Cannes for the sunny Mediterranean holiday

If you know your movies, you know Cannes. Or have heard of the Cannes Film Festival. The sunny city is located on the stunning French Riviera, the coastline sitting pretty on the southeastern flank of France. Cannes is made popular by the rich and famous, mainly the film industry A-listers. Come May, the city will be abuzz with the Who’s Who of the film industry (global) for the city is, once again, all geared up for the much awaited Cannes Film Festival from May 17-28. Yes the event is reserved for the film industry people and other A-Listers. But there’s nowhere a rule that says you can’t enjoy the atmosphere.

For those who want to be there and see what the fuss is all about, you’ll have free public screenings at the Beach Cinema or the Cinéma de la Plage. The entry is on a first come, first serve basis, so make sure you get there early. So, what if you didn’t get invited to the iconic Grand Theatre Lumiére, no one’s stopping you making your beach cinema experience a fun one.
What to do in Cannes?

Now that your ‘movie date’ is sorted, how about we explore some fun places in and around Cannes? Remember how we first talked about the French Riviera and beautiful coastline among other things? Cannes has one of the best summer weathers there is. Low rainfall and daily day temperature remaining as low 30 degrees, means a lot of pleasant time spent outdoors. The summers are long and warm, and also the best time to explore the Promenade de la Croisette, the gorgeous waterfront. La Croisette’s nice collection of beautiful beaches, boutique and luxury hotels, fancy restaurants and cafes, and the old town LE Suquet will give you plenty of things to explore and experience.

For those who want a touch of nostalgia and mystery, can head to the erstwhile Fort of St Marguerite, now known as Musée de la Mer or the Museum of the Sea. The fort once housed the very famous Man in the Iron Mask. But this is not the only attraction here. You can take a look at the things explorers discovered from shipwrecks. Some of them even date back to the first century BC. There's also the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Provence which houses artifacts from the prehistoric times, and the Musée de la Castre which is home to some of the finest Mayan and Peruvian finds.
If you are in a mood for some wine tasting, head to Île Saint-Honorat, home of the Cistercian monks. Here on this island, these monks produce some of the best red and white wines.

How to reach Cannes?

The nearest big airport is the Nice Côte d'Azur Airport, situated around 24 km from Cannes. Second to that is the Marseille Provence Airport which is 150 km away from the city. Nice Côte d'Azur Airport is the best option here as for a fee of 20 Euros, there is shuttle service available from the airport to your place of accommodation in the city. If you are sailing, Vieux Port is the main port for you. However, there are Palais des Festivals and Port Pierre Canto too. There are ferries available as well in case you are planning to take the ferry. You will find ferries from Bastia and Calvi in Nice. The distance between Nice and Cannes is only 26 km. There are rail services too till Nice and in and around Cannes. There is rail connectivity to Ventimiglia and Milan in Italy. For those who want to take the road, bus services are available at the Gare Routière de Cannes near the Town Hall.