Cannes is about more than just an annual film festival

 Cannes, France April 28, 2023

Yes, this is the city that hosts the annual Cannes film festival.

Many people take tours from here to Monaco/Monte Carlo, Nice, Eze, Grasse, and other cities along the French Riviera.

Because this is a tender port, I have decided to wait until all the “tender boat chaos” has subsided and quietly take a tender boat into town. I might decide to use my priority to tender option.

My sinusitis is bothering me and I overindulged with walking in Barcelona yesterday AFTER my ship shore excursion. It’s also possible I have the C-word——a Cold. 

So….Instead of taking the 40 minute train ride into Nice, as I did in 2019, the last time I was here, I decided to stroll around Cannes.

Fortunately, I brought my Cannes map from before and I googled some walking tours and will follow the routes. I added notes to my map so I won’t have to open my smart phone constantly to review the sites from the guide.

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Here are some places I visited on my independent walking tour of both the old town and the new cosmopolitan section, a playground for the chic and famous. I also took the little train tour around Cannes for

€14.

Le Suguet, the old town with a labyrinth of narrow, centuries-old streets is filled with a charm. The streets were lined Louis restaurants, cafés, shops, and other points of interest. I could spend an entire day here!!

I had one of my favorite treats: a quiche Lorraine,  well heated from a Bakery.

• Vieux Port (Old Port). Our ship docks here. 
• La Sequet. The old part of the city built on the site of the former Canois Castrum, a Roman town dominated by a castle, on the slopes of Mont Chevalier.
• Cannes City Hall
• Marche Forville (Forville Market) Forville Market is Cannes' favorite market and offers organic vegetables, local wine, fresh fish, and fresh flowers and more. It's only open in the morning, so stop by before lunch. The market is pedestrian-only, so it is a safe and easy place to walk through and focus on the goods instead of being distracted by traffic. Locals love to come here and buy up their daily produce.——-One of my favorite travel activities is visiting local markets such as this one. I visited the famous one off La Rambla in Barcelona yesterday.
• Les Murs Peints (Painted Walls) The Painted Walls of Cannes offers visitors a unique way to see depictions of their favorite movie stars and movie scenes. Since Cannes began hosting the Cannes Film Festival in 1949, Cannes has been synonymous with movie star glamour. Since 2002, artists have painted various murals to celebrate Cannes' cinema connection. Today, there are 15 different mural frescoes to view. These inspired murals encourage visitors to stroll through Cannes, searching for the next mural.
• Notre Dame d'Esperance (Our Lady of Hope Church)
• Musée des Explorations du Monde (Museum of World Explorations)
• Rue Meynadier (Meynadier Street). A very charming shop and restaurant lined street.
• Tour du Masque (Mask Tower) this is where the mysterious Man in the iron mask was held. No one is certain of his identity. The Man in the Iron Mask was a prisoner during King Louis XIV region. He was confined to various French prisons--including the infamous Bastille. The man wore a black velvet mask covering his face, and his identity has never been discovered. It is unknown when the man was born. He was arrested around 1670 and died in 1703. The Man in the Iron Mask escaped from Sainte-Marguerite Island and found sanctuary in this 12th century "Mask Tower" for the last years of his life. The story was made famous by writers Alexandre Dumas and Voltaire. In Voltaire's retelling, the man wore an iron mask. Historical records show that the man wore a velvet mask, but Voltaire's version has proved popular. Historians have many guesses over the man's identity, but none of these theories have been definitively proven. Some stories claim that the man was a relative of the King--an older brother, a twin, or his illegitimate father. Documents from the man's jailer, Saint-Mars, were discovered in 2015. A leading theory supposes that the man was Eustache Dauge, who was involved in political scandals. One legend says that the unnamed man's host haunts the tower. Whether or not this is true, the legends and speculations concerning the man's identity continue.Today, a plaque on the 12th-century tower and a nearby dummy mark the location. The plaque reads, “Passer-by, stop to meditate on the sufferings of this torture.
• Palais des Festivals et des Congrès (Palace of Festivals and Congresses) (must see) The Palace of Festivals and Congresses was built to host the Cannes Film Festival. This first building was constructed in 1949. However, the Film Festival continued to grow, and businesses sought a larger meeting center to hold conventions, so a new Palace was built. The new Palace of Festivals and Congresses opened in 1982 and was further expanded in 1999. The palace continues to host the Cannes Film Festival, which draws celebrities, movie stars, producers, and fans from all over the world.

I have a renewed sense of appreciation for the old part of this world renowned city known for its glamour and luxury.