Where to Eat
La Palme d'Or — The Hôtel Martinez's dining room holds a Michelin star in the 2026 guide, and a meal with Chef Nannoni's team still feels like the correct way to mark an arrival on the Croisette: unhurried, immaculately served, and precisely not trying to impress anyone. Order whatever the kitchen is doing with the season's rouget.
Astoux et Brun — This long-running fish house on Rue Félix Faure has been shucking shellfish—often directly on the pavement outside—for the better part of a century. It does not take reservations; it does not need to. Come for the oyster tower and a cold Bandol blanc at any hour the sun allows.
Bella — The rooftop restaurant on the eighth floor of the boutique Hôtel Belle Plage, from the team behind Miznon, remains among the most-recommended tables for the ratio of quality to altitude. Mediterranean mezze, rotating fish carpaccios, and roast lamb share the menu with unobstructed sea views most Croisette neighbors charge twice as much for. A long wine-accompanied lunch is the right call.
Sens — A neo-bistro in Centre Ville where disco balls and candlelight coexist without apparent irony, and a natural wine list of nearly a hundred bottles anchors a menu that moves borders as freely as the clientele. Expect amberjack crudo in leche de tigre one month, einkorn risotto with confit egg yolk the next—the kitchen rotates chefs-in-residence, which keeps the regulars genuinely curious.
Table 22 — Tucked on a cobblestone street in Le Suquet, this is the kind of place the film-world crowd actually eats in while the press junkets are happening below. Stellar seasonal French dishes—scallops layered with paper-thin truffle, karaage chicken—alongside one of the smarter wine lists in the old town. Book ahead.
After Dark
Bar du Martinez — Described across multiple sources as «une véritable référence en termes d'élégance et de savoir-faire», the Martinez bar is where the Croisette's old-money contingent prefers to end an evening: refined setting, cocktails made with the kind of attention that larger hotel bars have largely abandoned, and a manager, Delphine, who clearly takes the role seriously. The Old Fashioned is well-regarded.
Vesper Bar — A small bar in the old town whose dimly lit, almost surreal interior and excellent cocktail program have made it a consistent reference on Cannes nightlife lists. The bartender Adonis runs it with the sort of hospitality that feels less like service and more like being let in on something. Arrive before midnight to find a seat.
Gotha Club — Cannes' most durable large-format nightclub fills slowly—do not arrive before midnight—and runs a serious booking policy. Reserve a table, order by the bottle, and the formula works. The summer program has historically drawn headline DJs and a crowd that covers considerable ground between the Riviera's port cities.
Out of Town
Lérins Islands by Private Sail — Operators departing the Old Port run half-day charters to Île Saint-Honorat and Île Sainte-Marguerite, with anchoring time for swimming, paddle-boarding, and rosé in the lee of the islands. The skipper MAXX, who has lived in Cannes all his life, will walk you through the medieval abbey and the working monastery vineyard on Saint-Honorat—a detail no group tour replicates. Multiple charter operators offer this crossing; private bookings with a skipper are the format worth paying for.
Île Sainte-Marguerite on Foot — The fifteen-minute ferry from the Jetée Albert-Edouard lands you on an island of eucalyptus and maritime pine that receives far less foot traffic than the Croisette a mile offshore. Walking trails circle the fortified coast, and the Fort Royal—where the Man in the Iron Mask was famously held—merits an hour of slow exploration before the afternoon boats return.
Gorges du Verdon — Roughly two hours inland from Cannes, the canyon runs roughly 25 kilometres through limestone so dramatic it reads as unlikely. Private-car services like RivieraGo, noted by multiple travellers for their regional knowledge, will handle the logistics; the payoff is a day that starts at sea level on the Côte d'Azur and ends beside turquoise water that has no business being that colour in a European canyon.
On the Calendar
Les Nuits Musicales du Suquet (July, Le Suquet) — This annual outdoor classical and world-music series has been staged in the medieval courtyard of the Musée de la Castre for decades, and it remains the most atmospheric ticketed event in the city's summer cultural calendar. Performances typically run through late July; check the Palais des Festivals programming for this season's lineup.
Festival International d'Art Pyrotechnique (July–August, Baie de Cannes) — National teams compete across a series of evenings throughout the summer, firing choreographed fireworks over the bay while the music plays across the water. Traditionalists watch from the Croisette; those with access to a boat moored in the bay have the better angle. The August 15 display, timed to the French national holiday, draws the largest crowds of the season.