Cannes Beaches Pictures
Côte d'Azur, France

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Cannes Beaches, Vieux Port and Festival Hall from Le Suquet hill.

The view east from Le Suquet hill covers the old port, new yachts, Casino and Cannes Festival Hall [middleground] and La Croisette promenade lined with beaches in the background. This is Cannes' best panorama and encompasses everything that the city has to offer - which we feel is not that much, compared to the Nice neighbours.
Cannes is a seaside city of historical charm but now loaded with bad architecture, overpriced tourist tat, careless restaurants, diminuitive beaches crowded with pay-loungers and appalling, self-important foreign residents.
Still, La Croisette's is a pleasant place to give the eyeballs a workout, with obese, short-pants tourists contrasting interestingly with skinny, jewel-encrusted, toy-boy-toting socialites in an environment of palms, flowers and Ferraris.
Cannes' less-busy beaches run the other way, west of Le Suquet, see pictures below.

The east end of Cannes' main beach, Plage de la Croisette, in uncrowded October.

One of Cannes' pricey but pleasant beach cafés.

Daily construction work on the main beach near the Festival Hall.

A view of Cannes from the east end of La Croisette.

Another one of the few sandy strands in Cannes Bay [with temporary events stage], though there's a long, pleasant though narrow beach around the headland to the west, Plage du Midi, an easy 10 minutes walk from la Croisette. In July and August Cannes puts on a sensational series of free firework shows offshore, the Festival d'Art Pyrotechnique.

The Ile Sainte-Marguerite is the largest of the Lérins Islands, about half a mile off shore from Cannes. The island is 3km in length and 900m across. The island is most famous for its fortress prison in which the 'Man in the Iron Mask' was held captive in the 17th century.

Midi beach just before La Bocca beach.

A 15 minute boat trip from Cannes' Vieux Port, Ile de Sainte-Marguerite is thickly wooded with umbrella pines and eucalyptus. Both islands - along with the Ile Saint-Honorat - are managed by Office National des Forêts and are popular tourist attractions.
During the summer boats anchor in the shallow, protected space between the islands or on the land side of Sainte-Marguerite where there is room for water sports.
The village of Sainte-Marguerite is made up of about twenty buildings and one or two establishments offer refreshments to tourists.
The historic Fort Royal now houses a youth hostel and a Museum of the Sea, featuring items recovered from ancient shipwrecks. Visitors can also visit prison cells, including that occupied by the Man in the Iron Mask..

Cannes La Bocca, big and free though not much parking around, or feeding facilities.

Cannes bus station.

Away from the coast Cannes town is not very interesting, a hugga-mugga of tortuous streets and hideous apartment buildings but does offer inexpensive [if you so choose] eateries and an occasional flash of humour.

Le Suquet hill overlooking the old port, with its 11thC ruins and 12thC chapel.

And if Cannes beaches are too stuffed or difficult to get to, head 20km south west to the horseshoe cove of Plage d'Agay which has plenty of space though parking on the road is limited. The sand is coarse but the beach is attractive, the ambience tranquil and families feel at home. There are some shops and cafés beside the road through the village.

Alternatively Frejus Plage is another kid-friendly beach just 5kms further than Agay and though small is sheltered, coated with fine sand and offers cafés and kiddie stuff. Again, parking is limited so get there early.

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