Cannes Film Festival, Glamour & Riviera Nightlife
Go behind the scenes of the world's most glamorous film festival, understand Cannes's year-round conference economy, discover the Belle Époque villas of La Californie where Picasso once painted, and experience the Riviera nightlife from casino to yacht bar.
- 1
Cannes Film Festival – History & Glamour
The Festival de Cannes was founded in 1946 as a democratic alternative to the Fascist-influenced Venice Film Festival. The Palme d'Or—a golden palm frond—is the world's most coveted film award. The festival runs for 12 days each May, screening around 50 films in competition and hundreds more in parallel sections, attended by 40,000 professionals from 100 countries.
- 2
MIDEM, MIPIM & Cannes as Conference Capital
Beyond cinema, Cannes hosts some of the world's largest trade fairs: MIPIM (real estate), MIDEM (music industry), MIPCOM (television), and the Lions International Festival of Creativity (advertising). The Palais des Festivals runs almost continuously; Cannes's conference economy rivals its film festival reputation in economic impact year-round.
- 3
Beach Culture & Private Plages
La Croisette's beaches are divided between free public strips and private beach clubs (plages privées) where sunbeds, parasols, and attendants can be hired by the hour or day. The historic Carlton Beach, Majestic Beach, and JW Marriott private clubs are Cannes institutions; the free public beaches on the western end of La Croisette are perfectly pleasant and cost nothing.
- 4
La Californie & Villa Belle-Époque Architecture
The hillside neighbourhood of La Californie above La Croisette is where Cannes's grandest Belle Époque villas survive amid fragrant gardens. Picasso lived in the Villa La Californie from 1955 to 1961, producing many of his late works here. The neighbourhood gives the best views over the bay and is best explored on foot from the top of La Croisette.
- 5
Antibes & Juan-les-Pins Night Life
Antibes, 10 km east of Cannes, has the largest yachting harbour in the Mediterranean and an old town inside Genoese sea walls. The adjacent resort of Juan-les-Pins became the first Riviera resort to develop a summer season (1920s) and is famous for its annual jazz festival. The strip between Cannes and Antibes—the Cap d'Antibes—hides some of the Riviera's most exclusive private villas.
- 6
Casino Barrière & Cannes Nightlife
Cannes's nightlife revolves around its casinos and hotel bars. The Casino Barrière Le Croisette is the main gaming establishment on the seafront; the Palm Beach Casino at the eastern end of La Croisette operates in a 1930s Art Deco building. Hotel bars at the Hôtel Martinez, Carlton InterContinental, and Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc are the social apex of the Film Festival world.