A luxury weekend in Cannes: a concierge’s guide

Cannes suffers from an unfair reputation: a city you drive through on the way somewhere else, or that you only know for twelve days a year because of a festival. It’s a shame, because Cannes is the Riviera town where I’d most happily spend a weekend.

It has a bay, two islands ten minutes away by boat, one of the finest coastlines in the region on its western doorstep, and a density of good tables that Saint-Tropez envies. Here is my notebook.

I sort by time of day, as always, that’s how you actually choose, not by counting stars.

• Lunch with your feet in the water: Carlton Beach Club, La Môme Plage, Copal Beach, Nammos, Lucia by Nikki Beach, Annex Beach. Cannes has the best beach-restaurant offering on the Riviera after Pampelonne, and they’re walking distance from the centre, which changes absolutely everything.
• The lunch worth the crossing: La Guérite, on Île Sainte-Marguerite, open daytime from May to September. Ten minutes by boat and you’re no longer in a city at all.
• The big night: L’Ecrin, and Le Grill at Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc on Cap d’Antibes for the most elegant register in the bay. Riviera and Ruya at the Carlton to stay on the Croisette.
• The tables I send people to most: La Môme, La Petite Maison, Zuma, Medusa, Anna, Tredici, Il Grande, Luigi.
• Quieter, more local : Bobo Bistro, Moka, La Perle, Rosana, Salama, Mido, La Californie, Volupté, Miramar. These are my second-night addresses, the ones you won’t find in a hotel guide.
• After dark: Baoli, the Cannes institution; and in summer, the beach parties that stretch well past dessert.

• The Lérins islands: Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat, ten minutes from the port. Paths under the pines, clear water, and on Saint-Honorat a monastery still inhabited by monks who make wine. It’s the best half-day in Cannes, and by far the cheapest.
• A day at sea, west towards the Estérel and its red rock, or east towards Cap d’Antibes. I’ve set out my four itineraries in a dedicated article.
• Le Suquet at sunset: the old town, its steep lanes, the tower, and a view over the whole bay. Walk up, come back down for dinner.
• The Forville market, early, the real market of Cannes, where the chefs shop. Before nine, or it isn’t the same place.
• An escape to Cap d’Antibes: ten minutes by road, the Baie des Milliardaires, the coastal path, and another world entirely.

• The beaches in Cannes are mostly private and must be booked. Book loungers and lunch together, and arrive in the morning: it’s the only way to get the front row rather than the back.
• Walk the Croisette west to east late in the day: the sun is behind you and all the light falls on the facades. The other way round you walk into the sun and see nothing.
• There are two ports in Cannes, the Vieux Port and Port Canto, and drivers regularly confuse them. Always specify which, it will save you twenty minutes crawling along the Croisette.
• May and June are taken by the city’s two big events. If you want calm, aim for September: it’s the best month in Cannes, and nobody says so.
• Antibes and Mougins are fifteen minutes away and change the mood completely. A dinner in Mougins beats a third consecutive dinner on the Croisette.

On the Croisette for the position: you’re walking distance from the beaches, the port and the tables, and in Cannes that’s worth more than a view. Up in the hills, towards La Californie or Super Cannes, as soon as you’re a group or want to host: villas, quiet, a pool, and a quarter of an hour by car. On Cap d’Antibes if what you want above all is sea and silence. And bear in mind that for the two big weeks in May and June, everything books months ahead.