CANNES
Area: Cities
Country: France


Location:
On the Mediterranean coast in the SE corner of France. 16 miles W of Nice and its airport.

Telephone code from UK:
33

Position:
On gently rolling hills set around a broad sandy bay.

Description:
The glitter of film festival in May overlays the visual grandeur of the aristocratic tourist architecture of the 19th century. La Croisette is the equivalent of Nice's Promenade des Anglais and the palace hotels are every bit as opulent. However, the style falls away quickly and within 100 yards of the Carlton mass production in food, clothes and hotels is the prevailing theme. Here Cannes is a brash youthful tourist resort with traffic jams, beach balls, fast food and the traditional Mediterranean odours. The Palais des Festivals is the country's largest convention centre outside Paris; it attracts massive trade conferences. The tourist assets are a beautiful beach with soft sand, some enchanting winding streets in the old town and a harbour with gleaming luxury yachts. By mid-afternoon the star-spotters are gathered around the seafront hotels, traffic is nose to tail on the coast road and jet-skiers are swarming in the bay waters.

Suitability:
Facilities and accommodation for all market categories.

Accommodation:
Virtually all the grandiose monuments on La Croisette are 4-star luxury hotels but in the busy retail area behind and towards the railway station are numerous 2- and 3-star alternatives.

Shopping:
La Croisette houses the chic designer boutiques and jewellers; around the Rue d'Antibes are the mass of mid-range and functional shops while W, around Rue Meynadier, are some traditional shops with local produce.

Beach:
Town stretches along a waterfront of almost unbroken sandy beach. On La Croisette, most sections are privately owned by the grand hotels but are open to the public for a fee. These offer recliners, mattresses, umbrellas, etc; and often bar, restaurant and water sports. Towards the E end a long stretch of sand is public.

Entertainments:
Daytime: several excellent golf clubs, large tennis and squash clubs and water sports are arranged at the marina at E end of bay. Nightlife: several casinos; a wide selection of discos; other evening entertainment focused on the chic bars of the big hotels.

Eating:
Wide choice of top-quality gastronomic restaurants mostly in the palace hotels. Vast numbers of mid-priced restaurants around the port and more atmospheric, romantic bistros in the old town.

Public-transport:
City bus network, plenty of taxis and trains along coast.

Local-excursions:
Coach trips to San Remo flower market; Saint Tropez; Monaco; Grasse perfume factories. Boat trip to two small offshore islands.