Cannes travel guide

Glamour along the Mediterranean

Film stars and yacht-owning millionaires have shaped the picture of Cannes - however, the Eurail tourists and language school students who want to glimpse the glamour of the Côte d'Azur have also influenced the atmosphere of the Boulevard de la Croisette, the promenade on the beach at Cannes. In comparison to a larger city like Nice, which is riddled with social problems, everything is condensed in Cannes, the very hallmark of a Mediterranean resort town rich in tradition and culture. Old gentlemen playing boules in the sand make up the cityscape just as much as enamored couples, womanizers, and dressed-up guests on their way to the casino. Beyond the bustle of the film festival and the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, which always flood the luxury hotels and Croisette with new visitors, Cannes can be quite an introspective city - a stroll to the Musée de la Castre, which sits on a strip of land west of the Croisette, is the best way to gain some distance and a beautiful view. Another worthwhile excursion leads via ferry to the Île Sainte-Marguerite and the Musée de la Mer, where one can admire the prison cell that once held the Man in the Iron Mask, an anonymous, mysterious inmate from the time of Louis XIV.