Cannes

In the Old Port, you’ll see men (and the occasional woman) playing petanque, spinning and tossing silver balls in the air on a dirt course separated into six or so playing fields. On the weekend, you may wander into a brocante (a street flea market) for vintage Chanel mules, a small oil painting, or Art Deco cocktail shakers.

West of the Palais des Festivals (which serves as the center of the festival du film de Cannes), the Old Port of Cannes is the place to see sailboats and yachts. From here you can hire a boat privately to tour the surrounding islands et d'autres villes à proximité.

Des bâtiments colorés entourent le port, ainsi que de nombreux bars et restaurants avec terrasse ouverte toute l'année, servant des fruits de mer fraîchement pêchés. Il existe également plusieurs marchés qui se tiennent dans le vieux port, notamment un marché d'art et d'antiquités le week-end.

Tip: Avoid Rue Meynadier which invites you in with large signs, but is a run-down tourist trap lined with no-chef cafes and shops selling cheap junk from China.

Le Suquet: The Old Town Area

Behind the glitz, there is a softer side to Cannes – the district of Le Suquet (la vieille ville, qui était un avant-poste romain dans l'Antiquité) est le cœur de la vieille ville et est remplie d'un labyrinthe de ruelles pavées sinueuses, de bâtiments anciens et d'un vieux port qui abrite à la fois des bateaux de pêche traditionnels et des yachts de luxe.

Your walk up the winding cobbled lanes to the top of Le Suquet is rewarded by:

• A ruined 12th-century castle, now host to the Museum of La Castre Il présente des expositions allant des fouilles archéologiques dans le bassin méditerranéen aux découvertes ethnologiques et à l'art primitif des cinq continents.
• The Notre Dame de l’Espérence (built in 1684) church , qui présente des boiseries et une importante collection de peintures du XIXe siècle. Construite à l'emplacement d'une ancienne église au XVIIe siècle près des dunes, c'est là que les marins cannois venaient demander la protection de la Vierge pour un « bon voyage ».
• The medieval Tour du Suquet with its eye-popping panoramic views of Cannes, the glimmering coastline, and the Îles Lerins au-delà. Depuis l'ancien rempart devant l'église, on peut voir la ville, le port et la baie. C'est un endroit très instagrammable.

The Nearby Lerins Islands

Lerins Islands are two small islands just 5km off the shore of Cannes. If you’re in Cannes for more than a couple of days, take a ferry and visit some the nearby islands.

Sights on the islands include a fortress-prison for the infamous Man in the Iron Mask, whose identity remains a debate among historians. It now has a museum, Musée de la Mer, which houses discoveries from shipwrecks around the sea of the islands. You can also see an ancient abbey. Monks that are sworn to secrecy on their recipe for making Chartreuse-like liqueur called Lerina have lived here for centuries. These monks owned Cannes at the peak of their power.

Here is our complete guide to the Lerins Islands.

Cannes’ White-Sand Beaches

Unlike the pebbled beaches of other neighboring places, Cannes boasts white sandy beaches. Much of the area is filled up with plages privées, mais il y a aussi un espace ouvert où vous pourrez vous prélasser sur le sable gratuitement.

À l'ouest du vieux port se trouvent certaines des plages les moins fréquentées. Des activités telles que des promenades en canoë, de la plongée avec tuba, du stand-up paddle, de la plongée et des excursions en bateau sont disponibles.

Plage de la Croisette is a long public stretch of sand running alongside the famous La Croisette. It’s where you can find the high-end beach clubs, which are open (and crowded) year-round.

On the west part, far away from the glamorous designer boutiques, is a public beach called Plage du Midi Midi propose des chaises longues et des parasols, une vue magnifique sur les montagnes, ainsi que d'autres commodités et des restaurants (mais ne vous attendez pas à quelque chose de gastronomique). Les travailleurs locaux apprécient l'ambiance familiale du quartier, qui propose des baignades, des bains de soleil et du volley-ball.

Feeling hedonistic? Plage des Pierre Hautes is a public beach on Île Sainte-Marguerite où la nudité est autorisée, mais vous devrez louer un bateau pour vous y rendre et en revenir.

Want more details? Check out our guide des plus belles plages and make sure to read the choses importantes à savoir sur les plages de la Côte d'Azur.

The Indoor Farmer’s Market

Want to know more about the locals and how their world goes by? The markets are a sure spot, with local produce available every day. At the foot of Le Suquet, you can find the Marché Forville , which is one of the Riviera’s best local markets.

This market is where local fishermen have sold their catch for centuries. It’s open from around 8am to 12:30pm every day. Inside these old walls, you’ll find a tempting array of gourmet Mediterranean specialties, along with homemade socca (chickpea flour cakes) hot off the griddle and the cream-laden tarte Tropézienne. It is where to buy delicious fresh fruits, vegetables, cheese, meat, seafood, flowers, olive oil, and more. Many locals love to pick up some food here and have a picnic on the beach.

Where to Get Starstruck

Cannes loves movie-stars, and you can see evidence of that fact all around the city. Here are the best places to get starstruck:

festival du film de Cannes

Le Festival de Cannes célèbre le cinéma grand public et indépendant. Il se déroule chaque année en mai et réunit les plus grands noms du monde du divertissement et des médias, ainsi que les journalistes, qui défilent sur le tapis rouge.

The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès est le siège principal du Festival annuel de Cannes. Ce bâtiment impressionnant accueille également des expositions et d'autres événements tout au long de l'année.

Walk down the famous La Croisette boardwalk during the festival and you will definitely spot celebrities. The festival’s home is the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, where the red carpet glamour happens in front of its Lumière Theatre.

Consultez notre guide to the Cannes Film Festival.

Festival du Yachting de Cannes

Le Yachting Festival gives everyone a chance to admire luxurious yachts and other super-crafts and boats on sale. Happens in two locations the Old Port and Port Pierre Canto , le festival attire des touristes dont la moitié vient de l'étranger.

During the yachting festival, don’t miss the people watching, celebrity spotting, and sight-seeing in La Croisette, Le Suquet, Le Marie (the Town Hall), and the Vieux (Old) Port.

Consultez notre guide to the Cannes Yachting Festival.

Feel the Glamour

Path of the Stars: Cannes a laissé les empreintes de mains de stars de cinéma sur ce trottoir, semblable à Hollywood. Trouvez-le juste à l'extérieur du Palais des Festivals.

Cannes Film Murals: Throughout Cannes, tourists can see 15 movie-themed painted walls portraying movies. One is close to the bus station that depicts the cinema’s 100 years.

More: Check out our guide to the top spots in Cannes for film lovers.

Have a Cocktail at a 5-star Hotel

The detailed façade of hotel lnterContinental Carlton Cannes , the undisputed heart of the Cannes Film Festival, is breathtaking. It’s one of the first places Grace Kelly appeared publicly with her future husband, Prince Rainier of Monaco, and was a key location for Hitchcock’s classic Pour attraper un voleur, featuring Kelly and Cary Grant. If a potentate has not rented out the entire hotel for his daughter’s wedding, detour to the Carlton Bar for a Lady Carlton cocktail — champagne and coulis of fresh strawberries. It may put you in the mood to splurge on something to act like you belong there. Diamond-encrusted Rolex, anyone?

Of course, there are many more things to see and do in this chic city. Other things to consider, and places worth visiting, are the numerous musées, casinos, parks, and gardens that always provide enjoyable and exciting activities. Check out our one-day itinerary for more ideas.

Wondering how to get there? Check out our guide to Cannes’ transportation options.