There are many contenders for world’s most glamorous holiday destination, but few achieve the status as effortlessly as the Côte d’Azur, whose very name calls to mind sparkling blue seas, coast-hugging roads and yachts with their own helipads.
Thanks to a certain paparazzi frenzy each May during the resort town’s famous film festival, Cannes is one of the French Riviera’s most sought-after spots, but there’s so much more to see and do beyond its starry shoreline. Here’s the ideal itinerary for 48 hours in Cannes, with dreamy day trips out into the Provençal coast and countryside.
FRIDAY: EVENING
The chances are you’ll touch down in Nice, which has a sizeable international airport. From here, Cannes is an hour or so south-west by car. If you want to stay in the thick of it for your weekend in Cannes, Belle Plage is the Croisette-adjacent hotel for you. Its name (meaning ‘beautiful beach’) doesn’t lie: it’s on the edge of the old town, with the coast just over the road, and it has a spa to have you red-carpet-ready, even if you have no red carpet to attend. The celebrities arriving in the spring tend to favour Hôtel Martinez by Hyatt, set in a century-old art deco building.
Or opt for quiet discretion and retreat to the hillsides of Provence with a stay in mediaeval Mougins. Mougins Luxury Hotel has just a handful of rooms and apartments in old stone buildings, between Cannes and Grasse. Also a little away from the action is the sleepy hamlet of Théoule-sur-Mer, which is where you’ll find the Morocco-loving Tiara Yaktsa hotel, with Moorish design.
Once you’ve unpacked your bags, it’s time to locate one of the most famous roads in France, up there with Paris’ Champs-Elysées: Cannes’ curving Promenade de la Croisette, which stretches for two kilometres along the Mediterranean shore. Even if you don’t have the novelty glasses and boater hat to hand, you can channel Elton John, who filmed his video for I’m Still Standing outside the Carlton Hotel.
The wraparound terrace of the rooftop bar at Belle Plage is ideal for a dual-aspect sunset view over Le Suquet neighbourhood and the sea. Hang around for an equally scenic dinner here, or for something a little more simple, Da Laura has been dishing up some of the best Italian plates in Cannes since 1992.
SATURDAY: MORNING
After breakfast, stroll around the city, taking in the seafront, the mega-yachts moored in the port and Le Suquet, or Vieux (old) Cannes. Stop for a sunny lunch at La Petite Maison, which has a sibling down the coast in Nice — at the helm is Athens-born chef Yiannis Kioroglou, who imports his motherland’s keen sense of hospitality (or philoxenia, meaning a love of strangers). From a seat on the terrace, you’ll be able to spy Cap d’Antibes and the Lérins Islands. If it’s unlikely to cause a carb coma (though that won’t be a problem if you’re planning an afternoon siesta on the sand), head to rustic Italian Mamo Michelangelo, where the legendary restaurateur Peppino Mammoliti (‘Mamo’) serves up truffle pasta for his mates, like Beyoncé.
SATURDAY: AFTERNOON
In our expert opinion, it is now time to hit the beach. Luckily, your options are numerous. For the glitz and glamour the Côte d’Azur does best, select a beach club: the Carlton has been a fabulous favourite since 1930. For something a little more rustic, head over to the Lérins Islands off the coast of Cannes. Of the four isles, the larger two, Île Sainte-Marguerite and Île Saint-Honorat, are the most visited, and ferries will whisk you over from the port in Cannes in 20 minutes or less. Even better, charter a boat and sail the coast in style, dropping anchor at all four.
If you’d prefer to stay upright and away from a sunlounger or stretched-out towel, have a cultural afternoon in and around Cannes instead, starting with modern-art museum La Malmaison, on La Croisette. In Le Cannet above Cannes, Le Musée Bonnard is also worth a pitstop. Afterwards, drive out to hill-top village Saint-Paul-de-Vence (50 minutes away), long an artist’s refuge — Marc Chagall lived here between 1966 and 1985, and the American writer James Baldwin spent his final years here. On a hill overlooking mediaeval Saint-Paul, Fondation Maeght has one of the biggest collections of 20th-century art in Europe, a sculpture garden featuring works by Joan Miró and Barbara Hepworth, and a courtyard filled with sculptures by Alberto Giacometti. Just outside of the centre, Toile Blanche is an expansive resort, with a 200-year-old farmhouse as its centrepiece. The owners have shared their collection of modern art, on the walls of every suite and at the on-site gallery, so it’s the perfect base for your highbrow holiday in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
SATURDAY: EVENING
Naturally for anywhere on the glittering, jet-set-favoured French Riviera, there are plenty of establishments happy to supply you with an astronomical bill, in the city and beyond. A 15-minute drive out of Cannes, the forest-surrounded town of Mougins has lots of brilliant restaurants, so it’s worth the detour if you’re easily swayed by meal-planning — try La Place de Mougins on the village square, or Paloma. In the hills above Cannes, La Villa Archange promises two-Michelin-star suppers in an intimate Provençal courtyard. And along La Croisette within Hôtel Martinez, La Palme d’Or, which hosts the festival’s annual jury dinner, wins the film-star-favourite award — famous diners have included Sharon Stone, Halle Berry and Juliet Binoche.
SUNDAY: MORNING
Sunday mornings are made for markets. Shop for picnic supplies at Marché Forville in Le Suquet (open from 7am to 1pm, Tuesday to Sunday): enter via rue Meynadier to soak up the old-school atmosphere and have a sneak peek at what awaits. Some cheesemakers, butchers and fishmongers are set up along here and may already have opened their doors.
SUNDAY: AFTERNOON
Even though half of Hollywood descends on the city once a year, there’s not actually that much to see and do in Cannes (like Barbie’s Ken, its job is mostly just ‘beach’) — so it’s time to get out and explore the Riviera (unless you want more time on the sand, in which case head back to your favourite stretch of Cannes shore). Otherwise, spend the afternoon day-tripping along the coast. Terracotta-toned Antibes is what Francophile dreams are made of; the resort town has an old quarter with 16th-century ramparts, a Provençal market for loading up on baguettes and pavement cafés to stop at and watch the world go by. For lunch along the Cap d’Antibes peninsula, Les Pêcheurs is a smart spot that even the denizens of super-yachts come ashore for.
In the hills north of Cannes, Grasse — where the fine-smelling floral crops include tuberose, jasmine, rose, violet and mimosa — has been the world’s perfume capital for centuries, so follow your nose to the great fragrance houses: Fragonard, Molinard and Galimard all offer factory tours. The perfume industry is celebrated at the Musée International de la Parfumerie in the centre of the city, which is where you’ll find the 12th-century cathedral.
During any stay in Cannes, it’s also doable to road-trip down the coast to Saint-Tropez (an hour and a half south by car) or to princely principality Monaco (an hour east).
SUNDAY: EVENING
Finish the weekend toasting Cannes in its most natural habitat — a glitzy bar. Parisian stalwart Harry’s Bar has found a suitable second home here, at Port Canto on the tip of La Croisette. Here you can enjoy one last Riviera sunset from a terrace at the water’s edge. We warned you: Cannes is nothing if not hyper-glamorous.
NEED TO KNOW
Transport Helicopters are a frequent sight in the skies of this ultra-high-net-worth-frequented part of France, but a humble set of wheels (preferably a convertible) will do. Better still, hire a yacht to see the coast in style. Or keep it real — from the airport in Nice, catch the tram to Nice St-Augustin station, then pick up a train to Cannes (the journey will take around 40 minutes).
When to go July and August are hottest, but with them come the crowds. The shoulder months of June, September and October are the perfect balance of fewer people and still-balmy weather. The two big events of the Cannes calendar fall in May, when the annual film festival sends the paps into a frenzy, and September, when the boat shoes are busted out for various regattas and the yacht festival.
What to buy Naturally, Cannes has lots of designer boutiques, many located on prime-postcode La Croisette, on the off-chance an A-lister finds themselves without something to wear for the red carpet. If you make it to Grasse, be sure to stockpile perfumes — and if you don’t, locate the Fragonard shop on rue d’Antibes and pick up soaps and scents to take Provence home with you (your suitcase will thank you).
Good to know The Côte d’Azur has long been a haven for Grand Tourists and mere mortals seeking a milder climate. At Christmas, when the summer crowds have long since dispersed, the Riviera regains its seasonal magic, with festive markets, ice-skating rinks and highs of 14º Celsius.
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