2 days in Cannes

Day by day

1. Day 1: Boulevard de la Croisette and Palais des Festivals et des Congrès

   Boulevard de la Croisette, Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, La Malmaison and Le Suquet old town, then Vieux Port and Quai Saint-Pierre in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Boulevard de la Croisette

      Walking its length is the classic Cannes outing, best in the late afternoon light.

   2. Late morning

      Palais des Festivals et des Congrès

      Outside festival weeks you can climb the famous red-carpeted steps for a photo, and the Allée des Stars around the building has the handprints of film stars set into the pavement. The tourist office is on the ground floor.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Socca

      Stalls around Marché Forville in the morning; eat it straight from the paper while it is hot.

   4. Afternoon

      La Malmaison

      The last remaining part of the 19th-century Grand Hôtel on the Croisette is now a municipal art centre that stages temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary art, often focused on artists linked to the Riviera such as Picasso or Matisse.

   5. Late afternoon

      Le Suquet old town

      From the terrace in front of the church, the view takes in the old port, the Croisette and the Lérins Islands.

   6. Evening

      Vieux Port and Quai Saint-Pierre

      Watch the evening pétanque games on the Allées de la Liberté before dinner on the quay.

2. Day 2: Musée des Explorations du Monde and Marché Forville

   Musée des Explorations du Monde, Marché Forville, Île Sainte-Marguerite and Île Saint-Honorat and Lérins Abbey, then Rue du Docteur Monod and Forville in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Musée des Explorations du Monde

      The ticket includes the climb to the top of the Tour du Suquet for the best view in Cannes.

   2. Late morning

      Marché Forville

      Stalls sell socca and other snacks, and the surrounding cafés fill with stallholders and locals mid-morning. On Mondays the hall usually turns into a flea and antiques market instead.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Pan bagnat

      Bakeries in the centre and around Marché Forville; buy one before catching the boat to the islands.

   4. Afternoon

      Île Sainte-Marguerite

      Its 17th-century Fort Royal holds the cell where the Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned and a museum of underwater archaeology. There are no cars and only a few cafés.

   5. Late afternoon

      Île Saint-Honorat and Lérins Abbey

      Visitors can walk the vineyards and lanes, visit the abbey church and the fortified medieval monastery on the shore, and buy the monks' own wines and Lérina liqueur. Separate boats serve it from the old port.

   6. Evening

      Rue du Docteur Monod and Forville

      A strip of small bars beside Marché Forville that fills with a local crowd on summer evenings and spills onto the street.

If it rains

• Swap in Musée Bonnard (Le Cannet): Combine it with a wander through the old streets of Le Cannet and lunch on Rue Saint-Sauveur.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 13–18 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 9 hours in December to 15.4 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Walking. Walking covers almost everything in the centre; the Croisette, Rue d'Antibes and Le Suquet are all on foot, though the old town is steep.

More or fewer days

• One day in Cannes
• 3 days in Cannes
• 5 days in Cannes

Questions travellers ask