Things to do in Cannes
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Z Plage
Lunch at the beach restaurant-bar of Hôtel Martinez is an unforgettable experience. Languish on white-cushioned teak seating beneath white colonial-style umbrellas and sip unusual freshly squeezed juices (fancy a pineapple, litchi and raspberry juice? or how about strawberry, lemon, basil and pineapple, Madame?) and fusion frappées (smoothies). The Zen orange and peach purée with Chaï spices is Zen indeed.
Swedish massages and reflexology sessions (cost involved) can be indulged in before or after lunch. In July and August, tapas is served in the company of cocktails and electro lounge jazz with DJ Max Léonidas & Sax from 18:00.
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Plage du Gray d'Albion
Cannes is blessed with sandy beaches, although much of the stretch along blvd de la Croisette is for guests of top-notch hotels or those prepared to pay for the luxury of having a strip of carpet leading to the water's edge: rates range from around €15/around €19 per half-/full day for a mattress and yellow-and-white parasol on Plage du Gray d'Albion - it has a water-skiing school - to around €30/around €38/around €44 for a back-row/front-row seat/spot on the pier of exclusive Carlton Beach.
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Marché du Film
The vast majority of films are 'out of competition'. Behind the scenes the Marché du Film (Film Market; www.marchedufilm.com) sees around €150 million worth of business negotiated in distribution deals. And it's this hard-core commerce combined with all the televised Tinseltown glitz that gives the film festival its special magic. For a concentrated dose, don your glad rags, stand up tall and strut into the bar of one of the posh hotels as if you own the place.
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Cannes Cinephiles
Tickets to the Cannes Film Festival are governed by a complex system of passes and unless you're a high-flyer in the film industry, you're unlikely to get one. What you can get are free tickets to selected individual films, usually after their first screening. Look for the Cannes Cinephilesticket booth outside the Palais des Festivals. For the film festival programme, consult the official website, www.festival-cannes.org.
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Vieux Port
The Vieux Port (Old Port) is literally in the centre of town. It is bordered by the Gare Maritime (Marine Railway Station), the pretty Allées de la Liberté where the morning Marché aux Fleurs (Flower Market) is held, the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall) and the main shopping streets. For boating enthusiasts, it has 750 mooring berths and 150 stopover berths.
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Le Palais
This ephemeral nightclub (it’s open only for 50 nights each year) has become the hottest ticket in DJ land, a combination of the most happening names in music and its spectacular setting at the heart of the Palais des Festivals. It’s the VIPs’ favourite spot so door policy is pretty tight: no guys without girls, only fabulous-looking people and €25 minimum (€60 on big nights).
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Le Riad
At the end of an alley in the Carré d’Or nightlife district, Le Riad imports Moroccan hospitality and authentic cooking, with classics such as tagine (stews cooked in conical-covered earthenware), méchoui (spit-roasted lamb) and a real pastilla (pigeon pie) – rare even in Morocco. On weekend nights a belly dancer sets a party mood. Excellent service.
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Palais Club
'Dance your life' with the world's best DJs is the buzz at this summer club which has taken Cannes by storm for the past couple of seasons - let's hope it's around next year. Electronic music and dance is the sound. A 2600-sq-metre dance floor inside and 1500-sq-metre rooftop lounge terrace with glittering Med view is the space. An affluent crowd of 2500 clubbers is the set.
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Île Ste-Marguerite
Just 20 minutes away, the tranquil Île Ste-Marguerite feels far from the madding crowd. Only 3.25km (2mi) wide, the enigmatic Man in the Iron Mask was incarcerated in the fort during the 17th century. Immortalised in Alexandre Dumas' novel Le Vicomte de Bragelonne (The Viscount of Bragelonne), the identity of the masked man (or woman?) remains a mystery.
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Museum of the Sea
As you get off the boat at Île Ste-Marguerite, a map indicates a handful of rustic restaurants, trails and paths through the cool eucalyptus and pine forest. It also directs you to the 17th-century Fort Royal, which now harbours the 'Musée de la Mer'. Make sure you explore the old state prisons, built under Louis XIV, and see exhibits of the fort's history.
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Palais des Festivals et des Congrès
The first Palais des Festivals et des Congrès was built in 1949 to host the Cannes Film Festival. As the festival grew, more space was needed, so the current Palais was constructed on the site of the municipal casino and opened in 1982. Today, the space (25,000 sq km/9650 sq mi) is used for exhibitions, screenings, shows, receptions and conferences.
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Le Bâoli
This is Cannes’ coolest, trendiest and most selective night spot. So selective in fact that your entire posse may not get in unless you’re dressed to the nines. The Bâoli is part-club part-restaurant so the only way to ensure you’ll get in is to book a table for dinner (mains €60) and make a night of it. Unlike the Palais it’s open year-round.
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Palm Beach Casino
This architecturally hip casino boasts a range of facilities including restaurants, a reception venue, a lounge bar, a private beach and, surprisingly, slot machines. Indulge in all the pleasures of gambling and soak up the carefree atmosphere that comes with throwing money away on the Riviera - all with the convenience of helicopter access.
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L'Atelier
Anyone who's anyone heads to this spectacular club within the Palm Beach Casino. The interior - a minimalist mesh of Byzantine, Greco-Roman and Oriental - has a restaurant and lounge bar. Recently saved from bulldozers and spectacularly restored, it's well worth a nosey. DJs spin jazz and lounge music early on and R&B later on.
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Le Sun 7
The cocktail list is an arm long (literally), and it doesn’t even include the 350 whiskies and many draught beers also served at this happening bar. The crowd is young on weekend nights when DJs spin their stuff, but it’s much more eclectic during the week. There is no cover charge and the door policy is pretty relaxed.
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La Discoteca
La Discoteca has all the bells and whistles you might expect from a club in Cannes, but with considerably less class. If you want that casting director to notice you, ordering a jeroboam of champagne sees your table spot-lit as a gong goes off. On the off-chance Hollywood doesn't beckon, at least you can get very drunk.
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Le Mesclun
The menu here titillates tastebuds: wild turbot baked in champagne with summer truffles and mushrooms; langoustine roasted in coriander-flavoured butter and spiced with tomato, courgette, olive and mango; or roast duck breast with spiced honey, a pear in red wine and a peach in olive oil. Dining is refined and artful.
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Plages du Midi
The central, sandy beaches along blvd de la Croisette are sectioned off for hotel guests, where sun worshippers pay by the day to stretch out in a lounge chair with a parasol. You'll find one of the best public (aka free) beaches, Plages du Midi, stretching westward from the Vieux Port along blvd Jean Hibert.
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Le Méditerranée
On top of the portside Sofitel hotel, adjoining the rooftop pool, it's hard to say which makes more of an impression - this contemporary French restaurant's culinary prowess or its 360-degree views across the Med to the red Massif de l'Estérel mountains. It's worth it, if your pocket allows.
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Da Laura
Cannois flock to this busy trattoria with bustling pavement terrace for authentic Italian cooking. Pasta portions are larger than traditional primi (first course) size - making them a wholesome stand-alone meal - and the star of the show is the largest pepper mill you've ever seen.
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La Malmaison
Walk a few blocks along La Croisete to La Malmaison, a seaside pavilion in the former games and tea room of Cannes' grandest hotels of the 1860s, the Grand Hôtel (opened in 1864, shut in 1950, demolished and rebuilt in the 1960s). Modern art exhibitions fill part of La Malmaison today.
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P'tit Mec
Both parents and kids will go nuts at P'tit Mec. From cute to too cute, there's a great selection of clothing, shoes and kidlet accessories of all shapes and sizes. When they get sick of you making them try on clothes, throw them into the games area to run amok. Everyone's a winner.
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Le 7
This disco-and-house gay club is a brilliant night out, but don't sit near the stage during the drag shows unless you're up for being part of the spectacle. Actually, there's so much attention-seeking here, it's doubtful newcomers will even be able to see the front row.
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L'Ardoise
The menu changes every fortnight at this 1930s bistro tucked down a pedestrian alley. Fresh red and white roses in vases are about the only excess in the dark wood and red interior where regulars take their pick from four or five market-inspired dishes. No credit cards.
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Mantel
The Italian maître d’ will make you feel like a million dollars and you’ll melt for Noël Mantel’s divine cuisine and great-value prices. Best of all, you get not one but two desserts with your menu (oh, the panna cotta…). You’ll definitely have a regal night at Mantel.
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