One day 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

      Grab one of the free blue chairs along the promenade at sunset, when the light turns the Esterel hills across the bay red. Allow 1–2 hours.

   2. Late morning

      Palais des Festivals et des Congrès

      Ask at the tourist office inside about guided tours of the Palais, which take you behind the scenes of the Lumière auditorium on certain dates. Allow 30–60 minutes.

   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

      Check what is showing before you go; it closes between exhibitions. Allow 1 hour.

   5. Late afternoon

      Le Suquet old town

      Climb up via Rue Saint-Antoine and come down the stairways on the seaward side towards the Plage du Midi. Allow 1–2 hours.

   6. Evening

      Vieux Port and Quai Saint-Pierre

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

If it rains

• Swap in Musée des Explorations du Monde (Le Suquet): Save the tower climb for the end of your visit and time it for late afternoon, when the bay is at its clearest.
• 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 5–7 hours of visiting over one day, 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

• 2 days in Cannes
• 3 days in Cannes
• 5 days in Cannes

Questions travellers ask