Cannes

Cannes is a beautiful resort city located on the French Riviera. It is found in the Alpes-Maritimes department of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur. Every year, Cannes becomes a busy place because it hosts important events like the Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

The city is famous for being a place where many rich and famous people visit. It has lovely luxury hotels and restaurants. Because of these special events and its lovely setting, Cannes is an important and exciting city for people all over the world.

History

By around 200 BC, a group called the Ligurian Oxybii lived in this area and called it Aegitna. The town was a small fishing village and a place for ships to stop between the Lérins Islands.

Over many years, the town changed names and grew. By the 10th century, it was known as Canua, maybe named after reeds. The area saw attacks, like one by the Saracens in 891, and later became more protected with castles and towers.

In the 1800s, famous people began to visit, and the town started to modernize with new hotels, roads, and railways. By the early 1900s, Cannes became a popular place for tourists, especially in the summer. The city also became well-known for its film festival, which started after World War II.

In 2011, Cannes hosted an important meeting of world leaders, and in 2021, it was named a City of Film by UNESCO.

Climate

Cannes has a warm Mediterranean climate with lots of sunshine. In summer, it gets very warm with about 11 hours of sun each day, and temperatures often reach around 30 °C (86 °F). Even in winter, the weather stays mild, and it doesn’t get very cold.

Rain is not common in summer, but October and November are the wettest months. The hottest day ever was 39.2 °C (102.6 °F) in July 2023, and the coldest was −12.0 °C (10.4 °F) in January 1985.

Population

Landmarks

Cannes is a beautiful city on the French Riviera, famous for its fancy hotels, restaurants, and beaches. The Promenade de la Croisette is a lovely waterfront avenue lined with palm trees, shops, and cafés. La Croisette, the old town, offers great views and has interesting buildings like the Russian Orthodox church and museums.

The city has many grand old villas from the 1800s, showing off the wealth of their owners. Two small islands near Cannes, St Marguerite Island and St Honorat Island, hold special places in history. St Marguerite Island was once home to a mysterious prisoner known as the Man in the Iron Mask, and today you can visit his old cell in a sea museum. St Honorat Island is home to monks who have lived there for over 1,600 years and make their own red and white wines.

Cannes hosts many exciting events each year, including the famous Cannes Film Festival, where movies from around the world are shown. There are also music and advertising festivals, fireworks shows, and a big boat show for yachting fans. The city has several museums with interesting artifacts and works of art from many places and times.

Promenade de la Croisette palm trees Le Suquet Russian Orthodox church Hotel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes Hôtel Martinez InterContinental Carlton Cannes JW Marriott Cannes Jean-Gabriel Domergue Florence Man in the Iron Mask St Marguerite Island St Honorat Island Mougins Vallauris Lérins Abbey Cannes Film Festival Palais des Festivals et des Congrès Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity Midem Shrove Tuesday Global Champions Tour MIPCOM MIPTV

Economy

Cannes is a busy place with many different kinds of work. The area around Cannes has become a center for new technology, with a place called Sophia Antipolis not far away. Every year in May, the famous Cannes Film Festival happens, which is very important for movies. Cannes also holds other big events like MIPIM, MIPTV, MIDEM, Cannes Lions, and the NRJ Music Awards. There is also a television festival in the last week of September.

The city's economy depends on tourism, business meetings, trading, and flying. Cannes has 6,500 companies, and in 2006, 421 new companies started there. The city is home to the Cannes Mandelieu Space Center, where Thales Alenia Space, a top European satellite maker, has its headquarters.

Sport

Cannes has a football team called AS Cannes. They currently play in the French fourth division. This club helped start the professional career of Zinedine Zidane.

Every June, the city hosts the Jumping International de Cannes, an international horse jumping event.

The women's volleyball team, RC Cannes, has won twenty French Championships and two CEV Champions League.

Transport

Nice Côte d'Azur Airport

Cannes is about 24 kilometers from Nice Côte d'Azur Airport. There is also a smaller airport called Cannes–Mandelieu Airport nearby.

Rail

The main train station in Cannes is Cannes station, found on the Marseille–Ventimiglia railway. Trains come from places like Paris and Marseille. There are also local trains to nearby towns and even to Italy.

Bus

Buses stop at the Gare Routière de Cannes, close to the Town Hall. Buses come from other cities and places around the area.

Ferry

You can take ferries from Nice harbour to islands like Bastia and Calvi. The trip takes a few hours depending on the boat.

Port

Cannes has two places for boats, called marinas. The bigger one is Vieux Port de Cannes, where big ships and yachts can stop.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Cannes is twinned with:

Cannes has friendship pacts with:

Notable people

Cannes has been a home or final resting place for many interesting people from around the world. Some have worked in public service, others in the arts, and many in sports.

Public service

• Dante Livio Bianco (1909–1953), Italian civil lawyer and wartime leader.
• Anne Spoerry (1918–1999), French-Kenyan doctor and pilot
• Karan Singh (born 1931), former ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, Indian diplomat and politician
• Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz (1936–2020), Spanish royal
• Jean-Charles Terrassier (1940–2022), psychologist, specialized in childhood intellectual giftedness
• Norbert Turini (born 1954), prelate of the Catholic Church, archbishop of Montpellier.
• Catherine Guillouard (born 1965), CEO of RATP Group, a public transport company

The arts

• Amédée de Vallombrosa (1880–1968), classical organist
• Gérard Philipe (1922–1959), theater and film actor
• Claude Mercier-Ythier (1931–2020), French harpsichord maker
• James de Beaujeu Domville (1933–2015), theatrical producer and Commissioner of the National Film Board of Canada
• Gabriel Tacchino (born 1934), French classical pianist and piano teacher
• Vojislav Stanimirovic (1937–2022), writer, journalist, and artist
• Jean-Jacques Kantorow (born 1945), violinist and conductor
• Jacques Israelievitch (1948–2015), a French violinist
• Paolo Barzman (born 1957), French-American film director
• Frédéric Boyer (born 1961), author of novels, poems, and essays
• Cécilia Cara (born 1984), French actress and singer

Sport

• Bernard Casoni (born 1961), a former footballer
• Yann Bonato (born 1972), basketball player
• Johan Micoud (born 1973), footballer
• Cyrille Sauvage (born 1973), racing driver
• Sébastien Vieilledent (born 1976), rower and gold medallist at the Rowing at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's double sculls
• Sarah Bouhaddi (born 1986), footballer
• Anthony Modeste (born 1988), football player
• Tony Ramoin (born 1988), snowboarder, bronze medallist at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
• Élodie Lorandi (born 1989), a swimmer and medallist at the 2008 Summer Paralympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics
• Johann Zarco (born 1990), Grand Prix motorcycle racer
• Norman Nato (born 1992), racing driver
• Brandon Maïsano (born 1993), racing driver
• Dylan Bronn (born 1995), a footballer
• Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot (born 1995), NBA player
• Dorian Boccolacci (born 1998), racing driver
• Lenny Martinez (born 2003), professional cyclist

Died in Cannes

• Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux (1778–1868), British statesman & Lord Chancellor.
• Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg (1778–1866), a Scottish politician and colonial administrator.
• Victor Cousin (1792–1867), a French philosopher, founded "eclecticism".
• Jean-Baptiste Dumas (1800–1884), a French chemist
• T. E. Ellis (1859-1899), Welsh politician, leader of Cymru Fydd.
• Prosper Mérimée (1803–1870), a French Romanticism writer.
• Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859), aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist & philosopher, and historian.
• Louis Blanc (1811–1882), a French politician and historian.
• Sir Monier Monier-Williams (1819–1899), an Oxford scholar who taught Asian languages.
• John Francis Campbell (1821–1885), a Scottish author and scholar.
• Sir Henry James Sumner Maine (1822–1888), a British historian.
• Charilaos Trikoupis (1832–1896), Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece seven times, 1875–1895.
• Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire (1833–1908), a British statesman.
• Benjamin Godard (1849–1895), a French violinist and composer.
• Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (1853−1884), eighth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
• Nubar Gulbenkian (1896–1972), Armenian business magnate and socialite
• Jacques Monod (1910–1976), French microbiologist and biochemist, Nobel prizewinner