Cannes tourist information
Cannes has come a long way from little fishing village to Cannes the town of famous festivals and congresses! Cannes is a town totally dedicated to tourism with its numerous five star luxury hotels and its bay, that is the preferred place of celebrities and luxury passenger liners.
As most of the coastal towns on the Riviera, Cannes was firstly a celto-ligurian port before the Greeks and Romans occupied it. At that time Cannes was called Canoïs and all its dwellings was concentrated at the top of the Susquet Hill. Cannes, as opposed to Antibes and Nice, despite its sheltered position due to the Lérins Islands, has never been a big commercial centre.
The village got slack under the protection of the abbots of Lérins. At the beginning of the second millennium, ramparts and a watchtower was built to prepare for attacks by the Saracens and other pirates. In the course of time, the monks gave the town over to the Templars Knights and then to the knights of the order of Malta.
The city owes its development and its fame to the Englishman, Lord Henry Brougham. In 1834, this politician wanted take his ill daughter to Nice. The Cholera epidemic that struck Provence at that time forced him to turn back and to take refuge in Cannes. Seduced by this site and its climate, he stayed here until his death in 1868. Numerous aristocrats from England consequently followed his example. The population grew and the illustrious Prosper Mérimée and Guy de Maupassant came this way to admire the beauty of the town. In 1860 the Croisette was already a place appreciated by all. Hotels and luxurious villas soon started to go up along this famous boulevard.
Today Cannes conserves its distinctive character between modern city and sea resort. The Croisette remains a glamorous display for famous luxury hotels such as the Martinez, the Carlton, Gray of Albion, the Majestic and the Noga Hilton, with the Port of Canto and the Palm Beach Casino on one side, and the Palais des Festival, inaugurated in 1982, on the other side. The architecture of the Palais des festival is debatable but its staircase, more than any other, makes those on the lookout for celebrities dream during ten days in May, for the famous Cannes Film Festival of course! The building conceals a beautiful concert and projection hall, the Debussy Hall.
But if you want to go a bit further with your discovery of Cannes, loose yourself in the old quarter of Susquet. With very few streets and lots of restaurants, it is the historic centre of the town. The view from the foot of the Tour du Mont Chevalier is totally breathtaking. Nearby, the château de la Castre, a 12th century fortress, has been transformed into the Cannes History Museum. In the centre of town, the rue Meynadier is the ideal place to take in the Mediterranean atmosphere. Opposite the port, where superb sailing yachts are moored, the Allées de liberté is the ideal place for a game of pétanque. The square is shaded by plane trees but the odours given off by the fast food stalls spoils its charm.
The Croix des Gardes is found towards the west. This hill offers a beautiful panoramic view and it is almost completely cover with mimosas, especially in February when it is in bloom. To the East, the quarters of California and Super-Cannes can be found. On the otherside of this hill the most luxurious and most eccentric villas of Riviera can be seen: Gothic manors, caves, Greek palaces, pagodas, etc.
Cannes is the preferred city for congress and festival goers!
What would the restaurant owners of Cannes and in fact the whole of its economy be without its Palais des festivals? Cannes is one of the world leaders for the organisation of festivals and congresses. After Paris, it is the second city in France for this kind of activity. Its International Film Festival is enough to promote the town as well as its Art and Film Market.
In 1982, the "bunker" replaced the first Palace built in 1949 on the Croisette. It was destroyed because of a lack of space and its technical qualities that was not up to standard. Besides the thousands of participants that have to be accommodated during the festival, everyone working on the festival also has to be accommodated, and of course has to have a space to work. That is why for the past few years, while waiting for the extensions to be made to the Palais des festival, tents have often invaded the esplanades Georges Pompidou, an extension of the Croisette. The beaches are requisitioned during festival time for its various parties and many boats in the port are used as floating offices. Festival time is real madness in Cannes!
Besides the film festival, Cannes also organises many other congresses, exhibitions, shows and festivals throughout the year. Most of these events are centred around the audio-visual field. The famous MIP, MIP TV and MIP COM are aimed at the purchase and the sale of television programs for the whole world. The MILIA is dedicated to multimedia. And the MIDEM is the big conference aimed at professionals of the music industry. The GSM show brings together the big names in the mobile phone industry. Big companies such as Ericsson and Microsoft requisition the Palais for their annual general meetings, thus offering a very pleasant trip to their collaborators.
Finally, the Palais des festivals also hosts some classic events such as the MIPIM that is aimed at the professionals of the real-estate industry. The Antique Fair and Games Festival, features amongst the events that are open to the public.
The Palais des Festivals is a real gold mine for the town. Not too far from the Palais, the Avenue of Stars, France's version of the one in Hollywood can be seen. A thousand handprints of celebrities have been immortalised here.
Cannes aerial map
Please click on any icon on the Cannes aerial tourist map, to find close by places, offering hotels and tourist information. You can zoom in and zoom out our touristical map as well as switch between satelite and map view of Cannes.
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