CANNES

Cannes is known as a city of Festivals and cinema Stars. But the town owns many others secrets. You will see the Festival Palace, the Palaces of the Belle Époque, the charm of the Croisette and the beach.

Some examples of tourist sites:

The Croisette Boulevard
De la Castre Museum
The Sea Museum
The Villa Domergue
The Bellini Chapel
The Rothshild Villa
Notre Dame Des Pins Church
Vallombrosa Castle
Notre Dame De Lérins Abbey
The Palace of the Festivals
The Scott Castle
The Louis XIII Castle

The Croisette Boulevard

The Promenade de la Croisette is a prominent road which stretches along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea and is about 2 km long. The Croisette is known for the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, where the Cannes Film Festival is held. You can see many expensive shops, restaurants, and hotels such as the Carlton, Majestic, Noga Hilton and Martinez.

De la Castre Museum

Located on the heights of Old Cannes, the mediaeval castle overlooks La Croisette, the Bay and the Isles of Lérins. Built towards the end of the 11th century to defend the emerging town, it has retained its keep, the Romanesque Sainte-Anne chapel and cisterns. The castle now houses Musée de la Castre, with its collection of art from Oceania, the Americas, the Himalayas, Mediterranean antiquities, Orientalist and Provençal paintings, as well as an exceptional series of musical instruments from all over the world.

The Malmaison House

The building was part of the Grand Hôtel, on which construction began in 1863 under the supervision of the architects Vianey and Blondel.

The Villa Domergue

The villa and the gardens were designed by the artist Jean-Gabriel Domergue, in the Venetian style. The most beautiful works of the artist adorn the walls of the villa and magnificent sculptures. His wife decorated the garden.

The Sea Museum

Off the coast of Cannes, on the closest of the Isles of Lérins, the Fort overlooks the sea on the edge of the pine and eucalyptus forest. Built in the 17th and 18th centuries, it served as a State prison then, after the French Revolution, as a military prison. The Sea Museum in the Fort’s main building houses the ancient Roman cisterns, the cell in which the Man in the Iron Mask was kept, the Huguenot memorial, as well as collections of archaeological remains found in the sea (Roman and Saracen wrecks) and on land. It also features temporary exhibitions.

The Bellini Chapel

This is a baroque Italian Chapel built at the end of the 19th century. There is a clock tower to house the belfry and the façade is decoratde with patisseries and statues. Inside, the gallery is doted with a restored wooden staircase.

The Vallombrosa Castle

The castle with its nine crenellated towers, was built in 1850 amidst a three-hectare tropical park .After some considerable extensions, it became Hôtel du Parc in 1892 before being converted into a jointly-owned building:the former medieval-baroque style Château des Tours. The building and the park are both listed as Historical Monuments.

The Rothshild Villa

Built in 1881 on the foundations of the former Villa Marie-Thérèse, where Lord Brougham lived, this neoclassical villa and its park are listed historic monuments. The gardens present a hundred or so valuable plant species of Mediterranean, Tropical and Asian origin.

Notre Dame de Lérins Abbey

The construction began on the fortified monastery in 1050 and continued for three centuries. Today, the monastery is home to Cistercian monks who have been growing wine on the island since the 16th century.

Some examples of tourists sites in the neighbourhood: