Cannes Transportation

Getting There

Air

The Nice-Côte d'Azur International Airport (+33 8 9269 5555 / http://www.nice.aeroport.fr/include/default.asp?l=2/) is located 15 miles outside of Cannes, and can be reached by taxi or daily buses. The trip to the city center takes between 30 and 45 minutes, but is a nice, relaxing drive.

AER LINGUS (+33 1 7020 0072 / http://www.aerlingus.ie/) ALITALIA (+33 1 4494 4400 / http://www.alitalia.fr/) AUSTRIAN AIRLINES (+33 8 2081 6816 / http://www.aua.com/) BRITISH AIRWAYS (+33 4 7268 2408 / http://www.british-airways.com/) IBERIA (+33 825 800 965 / http://www.iberia.fr/) SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINE (825 325 335 / http://www.scandinavian.net/) TURKISH AIRLINES (+33 4 9321 4479 / http://www.turkishairlines.com/) UNITED AIRLINES (+33 8 1072 7272 / http://www.united.com/) VIRGIN EXPRESS (+33 8 2123 0202 / http://www.virgin.com/) From the Airport

Bus: Rapides Côte D'Azur Ouest RCA (+33 8 2048 1111 / http://www.rca.tm.fr/) buses leave every 20 to 30 minutes. There are 21 scheduled bus routes serving 120 destinations from this airport. Take the N3 to travel by coast to Cannes, or the N210 to travel by motorway.

Taxis: Taxi service is available outside of each terminal. However, if Cannes is the objective, expect to pay around EUR70. You can rent taxis through Allo Taxis and at Taxi Cannes.

Car Rental Companies: Traveling to and from the airport is very simple, you can follow the A8 to Cannes. For a different route take the N7 or the N98. The N98 parallels the coast and is the winding scenic drive connecting Nice with Cannes, Monaco and Italy. The airport website has a detailed map and directions to be sure that you get onto the correct motorway. Companies include:

ADA (+825 169 169 / http://www.ada.fr/) Avis (+820 050 505 / http://www.avis.com/) Budget (+0825 003 564 / http://www.budget.com/) Europcar (+0825 352 352 / http://www.europcar.fr/) Hertz (+0825 361 361 / http://www.hertz.com/) Sixt (+33 1 44 38 5555 / http://www.e-sixt.com/) Citer/National (+33 1 44 38 6161 / http://www.citer.com/)

Train

SNCF (+33 4 9214 8252 / http://www.sncf.fr/), France's national rail management company, oversees the lines, which run east along the coast through Monaco and down the boot of Italy to Rome, and west to Marseille before turning north to Paris.

Sea

If you are looking for a cruise liner to carry you off into the sea, you will not have to look far to find one. You can take the Brittany Ferry service (http://www.brittany-ferries.com/) from Spain, Ireland or the UK. Closer destinations are also available. Out of the Cannes Port you can take the French Riviera cruise line (+33 4 93 01 78 05 / http://www.riviera-ports.com/), which operates seven days a week, 8a-7p.

Getting Around

Public Transport

In Cannes, buses are the only means of public transportation available. There is also a bus for disabled people, the Handibus, which serves the city. Tickets can be purchased on entering the bus, and a packet of 10 tickets as well as a week pass are also available. Bus companies in Cannes include:

Beltrame (+33 4 9349 6090) Bus Azur (0825 825 599 / http://www.busazur.com/) CTM Cannes La Bocca (+33 4 9390 9292) STU de Cannes Bus Azur (+33 4 9345 2008)

Car

Taking your car around Cannes is as easy as it can get. Traffic jams are rare, orientation is simple and several parking garages surround the city center. The only time when streets are blocked is during the film festival.

Bicycle

Cannes offers excellent opportunities to discover the city by bike. Mistral Locations is one of the bike rentals on location (+33 4 9339 3360 / http://www.mistral-location.com/).

Boat

To experience Cannes from a different perspective, you can also rent a boat or a yacht. Rental companies include:

Camper & Nicholsons (+33 4 9704 1050 / http://www.cnconnect.com/) Cannes Nautic (+33 4 9393 0767 / http://www.cannesnautic.com/)

Planning a Trip

Getting There

The Nice international airport (tel. 08-20-42-33-33) is a 30-minute drive northeast. Buses pick up passengers at the airport every 40 minutes during the day and drop them at the Gare Routière, place de l'Hôtel de Ville (tel. 04-93-45-20-08). The fare is 6€ ($7.80).

Trains from the other Mediterranean resorts, Paris, and the rest of France arrive frequently throughout the day. By train, Cannes is 15 minutes from Antibes and 35 minutes from Nice. The TGV from Paris via Marseille reaches Cannes in about 5 1/2 to 6 breathless hours. The one-way fare from Paris is about 108€ to 110€ ($140-$143). For rail information and schedules, call tel. 36-35, or visit www.voyages-sncf.com.

Rapide Côte d'Azur, place de l'Hôtel de Ville, Cannes (tel. 04-93-39-70-30), offers bus service to Nice and back every 20 minutes during the day (trip time: 1 1/2 hr.). The one-way fare is 6€ ($7.80). Bus service from Antibes operates every half-hour.

By car from Marseille, take A51 north to Aix-en-Provence, continuing along A8 east to Cannes. From Nice, follow A8 southwest to Cannes.

Visitor Information

The Office de Tourisme is at 1 bd. De La Croisette (tel. 04-93-39-24-53; fax 04-92-99-84-23; www.cannes.fr).

Special Events

The International Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals on promenade de la Croisette is in the end of May. It attracts not only film stars but also seemingly every photographer in the world. You have a better chance of being named prime minister of France than you do of attending one of the major screenings. (Hotel rooms and tables at restaurants are equally scarce during the festival.) But the people-watching is fabulous. If you find yourself here at the right time, you can join the thousands who line up in front of the Palais des Festivals, where the premieres are held. With paparazzi shouting and gendarmes holding back fans, the guests parade along the red carpet, stopping for a moment to strike a pose. C'est Cannes!

You may be able to get tickets for some of the lesser films, which play 24 hours. For information visit www.festival-cannes.org.