My daughter and I will be traveling to the French Riviera in mid July this summer. Will be based in Nice for 6 nights and taking a few day trips. Just wondering if Cannes is actually worth taking the time to see? We were planning on day trips to Monaco, Eze Village, Villefrance sur Mer & Antibes. Would it be worth it to do both Antibes and Cannes in the same day? I'm finding lots to interest me in Antibes but not so much in Cannes. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7360 posts
Having made several trips to Nice, with visits to all the other wonderful places you mention, I’ve never gone to Cannes. Not really interested, and for me, Antibes is a whole day.
If you’re considering an additional daytrip, I’d suggest Saint-Paul de Vence and Vence, easy by bus.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4101 posts
In his guide, Rick Steves says you can buy an ice cream at one end of Cannes and not be finished by the time you've seen everything worth seeing. I don't agree. We spent a day in Cannes off of a cruise ship and enjoyed it. Having said that, I'm not sure if it's any better or worse than your other day-trip destinations, but we really enjoyed the boat ride to Isle Sainte-Marguerite which has a Spanish fort and a small museum. It's claim to fame was the supposed jail cell where the real Man in the Iron Mask from Three Musketeers Fame was imprisoned. That was a big deal for me.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10195 posts
I do know all the places that you've mentioned, including Cannes. Allan was smart enough to take the boat to one of the islands because he wouldn't have been finished with his ice cream by the time he covered Cannes. There's window oggling at stores that outfit billionaires' yachts, some good restaurants, Five Guys for burgers, the Palais where the festival is held, a small museum. The other towns have more to do.
Posted by
Sunriver
1321 posts
If you have time you could go to Cannes, but I'd skip it otherwise. Nothing really to see there. I highly recommend "A Taste of Nice" with Ally. Her tours are awesome! We've done both lunch and dinner and we are repeating the dinner tour in May.
Posted by
Washington DC
27122 posts
Nice, Antibes and Cannes are connected by a regional rail line. You don't need to buy those tickets in advance--though it's possible you may encounter a waiting line for the ticket-vending machines at the Nice Ville station; I started buying my next-day ticket when I arrived back in town the night before to avoid any risk of that. I'd just head to Antibes in the morning and decide when I finished up in Antibes whether to travel farther west to Cannes or back east to Nice.
Pickpockets like those regional trains (cheap tickets), so be careful of your belongings. If someone gets into your personal space unnecessarily, he or she (three women in my case) are probably trying to lift your wallet.
Posted by
11159 posts
Skip Cannes and visit Antibes, Villefranche and St-Jean Cap Ferrat as day trips. Buses drive along the waterfront so sit on water side. Cap Ferat and Antibes are our favorites.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4101 posts
I missed this completely when I was there, but it you're a movie fan, it might be worth a stop for an hour or two. We plan to make Nice a home base for a month sometime in the future when retirement beckons, and Cannes is on my list again. https://en.cannes-france.com/what-to-do/cinema-all-year-round/painted-walls/