Things to do in Cannes

The Croisette Promenade is certainly the sight to see, with its palace hotels - the Martinez and Carlton - on one side and their private beaches on the other. It’s possible to find your way down to the beach without paying, but not easy (you can of course walk along it below the rows of sun beds). The hotel beaches are where you’re most likely to spot a star during the film festival - or at least the paparazzi crowding around them. If you're searching for Cannes holidays we recommend staying at Hotel Splendid for a splendid stay - after all it’s in the name!

The Castre Museum, in the remains of Cannes’ eleventh-century priory, holds an extraordinary collection of musical instruments from all over the world. It’s also home to pictures and prints of old Cannes.

The old town, known as Le Suquet after the hill on which it stands, provides a great panorama of the curve of Cannes’ bay. On its summit stand the remains of the fortified priory lived in by Cannes’ eleventh-century monks. This is one of the most impressive things to do in Cannes.

The Lérins Islands would be lovely anywhere, but at just fifteen minutes’ ferry ride from frantic Cannes, they’re not far short of paradise - though that very proximity means neither is exactly a desert island in peak season. Saint-Marguerite is busier than its neighbour, Saint-Honorat, whose abbey is often used for spiritual retreats. The Sainte-Marguerite Island is beautiful, and large enough for visitors to find seclusion by following the trails that lead away from the congested port, through the Aleppo pines and woods of evergreen oak that are so thick they cast a sepulchral gloom. The western end is the most accessible, but the lagoon here is brackish, so the best places to swim are along the rocky southern shore, reached most easily along the allée des Eucalyptus. The channel between Saint-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat is, however, a popular anchorage for yachts, so it’s more difficult to find solitude here.

Owned by monks almost continuously since its namesake and patron founded a monastery here in 410 AD, Saint-Honorat Island, the smaller southern island, was home to a famous bishops’ seminary. This is where St Patrick trained before setting out for Ireland. There are a couple of places to eat but no bars, hotels or cars: just vines, lavender, herbs and olive trees mingled with wild poppies and daisies, and pine and eucalyptus trees shading the paths beside the white rock shore. The present abbey buildings date mostly from the nineteenth century, though some vestiges of the medieval and earlier constructions remain in the austere church and the cloisters. You can visit the eleventh-century fortified monastery on the water’s edge and the abbey church, see the chapels dotted around the island. Remember to purchase the abbey’s sought-after wines and liqueurs.

Cannes has restaurants catering for every budget, with rue Meynadier, Le Suquet and quai St-Pierre being the best places to look. You can buy your own food in the Forville market two blocks behind the town hall. The oldest restaurant in Cannes is Da Bouttau Auberge Provençale. Established in 1860, this stylish restaurant is the oldest in Cannes. It serves Niçois specialities and creative dishes such as lentil pasta with artichokes, and goat’s cheese pastille with confit onions.

One of the best things to do in Cannes is to enjoy its thriving nightlife. The venue Backstage is the biggest and flashiest of the trendy lounge/bar/clubs in the tight little knot of streets between rue d’Antibes and la Croisette. With dramatic black decor, it hosts varying free themed nights and a terrace at the front.

Despite its glittery image Cannes works surprisingly well as a big seaside resort, with plenty of free, sandy public beaches. You’ll find the non-paying beaches to the west of Le Suquet towards the suburb of La Bocca along the plages du Midi.