In this Cannes travel guide, you’ll find out how to get to your hotel from the airport, where to stay, what to do, where to eat and more.
Cannes, France is not just for film festival goers or the rich and the famous. This Cannes travel guide shows you how amazing Cannes can be for anyone, any time of the year.
It’s a fun city to relax on the beach, eat good food and even explore the outdoors. From shopping at the market to taking a ferry to Saint-Marguerite Island, there’s plenty to do for everyone.
Read this Cannes travel guide to see all these tips.
From Lust Till Dawn is a reader-supported site. Purchases made through links may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
How to Get to Cannes
Flying is a great option because the closest international airport, Nice Airport, is only a 30 minute drive away from Cannes. If you’re already in France or Italy nearby, then you could take a train, drive, or even carpool.
Note: I flew with a budget airline that had a one carry-on limit. If you’re flying with a budget airline like EasyJet, Vueling, or Ryanair, make sure to check out the carry-on restrictions to avoid fees at the airport. Having a travel scale is handy for those budget airlines who even weigh your carry-on to make sure it falls under their guidelines.
How to Get to Your Hotel From the Nice Airport
Rent a Car
I highly recommend renting a car to go to your hotel because there’s so much to do in the area. With our car, we were able to have a night out in Nice and drive up to the Verdon Regional Nature Park, which has a gorgeous river canyon that’ll seriously make you yell wow out loud.
Ride a Train or Bus
If driving isn’t your thing, and you definitely don’t want to drive 2.5 hours to the Verdon Gorge, then there’s absolutely no need to rent a car! Here are three ways to get to Nice without a car:
The 210 Express bus from the Nice Airport is a popular option. It takes about 50 minutes and costs €33 round-trip (as of 4/16/17).
If you don’t have much luggage on you and prefer to take the train, then you can walk 15 minutes from the airport to Nice-Saint-Augustin railway station. The train here will get you to Cannes in about 35 minutes for less than €6.
Not feeling up to public transportation? Then you can always grab a taxi at the airport, or call an Uber. An UberX will be approximately €56-73 one way.
Enjoy a Helicopter Ride
I’ve never seen so many companies offering helicopter rides at an airport so thought it would be fun to include this as a way to get to Cannes from the Nice Airport. A helicopter ride gets you to Nice in less than 10 minutes! But it’ll cost you at €160 a person (as of 4/16/17). At least it includes space for one bag and a car service to your hotel once your in Cannes.
Where to Stay in Cannes
Whichever hotel you choose, I recommend to stay right in city center. It’ll make everything in this Cannes travel guide more accessible.
- For a more luxurious stay with views of the Mediterranean Sea, book Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes.
- For a mid-priced hotel with a jacuzzi and beautiful garden, book Best Western Plus Le Patio des Artistes Wellness Jacuzzi.
- For a budget stay with a panoramic rooftop view of the city, book L’Esterel.
All three of these hotels are highly rated.
How to Get Around Cannes
You don’t need a Cannes travel guide to help you get around this city as it’s quite small. As a result, you can easily walk around the main area in no time.
Walking around is really fun because you can window shop or actually shop and people watch as you stroll around town.
Tip: If you don’t have data, then consider downloading an offline version of Google Maps and saving places you want to go on it before leaving your hotel.
If you’re not able to walk, then Cannes has public busses, or you can call an Uber.
What to Do in and Around Cannes
Relax at the Beach
The beach is such a wonderful place to relax and unwind. The sand is soft, and the overall mood is simply pleasant. If you hang out until sunset, you’ll be in for a treat as the orange hues glow over the coastline.
Shop for Local Produce at Marche Forville
Marche Forville is a wonderful indoor market that sells local produce, flowers, seafood, cheese and more. I highly recommend coming here to pick up meats, cheeses, pastries and bread to have a picnic at Sainte-Marguerite Island, which is a 15 minute ferry ride from Cannes.
Explore Sainte-Marguerite Island
Sainte-Marguerite Island and Saint-Honorat Island are two islands only a 15 minute ferry ride from Cannes. Sainte-Marguerite is the larger of the two, and the perfect place to have a picnic, enjoy an easy hike in the woods, or explore the royal prisons at Fort Royal, which once housed the Man in the Iron Mask in 1687. Saint-Honorat is the island to go to if you want to kayak.
The ferry to both islands takes about 15 minutes and costs €14,50 round trip (as of 4/16/17), but if you buy your tickets online, you can save €1.
Enjoy a Night Out in Nice
Cannes is small so if you’ve spent a night or two here already and want to switch it up, then you have the option of going to Nice for the night as it’s only a 30 minute drive away.
If you like live music, then check out Shapkos Bar. The night we went, there was a fantastic trio playing live jazz music.
Take a Day Trip to the Verdon Gorge and Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
Even though the Verdon Gorge and Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is not directly in Cannes, I included it in this Cannes travel guide because it’s a must visit. This means that you’ll have to rent a car to get there.
The Verdon Gorge is a river canyon with the most brilliant turqoise blue waters while Moustiers-Sainte-Marie is known as one of the prettiest villages in France!
Although it’s a two and a half drive away from Cannes, the drive itself is one of the best parts about the day trip as there will be tons of scenic outlooks to stop at along the way and back.
Discover More of the French Riviera
There’s more to the French Riviera than Cannes and Nice!
For glitz and glam, check out Saint-Tropez or head to Monaco. For something different or low-key, head to Èze, a village on the sea with only 3,000 people!
Even better, book this tour to visit Monaco, Monte-Carlo and Èze in a full day tour or this one if you want a half-day tour.
Where to Eat in Cannes
One of the main reasons I travel is to eat, and as a result, this Cannes travel guide wouldn’t be complete without some of my favorite places to eat in Cannes.
Big Fernand
Being from New York, I scoffed at the idea of getting a burger when my husband found this place online.
I said, “Seriously? We’re in France and you want to get a burger? Fine…” Well, it was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had.
Take a burger, add French cooking techniques and love to it, and bam, you have a great burger, or what the server called, “a bur-JEHR.”
Also, true to the French love of food, this place only uses high-quality ingredients right down to the ketchup.
Noisette
Being so close to the Italian border, you’ll find a mix of both French and Italian culture in the French Riviera. Because of that, we found some of the best pasta we’ve ever had right in Cannes!
The owners of Noisette drive an hour everyday from Italy to Cannes to prep and serve their homemade pastas with love.
The ravioli felt like little pillows melting in my mouth, the restaurant is adorably charming, and the chef is the kind of person who tells you how your food should be eaten. It’s a gem!
Where Not to Eat in Cannes
Sorry in advance for adding negativity to this Cannes travel guide but please do not eat at La Pizzaiola Chez Xavier. Despite the four stars across the board on Tripadvisor, Google, and Yelp, this is a must-avoid restaurant.
I got fooled by the photos and the reviews, and you will too. It looks great in photos, but in person, it is one of the worst pizzas I’ve eaten at a restaurant.
The quality of the cheese is poor and congeals with the dough into this weird texture as the pizza cools, and there’s not enough sauce.
I also got a salad with iceberg lettuce and horrible bland, mushy tomatoes, which confused me since we were right near Italy, home of the most delicious tomatoes I’ve ever eaten, and in France, a country who cares so much about the quality of their food. Sigh. Pizza, I tried.
What to Pack for Cannes
I always recommend bringing these products I own on any trip to Europe: a lipstick sized portable charger that holds 1.5x charges for your phone, a Sony A6000 camera that takes amazing photos and is very portable for travel, and a 4 USB port EU charging station, which can charge four devices at once! Also, since you’ll be on the beach or outdoors a lot, bring your summertime essentials and something cute to wear.
If you want to bring your hair straightener or curling wand and not sure if it’ll work abroad, then check out this post that breaks down everything you need to know about using your hair appliances abroad and which ones I own.
If you want to know what else to pack, you can check out my Europe packing list.
I hope with this Cannes travel guide, you are more prepared for your trip to this seaside city! You can easily book your Cannes trip here.
Thanks for making it all the way down to the end of this post.
If you found it to be helpful, you might like what I share on my Instagram @sarchetrit.
Till then, thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!
xo,
Sarah
Like this post? Share:
Stefan Ekström
Tuesday 2nd of May 2017
Awesome post, thank you for sharing this! :)
Claire
Friday 21st of April 2017
I love the south coast of France, all the towns I visited there were lovely! Great tip for where not to eat, I hate being disappointed by food when I travel - much better to stock up on cheese and bread at the market!!
Stella
Friday 21st of April 2017
I've never really thought of Cannes other than the film festival. But I think the south of France is one of the most beautiful parts of the world, and this seems like no exception. I'd like to go there and relax on the beach and enjoy a yummy ber-gere haha!
Sally
Thursday 20th of April 2017
Such a comprehensive post about Cannes! I didn't realize there's so much to do there. Also Bonwi sounds really cool - I need to check it out when booking hotels!
Vibeke Johannessen
Thursday 20th of April 2017
I would love to explore more of France as I have only been to Paris. Cannes looks charming. Will definitely use this guide when I go there. Thank you for such useful info :)