10 Best Things to Do in Cannes

Overview

Cannes carries a reputation built on red carpets and celebrity-spotting, and the film festival in May is indeed a spectacle that transforms the town for a fortnight. But the city the rest of the year is a compact, walkable Riviera resort with a working old quarter, island ferries, and a market culture that has nothing to do with premieres. The best visit mixes the famous waterfront with the Suquet hill behind it and a boat to the islands offshore — glitz above, substance below. Our top ten keeps the icons and rewards the detours.

The Full List

Walk the length of the Promenade de la Croisette, the curved seafront boulevard of palace hotels, private beaches, and palm lines — the town’s single defining promenade. Climb into Le Suquet, the old town on the hill, for its steep lanes and the view over the bay from the church square. Visit the Musée de la Castre in the medieval castle at the summit, an eccentric collection of antiquities and musical instruments with a tower climb worth the queue. Take the ferry to the Lérins Islands: Île Sainte-Marguerite’s pine trails and fortress prison, or Île Saint-Honorat’s monastery and the wine its monks make. Browse the Marché Forville’s produce and flowers. Swim from a private beach club or the public stretches east of the port. Watch — or simply absorb — a red-carpet moment outside the Palais des Festivals during festival season. Add a round of golf or a coastal walk if either travels with you. End with an evening aperitif facing the sunset over the Esterel.

Planning Your Days

One day: the Croisette in the morning, Le Suquet and its museum after lunch, sunset from the old port. Two days: add an island ferry day — Sainte-Marguerite for walking, Saint-Honorat for silence — and an evening beach club. Three or more: fold in a market morning, a coastal drive or train toward Antibes and Nice, and unhurried long lunches, which is the actual local sport. Festival-time visits need booking far ahead and a tolerance for crowds; the payoff is the atmosphere itself.

Practical Tips

Cannes is small — everything on this list is walkable except the islands, whose ferries leave from the port below the old town. Beaches are mostly private clubs with paid loungers; the public stretches sit between them and around the far side of the bay. Reserve old-town restaurants for summer evenings. The coastal train makes Nice, Antibes, and Monaco easy add-ons without a car.

FAQ

What is Cannes most famous for? The film festival, its red carpet, and the Croisette. The fame is accurate but partial — the old town and the islands are half the experience.

Can you visit Cannes without festival crowds? Yes, easily — outside the two spring weeks, the city is a normal Riviera town, and even during the festival Le Suquet stays comparatively calm.

Is Cannes expensive? It can be, particularly on the Croisette. The market, the bakeries, and the old-town bistros keep costs sane.

What is the best day trip from Cannes? The Lérins Islands, twenty minutes by ferry. For a second option, the train to Antibes or the perfume town of Grasse.

Do you need a car in Cannes? No. Walk, take the ferry, and use the coastal train; a car is more burden than benefit here.