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Cannes film festival

We are going to be in the French Riviera for a week in May 2016. I see that the film festival will be occurring during that time. Has anyone had experiences with that festival? Should we partake in the festival or avoid it? Does this make accommodations in the Riviera area hard to get? How much does this affect travel?

Posted by
16028 posts

They are both hard to get and expensive. We were thinking of a walking trip in the area next May and gave up because of the expense. But maybe looking now you can find something reasonable.

Posted by
3586 posts

We have twice, inadvertently, found ourselves in the French Riviera area during the festival. The first time, we didn't know what was going on. Fortunately for us I am one who books all our accommodations in advance. When I couldn't get anything reasonable, I found an inn, high up above Grasse. The second time was only a couple of years ago. Same story, though that time I started looking months in advance. I found a b&b not too far from Cassis, but inland. It was close enough for us to get to Cassis for our target, the calanques, but I doubt anyone would want to commute to Cannes from there.

Posted by
9099 posts

The film festival itself is strictly a trade show, so no tickets to screenings are available to the public unless you have connections with someone in the industry. Being in Cannes will be mostly for the people watching.

Posted by
43 posts

Hi timspencer53

We avoid Cannes when the film festival is on, there are plenty of other alternative places, unaffected, on the French Riviera.

A friend of ours comes over from L.A. every year and she goes in an official capacity and sometimes local "amis" join her. They love it but it is very exclusive and the screenings are indoors and the parties private so the answer to your question is you can't really go to the festival itself unless you have a "connection".

The traffic in and out of Cannes is dreadful during the festival period and that is our main reason for staying away, otherwise it can be fun to be in Cannes, especially in the old town, when its "alive" with film stars, if you have the patience.

Best

Peter

Posted by
74 posts

Also, keep in mind to check the dates for the Monaco Grand Prix. If I remember correctly, the film festival concludes on Tuesday or Wednesday and the Grand Prix practices and setups begin on Thursday. One flows right into the other, even though the race is only on Sunday.