Luxury holidays in Cannes

The Regency architecture is as smart and elegant as the natives; shop for swish brands on Rue d’Antibes, or try the old town, aka Le Suquet, for foodie and gift shops. Sip some rosé, nibble on a salade Niçoise, sashay up and down La Croisette (no poodle required), where every hotel has its own beach: if anywhere allows you to star in your own movie, this is it.

Areas in Cannes

When to go

Mediterranean rules apply: spring and autumn are lovely, with July and August hot and crowded. Festival time in May is a thrill if you like that kind of thing.

Getting there

  • Planes

    EasyJet flies to Nice (half an hour to Cannes by taxi, about €80) from Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Bristol, Liverpool, Newcastle and Belfast. British Airways also serves Nice, and British Midlands flies there from Nottingham. Nice Helicoptères (+33 (0)4 93 21 34 32) charges about €135 plus tax per person for a return trip from Nice to Cannes.
  • Trains

    The TGV from Paris to Cannes takes five and a half hours; you must reserve seats. Useful railway websites: www.sncf.com; www.tgv.com; www.eurostar.com. Train services along the coast are good.
  • Automobiles

    Spinning along by the sea between Antibes and Juan-les-Pins may be an essential element of the Riviera fantasy but, in reality, the coastal road can get a bit congested around the summer bank holidays, and driving within Cannes itself is a no-no, with fiendish one-ways, and bans during the film festival and big conferences.
  • Taxis

    You can hail taxis on the street, or ring (0)4 92 99 27 27 (pick-up charge applies).