|
|
|
Cannes, as seen from Suquet tower.
|
Cannes makes headlines every May when it swarms with 50,000 movie stars, wannabes, film moguls, fans and reporters, all there for the prestigious Film Festival. The rest of the year it's a very livable small city with a bit of everything the Riviera has to offer.
Many of the belle époque palaces such as the Earl of Brougham's "Villa Eleanor" are still standing, though most now serve as office or apartment buildings. In addition to some of Europe's finest hotels, the beachfront Croisette Boulevard boasts elegant shops frequented by the owners of visiting yachts. It's also the site of the Film Festival Palace, with its casino where informal dress is permitted at the slot machines.
There is plenty for history buffs. Crowning the hill behind the old port on the site of a former fort stand an old church, a museum, and the 11th-century "Suquet Tower". An admiring Queen Victoria donated a park bench too, from which I've often admired the view of the port on one side and the distant Alps on the other. Near the old port is a church where Napoleon hid after returning from exile in Elba, before heading back to Paris.
The Iles de Lérins, just a couple of kilometers offshore, make for a fascinating day trip, and a pastoral refuge from the city's bustle. They were once the site of the most influential monastic order in Europe, where Saint Patrick himself was trained. A few monks still live there and offer their liqueur for sale. There is also the fort where the mysterious "man in the iron mask" spent 20 miserable years.
There are many self-catering apartments for ordinary tourists both in Cannes and nearby. We spent the month of February at our favorite, the Villa Francia complex of the Pierre et Vacances chain. It had been a palatial estate, and the landscaped grounds were still painstakingly maintained. Overlooking the Mediterranean, it was about a mile in one direction from the Croisette, and half a mile in the other from a shopping centre.
Most significant for us, it was completely modern, and a real bargain. The entire cost for two for a month, including round-trip fare between Montreal and Nice by Air France, was about CAD$2,700 (US$1,800). Unlike many winter destinations, we had no trouble finding everything we wanted, although most things cost more than at home. The exceptions were flowers and fresh produce, which were abundantly available, inexpensive, and always of the finest quality. Perfume and colognes were bargains, and we heartily enjoyed lots of excellent and inexpensive wines.
|
|
|
Handprint in Film Festival Walk.
|
What was life like in Cannes? The people seemed not much different from North Americans, except for their usually immaculate dress and the formal manners which one comes to expect in France. The city buses were excellent and inexpensive, but the weather was fine so I often walked. Although inter-city trains and buses were quite affordable, taxi fares were prohibitive. Eating out once a week, we found the restaurants fairly expensive, but the food was great! For centuries the "real" business of Cannes was fishing, and although the old port is now filled with small pleasure craft, fishermen still go out daily, and their fresh catch graces the tables of restaurants along the Quai St Jacques.
One big difference we discovered is the French fondness for dogs, which led to a few surprises. Dogs ride with their masters in the buses, and often lie quietly under the table in restaurants. Also, at first we wondered why so many people seemed depressed or preoccupied, always walking with their eyes lowered. You guessed it: nobody stoops and scoops! Although Cannes has efficient cleanup crews vacuuming and scrubbing the sidewalks constantly, in France you have to watch everywhere where you walk!
Nearby Towns
A hop, skip and jump to the east of Cannes lie the adjacent small towns of Juan-les-Pins and Antibes, with a tiny beach but lots to do besides tanning. Shopping is good, and there is a Picasso museum in a 12th century castle, a 16th century fort where Napoleon was once a reluctant resident, a "millionaires' row" with scores of luxury yachts, and the old stomping grounds of Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda. For those seeking a quiet holiday, good rental apartments are available at affordable prices.
About 20 kilometers to the north, amid fields of lavender and other flowers, is the mediaeval town of Grasse, with narrow winding streets and a cathedral with paintings by Fragonard and Rubens.
Grasse occupies a unique place in the world of elegance, for its famous perfumeries extract almost all of the essential oils used in making the entire world's perfume and cologne. Tons of flower petals arrive constantly, from all over the world. After touring the Fragonard and Gallimard establishments we stopped at an herbalist shop to buy essential oils for our aromatherapist daughter. We had no idea what a precise science was involved. The owner informed us that there are more than 60 lavender oils alone, each for a specific purpose, so he wouldn't sell any oil until he knew its exact intended use. We ended up getting a bottle of generic oil in the local market instead.
Using a rental car we drove westward along the coast as far as Saint-Raphaël and Fréjus, where we found a baptistry dating from the 5th century.
Fancy carousels are popular all over the Riviera, and we found what has to be the biggest one ever built. It is in Saint-Raphael beside the beach, at the very spot where Allied troops landed to launch a second front in the fall of 1944. As is the case in much of Europe, over the centuries great sorrow and great joy have often shared the same locations.
In the next article I'll tell you about Nice, its surroundings, and its famous Carnival.
Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our Europe Insiders page.
