Holiday rentals in Cannes

Designer clothes, expensive cars, extravagant yachts: Cannes’s reputation for glitz and glamour is well earned. As the sparkling diamond of the French Riviera, it’s a place to see and be seen, studded with elegant 19th-century architecture, from its iconic Town Hall to the seaside pavilion-turned-art museum, La Malmaison. Its mile-long seafront boulevard, La Croisette, is lined with a rich array of bars, restaurants, and private beaches. Plenty of Cannes’s golden sand and crystal-blue water remains publicly accessible, from the busy Plage du Midi to the quieter Plage De La Bocca and Palm Beach, while its celebrated marinas, the Vieux Port and Port Pierre Canto, are good spots for catching a sunset. Even those without deep pockets can enjoy haute couture window shopping on Rue D’Antibes, or the sampling of culinary delights at the Marché Forville. The Lérins Islands, easily seen from the shore, make for excellent day trips.

The Riviera’s warm, Mediterranean climate combined with its ocean breezes make Cannes a pleasure for much of the year. Early spring is particularly pleasant, and uncrowded, before things begin to get crazy in May, when film stars and movie moguls take over the town for its world-renowned film festival. If you want to see Cannes at its red-carpet finest, that’s the time to come. The yachting festival in September, when the marinas are chock-a-block with luxury craft, is another busy, glamorous time, as the 1 percent descend on the port town to scope out their next playthings. Autumn is still warm enough for sunbathing, before temperatures drop in winter. January, the coldest month, averages between 6 and 11 degrees Celsius, but the sun still shines, and the water still dazzles.

La Croix-des-Gardes

This 200-acre forested reserve is less than a mile from La Croisette, but it feels a world away. Up here in the hills, overlooking the sea, you’re immersed in nature, surrounded by mimosas, as hawks and buzzards hover overhead. The hiking is splendid and with the Mediterranean in one direction and snow-capped mountains in the other, the views aren’t bad, either.

Le Suquet

Climb the steep streets in the western part of town, past the Vieux Port, and you’ll come to the oldest section of the city, which was a Roman settlement for 500 years. While all that remains from that period are ruins, the former fortress of the Musée de la Castre and the church of Notre-Dame d’Espérance retain their medieval flavour alongside later buildings from the Renaissance and the 19th century.

Île Saint-Honorat

The second largest of the Lérins Islands boasts a remarkable treasure – a Cistercian monastery that’s home to 21 monks, seven chapels, a 14th-century fortress, and eight hectares of vines. The monks cultivate the grapes under vows of silence to produce delicious wines and liqueurs. The island is free to visit, and only a few minutes from the mainland by boat.