Cannes Information - Cannes Film Festival Hotels

Cannes Information

905km (562 miles) S of Paris; 164km (101 miles) E of Marseille; 26km (16 miles) SW of Nice.

When Coco Chanel came here, got a suntan, and returned to Paris bronzed, she startled the milk-white ladies of society. Today the bronzed bodies -- in nearly nonexistent swimsuits -- that line the sandy beaches of this chic resort continue the trend started by the late fashion designer.

Cannes is at its most frenzied during the International Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals on promenade de la Croisette. On the seafront boulevards, flashbulbs pop as the stars and wannabes emerge and pose and pose and pose. For wannabes (particularly female), outrageous is the key word. The festival's stellar activities are closed to most visitors, who are forced to line up in front of the Palais des Festivals. Known as "the bunker," this concrete structure is the venue for premières that draw some 5,000 spectators. With paparazzi shouting ("Brad, Jennifer, over here!") and shooting away, and a guard of gendarmes holding back the fans, the guests parade along the red carpet into the building, perhaps stopping for a moment or two to strike a pose and chat with a journalist. C'est Cannes!

International regattas, galas, concours d'élégance, and even a Mimosa Festival in February -- something's always happening at Cannes, except in November, traditionally a dead month.

The gare SNCF is on rue Jean-Jaurès, five blocks north of the orange, concrete Palais des Festivals on the seafront - the main venue for Cannes' big events, of which the premier celeb-puller is the International Film Festival in May. There are tourist offices at the train station (July & Aug Mon-Fri 9am-1pm & 3-7pm; Sept-June 9am-12.30pm & 2-6pm; tel 04.93.99.19.77) and in the Palais des Festivals (daily 9am-8pm; tel 04.93.39.24.53, www.cannes.fr), and two gare routières: one on place B.-Cornut-Gentille between the mairie and Le Suquet, serving coastal destinations; and the other next to the gare SNCF for buses inland to places such as Grasse. The Bus Azur runs seventeen lines, serving all of Cannes and the surrounding area (tel 04.93.45.20.08; €1.25 single ticket).

You'll find the best concentration of hotels in the centre, between the gare SNCF on rue Jean-Jaurès and La Croisette, around the central axis of rues Antibes and Félix-Faure. The Alnea, 20 rue Jean de Riouffe (tel 04.93.68.77.77, alnea@free.fr; €55-70), is central and has high standards of service; the Cybelle, 14 rue du 24 Août (tel 04.93.38.31.33, fax 04.93.38.43.47; €30-40), is good value, if fairly basic, and has a popular restaurant; and another above-average option is Chanteclair, 12 rue Forville (tel & fax 04.93.39.68.88; €40-55), right next to the old town. For more comfort and better facilities, try Provence, 9 rue Molière (tel 04.93.38.44.35, www.hotel-de-provence.com; €85-100). There's also a hostel, the Auberge Le Chalit, 27 av Galliéni (tel 04.93.99.22.11, le-chalit@wanadoo.fr), five minutes' walk north of the gare SNCF, which has beds for €20. A three-star campsite, Le Grand Saule, 24 bd Jean-Moulin (tel 04.93.90.55.10; closed Oct-March), lies 2km out of town, off the D9 towards Pégomas (bus #9 from gare SNCF, direction "Lamartine", stop "Le Grande Saule"). Bikes can be rented from Mistral Loation, 4 rue G. Clemenceau (tel 04.93.39.33.60, www.mistral-location.com).