Cannes is the "star" of the French Riviera, famous for the International Film Festival and the glitzy hotels, cars, beaches and visitors attracted here.
Film producers (yes, sure!) and starlets for the festival in May. Tourists year-round and crowds of tourists in the summer. Exotic people and real people, and plenty of poodles (it is , after all). The yachts and cruise ships float in the blue water, and you can't always tell which is which by the size.
The city of Cannes is centered around the old port, with the central part quite compact. The famous "Croisette" is the boulevard and the beach that extends around the bay to the east of the port, in the protected "Rade de Cannes". At the west side of the port, the Boulevard Jean Hibert runs along the coast to the west, with fine sandy beaches. The Rue d'Antibes is the main street running east-west through the center of the city. The Boulevard Carnot runs north out of the city to the A8 autoroute, and inland towards Grasse.
The closest thing to an "old town" is "Le Suquet" overlooking the west end of the port. The 12th-century Tour de Mt. Chevalier, ramparts and 12th-16th-century church Notre-Dame-de-l'Espérance give a touch of medieval flavor to the city. The Le Suquet area has narrow streets climbing up and around the hill, with a fine view from the top. Standing on the ancient rampart wall in front of the church, you can see east across the city, the port and the bay to the Cap de la Croisette, and to the west across the Gulf of La Napoule to the Massif de l'Esterel mountains.
Economy
Number of permanent inhabitants: 70,200 (this number is multiplied by three in summer period or during big demonstrations)
Density: 3,567 inhabitants/sqkm
With 300 days of congress a year, Cannes positions as the 2nd city of congress in France after Paris and the 4th leading European city on trade shows centred on the communication.
The Festival Hall hosts nearly 150 events each year - conventions, festivals, and international markets - for an estimated 305 millions euros in economic fallout.
In terms of accommodation, the potential of Cannes amounts to 106 hotels ( 5 040 rooms) and 11 residences of tourism representing 2,079 apartments and studios. The annual average rate of occupation of these establishments rises about 60 %.
The capital growth of this city is quite dynamic with an increase of 14.9% between 2006-2007. One advantage is the highly stable rental market that can turn your property into a great investment.
Cannes is also home base to large private yachts in the Mediterranean, so the city has is widely recognised as a major nautical activity centre.
The city is also known for its high-technology industry dominated by the Alcatel Space Division (ex-Aérospatiale Group's) operational satellite centre. The area around Cannes has developed into a high-tech cluster. The technopolis of Sophia-Antipolis lies up in the hills beyond Cannes.
Festivals
The Cannes Film Festival, held annually in May, is a major event for the world film industry. There is an annual television festival, airing in the last week in September, also the Mipim is a major commercial real estate exhibition, taking place in March. Other major festivals are Mapic, Lions, Mipcom, TFWA.
Many festivals take place during the summer. The Musical Nights of Le Suquet take place in July in a magnificent spot under the stars, like the Nocturnes of the Villa Domergue, on the hills of the Californie area.
For new musical trends, there’s also La Pantiero, on the Riviera Terrace of the Palais des Festivals in August.
The Russian Art Festival also offers diverse ballets and orchestras.
About 200,000 people attend each year the Festival of Pyrotechnic Art, which is the biggest in Europe with its own award ceremony.
Easy Access
- By plane: Direct flights from Dublin to Nice airport (flying time: 2h15) - By train: Direct TGV from Paris to Cannes train station (around 5h) - By car : (using the Eurotunnel or by ferry). Via the many motorways that serve the area N7, N98, A8
Good bus service is provided for the suburbs and for many of the outlying towns and villages. The main rail line goes east to , Menton, and the rest of Europe, with local-line stops at Antibes and Biot. To the west, the line goes to Marseille, Lyon and Paris, with local stops at Fréjus.
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