There are various contenders for world’s most glamorous vacation vacation spot, however few obtain the standing as effortlessly because the Côte d’Azur, whose very title calls to thoughts glowing blue seas, coast-hugging roads and yachts with their very own helipads.
Due to a sure paparazzi frenzy every Might through the resort city’s well-known movie competition, Cannes is without doubt one of the French Riviera’s most sought-after spots, however there’s a lot extra to see and do past its starry shoreline. Right here’s the perfect itinerary for 48 hours in Cannes, with dreamy day journeys out into the Provençal coast and countryside.
FRIDAY: EVENING
The possibilities are you’ll contact down in Good, which has a sizeable worldwide airport. From right here, Cannes is an hour or so south-west by automotive. If you wish to keep within the thick of it to your weekend in Cannes, Belle Plage is the Croisette-adjacent resort for you. Its title (which means ‘lovely seashore’) doesn’t lie: it’s on the sting of the previous city, with the coast simply over the street, and it has a spa to have you ever red-carpet-ready, even if in case you have no crimson carpet to attend. The celebrities arriving within the spring are likely to favour Hôtel Martinez by Hyatt, set in a century-old artwork deco constructing.
Or go for quiet discretion and retreat to the hillsides of Provence with a keep in mediaeval Mougins. Mougins Luxurious Resort has only a handful of rooms and flats in previous stone buildings, between Cannes and Grasse. Additionally slightly away from the motion is the sleepy hamlet of Théoule-sur-Mer, which is the place you’ll discover the Morocco-loving Tiara Yaktsa resort, with Moorish design.
When you’ve unpacked your baggage, it’s time to find one of the vital well-known roads in France, up there with Paris’ Champs-Elysées: Cannes’ curving Promenade de la Croisette, which stretches for 2 kilometres alongside the Mediterranean shore. Even in case you don’t have the novelty glasses and boater hat handy, you’ll be able to channel Elton John, who filmed his video for I’m Nonetheless Standing outdoors the Carlton Resort.
The wraparound terrace of the rooftop bar at Belle Plage is good for a dual-aspect sundown view over Le Suquet neighbourhood and the ocean. Dangle round for an equally scenic dinner right here, or for one thing slightly extra easy, Da Laura has been dishing up among the finest Italian plates in Cannes since 1992.
SATURDAY: MORNING
After breakfast, stroll across the metropolis, taking within the seafront, the mega-yachts moored within the port and Le Suquet, or Vieux (previous) Cannes. Cease for a sunny lunch at La Petite Maison, which has a sibling down the coast in Good — on the helm is Athens-born chef Yiannis Kioroglou, who imports his motherland’s eager sense of hospitality (or philoxenia, which means a love of strangers). From a seat on the terrace, you’ll have the ability to spy Cap d’Antibes and the Lérins Islands. If it’s unlikely to trigger a carb coma (although that gained’t be an issue in case you’re planning a day siesta on the sand), head to rustic Italian Mamo Michelangelo, the place the legendary restaurateur Peppino Mammoliti (‘Mamo’) serves up truffle pasta for his mates, like Beyoncé.
SATURDAY: AFTERNOON
In our professional opinion, it’s now time to hit the seashore. Fortunately, your choices are quite a few. For the glitz and glamour the Côte d’Azur does finest, choose a seashore membership: the Carlton has been a wonderful favorite since 1930. For one thing slightly extra rustic, head over to the Lérins Islands off the coast of Cannes. Of the 4 isles, the bigger two, Île Sainte-Marguerite and Île Saint-Honorat, are essentially the most visited, and ferries will whisk you over from the port in Cannes in 20 minutes or much less. Even higher, constitution a ship and sail the coast in type, dropping anchor in any respect 4.
When you’d favor to remain upright and away from a sunlounger or stretched-out towel, have a cultural afternoon in and round Cannes as an alternative, beginning with modern-art museum La Malmaison, on La Croisette. In Le Cannet above Cannes, Le Musée Bonnard can also be price a pitstop. Afterwards, drive out to hill-top village Saint-Paul-de-Vence (50 minutes away), lengthy an artist’s refuge — Marc Chagall lived right here between 1966 and 1985, and the American author James Baldwin spent his last years right here. On a hill overlooking mediaeval Saint-Paul, Fondation Maeght has one of many largest collections of Twentieth-century artwork in Europe, a sculpture backyard that includes works by Joan Miró and Barbara Hepworth, and a courtyard full of sculptures by Alberto Giacometti. Simply outdoors of the centre, Toile Blanche is an expansive resort, with a 200-year-old farmhouse as its centrepiece. The homeowners have shared their assortment of contemporary artwork, on the partitions of each suite and on the on-site gallery, so it’s the proper base to your intellectual vacation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
SATURDAY: EVENING
Naturally for wherever on the glittering, jet-set-favoured French Riviera, there are many institutions glad to provide you with an astronomical invoice, within the metropolis and past. A 15-minute drive out of Cannes, the forest-surrounded city of Mougins has numerous good eating places, so it’s definitely worth the detour in case you’re simply swayed by meal-planning — strive La Place de Mougins on the village sq., or Paloma. Within the hills above Cannes, La Villa Archange guarantees two-Michelin-star suppers in an intimate Provençal courtyard. And alongside La Croisette inside Hôtel Martinez, La Palme d’Or, which hosts the competition’s annual jury dinner, wins the film-star-favourite award — well-known diners have included Sharon Stone, Halle Berry and Juliet Binoche.
SUNDAY: MORNING
Sunday mornings are made for markets. Store for picnic provides at Marché Forville in Le Suquet (open from 7am to 1pm, Tuesday to Sunday): enter by way of rue Meynadier to take in the old-school ambiance and have a sneak peek at what awaits. Some cheesemakers, butchers and fishmongers are arrange alongside right here and should have already got opened their doorways.
SUNDAY: AFTERNOON
Despite the fact that half of Hollywood descends on town yearly, there’s not really that a lot to see and do in Cannes (like Barbie’s Ken, its job is usually simply ‘seashore’) — so it’s time to get out and discover the Riviera (except you need extra time on the sand, through which case head again to your favorite stretch of Cannes shore). In any other case, spend the afternoon day-tripping alongside the coast. Terracotta-toned Antibes is what Francophile desires are product of; the resort city has an previous quarter with Sixteenth-century ramparts, a Provençal marketplace for loading up on baguettes and pavement cafés to cease at and watch the world go by. For lunch alongside the Cap d’Antibes peninsula, Les Pêcheurs is a brilliant spot that even the denizens of super-yachts come ashore for.
Within the hills north of Cannes, Grasse — the place the fine-smelling floral crops embody tuberose, jasmine, rose, violet and mimosa — has been the world’s fragrance capital for hundreds of years, so comply with your nostril to the good perfume homes: Fragonard, Molinard and Galimard all supply manufacturing unit excursions. The fragrance trade is well known on the Musée Worldwide de la Parfumerie within the centre of town, which is the place you’ll discover the Twelfth-century cathedral.
Throughout any keep in Cannes, it’s additionally doable to road-trip down the coast to Saint-Tropez (an hour and a half south by automotive) or to princely principality Monaco (an hour east).
SUNDAY: EVENING
End the weekend toasting Cannes in its most pure habitat — a glitzy bar. Parisian stalwart Harry’s Bar has discovered an appropriate second residence right here, at Port Canto on the tip of La Croisette. Right here you’ll be able to get pleasure from one final Riviera sundown from a terrace on the water’s edge. We warned you: Cannes is nothing if not hyper-glamorous.
NEED TO KNOW
Transport Helicopters are a frequent sight within the skies of this ultra-high-net-worth-frequented a part of France, however a humble set of wheels (ideally a convertible) will do. Higher nonetheless, rent a yacht to see the coast in type. Or hold it actual — from the airport in Good, catch the tram to Good St-Augustin station, then choose up a prepare to Cannes (the journey will take round 40 minutes).
When to go July and August are hottest, however with them come the crowds. The shoulder months of June, September and October are the proper stability of fewer folks and still-balmy climate. The 2 huge occasions of the Cannes calendar fall in Might, when the annual movie competition sends the paps right into a frenzy, and September, when the boat footwear are busted out for varied regattas and the yacht competition.
What to purchase Naturally, Cannes has numerous designer boutiques, many positioned on prime-postcode La Croisette, on the off-chance an A-lister finds themselves with out one thing to put on for the crimson carpet. When you make it to Grasse, make sure you stockpile perfumes — and in case you don’t, find the Fragonard store on rue d’Antibes and choose up soaps and smells to take Provence residence with you (your suitcase will thanks).
Good to know The Côte d’Azur has lengthy been a haven for Grand Vacationers and mere mortals in search of a milder local weather. At Christmas, when the summer season crowds have lengthy since dispersed, the Riviera regains its seasonal magic, with festive markets, ice-skating rinks and highs of 14º Celsius.
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