Cannes Classics: Croisette, Film Festival Steps & Lérins Islands
Experience the essential Cannes—stroll the legendary Croisette promenade, climb the red-carpeted Palais des Festivals steps, explore the hilltop old town of Le Suquet, browse the Marché Forville, and take the ferry to the unspoiled Lérins islands for total Riviera escapism.
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La Croisette – The World's Most Famous Boulevard
The 2 km seafront promenade of La Croisette is Cannes's defining axis—a palm-lined boulevard of luxury hotels, designer boutiques, and white-sand beaches stretching from the Palais des Festivals to the Palm Beach casino. In May during the Film Festival, this is the most photographed stretch of pavement in the world.
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Palais des Festivals et des Congrès
The concrete Palais des Festivals, opened in 1982, hosts the Cannes Film Festival each May—the world's most prestigious film event since 1946. The famous 24 red-carpeted steps (Montée des Marches) have been climbed by every major film star. The Allée des Stars outside bears hand-prints of festival winners in the manner of Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
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Le Suquet – Old Town on the Hill
Cannes's original fishing village climbs the hill above the Vieux-Port on the rocky outcrop of Le Suquet. The 11th-century Tour du Suquet and the Chapelle Saint-Anne offer sweeping views over La Croisette and the Îles de Lérins. The narrow streets of the old town remain authentically Provençal, with good local restaurants away from the tourist prices of the seafront.
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Marché Forville
Cannes's covered food market operates Tuesday through Sunday, a five-minute walk from the old port. Farmers from the surrounding Provençal hinterland sell seasonal vegetables, herbs, olives, lavender honey, and goats' cheese. In winter it transforms into a flea market. The market supplies many of Cannes's Michelin-starred restaurant kitchens.
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Vieux-Port & Fishing Harbour
The old port of Cannes sits between the Palais des Festivals and Le Suquet, lined with fishing boats, pleasure yachts, and ferry piers for the Îles de Lérins. The quayside cafés here are more affordable than La Croisette equivalents; watching the fishing boats unload their catch in early morning while the mega-yachts bob alongside is quintessential Cannes.
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Îles de Lérins – Saint-Honorat & Sainte-Marguerite
Fifteen minutes by ferry from the Vieux-Port, the two Lérins islands offer complete escape from the Riviera crowds. Sainte-Marguerite has the Fort Royal where the mysterious 'Man in the Iron Mask' was imprisoned 1687–1698. Saint-Honorat is home to a community of Cistercian monks who have occupied the island since 410 AD and produce wine and liqueurs sold in the monastery shop.