Cannes might be the most famous name on the French Riviera, known worldwide for its film festival and its taste for the expensive end of things. Look past the red carpet, though, and there is a city with a deep Provencal history and a genuinely lovely coastline. For a lot of travelers it is the archetypal Mediterranean stop, old quarter charm on one side and glossy modern boulevards on the other.

The city sits on the Gulf of Napoule, sheltered to the west by the Esterel Mountains, and that position gives it the mild climate that has been pulling visitors in for close to two hundred years. It gets very busy at the height of summer, but it stays workable and easy to get around, with everything from quiet island escapes to a shopping district running at full tilt.

Arriving by tender

If you come to Cannes by sea, the arrival itself is part of the deal. The harbor is not deep enough to take large modern ships at the pier the way most Mediterranean ports do, so the ships anchor out in the bay and everyone is ferried ashore in smaller boats called tenders.

That takes a little more planning than a simple walk off arrival. The tenders usually land you at the Vieux Port, the Old Port, right in the middle of the city, and the short hop across the water throws in a good view of the Cannes skyline and the mountains behind it. Just build in the transit time. It pays to allow an extra forty five minutes for the round trip so you are not cutting it fine getting back.

Getting around

Once you are on land at the Old Port, the city is simple to move through, with most of what you came to see packed into a fairly small stretch along the water.

Cannes walks easily. The big landmarks, the Palais des Festivals and the Boulevard de la Croisette, sit within ten minutes of the tender pier, and the coast is mostly flat, though getting up into the old town means a short, steep climb.

If you want to range wider, the bus network is reliable, and the main station, Gare de Cannes, is central and puts other Riviera towns like Nice, Antibes, and Monaco within a quick ride. Taxis wait at the marked stands near the big hotels and the station, and the rideshare apps work here too for anywhere off the center.

The districts

To get the whole city, split your time between the heights and the waterfront.

Le Suquet, the old town, is the oldest part of Cannes, built up a hill above the bay. Its narrow, twisting streets run far quieter than the boulevards below, and as you climb you pass small restaurants and shops selling local goods. Right at the top, the Place de la Castre gives you the best wide view of the city and the sea.

Below it runs La Croisette, the palm lined promenade that stretches about two kilometers along the shore. This is where the famous luxury hotels and designer boutiques and private beaches are, and walking its length is more or less a required part of any visit, a straight look at the architecture and the street life that made the city’s name.

The district between the waterfront and the railway line is called La Banane, for the curve of its shape. It holds the main shopping streets, Rue d’Antibes and Rue Meynadier among them, and it is a lively run of cafes and boutiques that serves locals and visitors alike.

The landmarks

The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès is the home of the Cannes Film Festival. The building is more functional than beautiful, but the red carpeted steps pull a steady crowd, and just nearby the Chemin des Étoiles sets the handprints of famous directors and actors into the pavement. The festival itself runs for under two weeks each May and the screenings are almost entirely invitation only, so most visitors experience it from the street rather than the seats. The rest of the year the steps are just steps, and you can walk right up and stand on them.

For something closer to everyday life, the Marché Forville is the covered market just behind the city hall, open every morning but Monday. It fills up with fresh Provencal produce, local cheeses, flowers, seafood straight off the boats, and it is one of the better places to take in the colors and smells of the region.

At the top of Le Suquet stands the Église Notre Dame d’Espérance, a Gothic church finished in the seventeenth century, with a fine interior and a calm square outside. Its bell tower is a fixed point on the skyline, and the whole area around it makes a quiet counterweight to the busier streets down the hill.

Right beside it, the Musée de la Castre occupies a medieval castle once held by the monks of Lérins. Inside is an odd, wide ranging collection of art and ethnographic pieces from around the world, and the climb up its square tower gives you an even higher vantage than the square itself.

The Lérins Islands

If you want to leave the city energy behind entirely, the Lérins Islands are only a fifteen minute boat ride from the Old Port.

Île Sainte Marguerite, the larger of the two, is thick with eucalyptus and pine. It is best known for the Fort Royal, a former prison that supposedly held the Man in the Iron Mask and now houses a maritime museum. The whole island is car free, and its small coves are made for swimming in clear water.

Île Saint Honorat, the smaller island, has been home to a community of Cistercian monks since the fifth century, and they are still there, keeping to silence and working the island’s vineyards. You can walk through the old fortified monastery and buy wine and honey made on the island. It is a strikingly quiet, spiritual place that feels a long way further than fifteen minutes from the mainland.

A few practical things

Cannes is expensive, especially eating and shopping along the waterfront. Move a few blocks inland toward where the locals go and the prices come down noticeably.

The climate is Mediterranean, hot and dry in summer, mild in winter. Sun protection matters here, since the glare bouncing off the white buildings and the water is stronger than you expect. The language is French, but English is understood in most places used to tourists.

The city is very safe on the whole, though it never hurts to keep an eye on your surroundings in a crush like the station or the promenade. Whether your day goes to the luxury shops of the Croisette or a boat out to the quiet Lérins Islands, Cannes gives you a trip that carries its famous prestige without losing its Mediterranean roots.

Cannes knows exactly how to present itself. It trades in grand gestures and small quiet corners in equal measure. First visit or fifth, the view of the bay from the old town hill stays one of the great sights in the south of France.

The red carpet is only a sliver of the story. The real Cannes lives in the stone streets of the old quarter and the clear water of the islands just offshore.