There’s No Place Like Cannes

After living in Cannes for four months, I feel comfortable enough to say that I am an honorary Cannois and as an honorary Cannois, I am compelled to say that Cannes is the ideal spot to visit, vacation, study abroad, or (hopefully, one day) retire. This city taught me so much about french culture, European culture, the film industry, and (queue the study-abroad-cheesy line) myself. So I am here to tell you why you should go to Cannes, if you ever have the chance to visit France.

1. Everyday is the perfect beach day: Obviously if you are looking for a great vacation destination, Cannes is a perfect place. It has miles of beach for people to lay out under the beautiful blue sky and warm sun, or swim in the crystal clear salty waters of the Mediterranean sea. I am ruined because of the Cannes beaches, which are ridiculously clean and the water is clear enough that when I look down at my feet I can see the little fish swimming up to me. There are little food stands about every quarter mile down the entire beach and coastline that sell ice cream, fries, sandwiches, and drinks. If it is peak tourist season, you can rent paddleboards or other aquatic sport equipment. Some of my favorite memories in Cannes are of myself and a group of friends at the beach, laying in the sand or floating in the water. The sea is really salty too, which many people hate, but it does make it easier to float. And the waves are very mild, so just grab yourself a drink from the beach side snack stands, rent a floating device, and relax in the Mediterranean sea for a little while.
   

   
2. Cultural Immersion: When people think of France, they primarily think of Paris and, of course, when most people visit France, they visit Paris. Paris is a very important french city which you should definitely visit, but if you are looking to really immerse yourself in the french culture, Cannes is the way to go. Paris is super touristy which means you won’t really get the full cultural experience that is half the fun of traveling to a foreign destination. Especially if you want to learn the language, you should go to Cannes. You could even take language classes at the International Collège de Cannes, which is a language immersion school. With three hours of french class, five days a week, you will pick up the language and culture in no time. Plus, unless you are there during the film festival, there are not a lot of tourists in Cannes which gives you ample opportunity to try to practice your language skills with the french locals. But even if you are not interested in learning french, don’t worry. Almost everyone in Cannes speaks english. It can be a bit of a small town at times, but this can be a good thing because it means that it is easier to learn the way of the locals, whether that is doing the best local leisure activities, going to the best local restaurants, or observing the locals and trying to understand and adapt to their culture. One of the biggest cultural differences that I found, and actually enjoyed adapting to, was that the french live to eat. And play. And relax. Really, they know how to say enough is enough after a day of hard work and take their time to live a higher quality of life. This usually takes form in insanely slow walking, early closing store and restaurant hours, and maybe even a restaurant closed on a random day at a totally random time. Since Cannes is also a beach town, it is clear that the locals know how to take it easy. And immersing yourself in that type of culture is really quite refreshing.
3. Food: Everyone knows the french are known for their cuisine, and rightfully so. French pastries such as croissants, pain au chocolats, and crèpes are incredible and must-haves in France, as are non-pastry french dishes like escargots and ratatouille. But what a lot of people may not realize is that there is also a lot of region-specific french food as well, and Southern Provincial french food is to die for! One of the most popular dishes is moules-frites, which is mussels cooked in a white wine sauce, served with fries. It is really delicious but be careful where you get it from because myself and a lot of people in my study abroad program got food poisoning from it at one restaurant. Another dish is a Niçoise salad, which is traditionally made with anchovies. I’m not a big fan of those pungent little fish, but if you are, definitely give this local salad a go! But, if you’re like me and not a big fan of stinky fish in your lettuce, then definitely try a Salade du Chevre (goat cheese salad). It is make with lettuce, tomatoes, and lightly toasted goat cheese over tiny pieces of toast served with a balsamic vinaigrette (which is not really southern/provincial specific but still an absolute must-have in France). Try any of the local sea food (or fruits de mer) that Cannes has to offer as it is super fresh and amazingly delicious. You should also venture to a local market one morning to try local, Provincial produce such as cheese, olives, and maybe a few pastries as well! If you are looking for somewhere to eat out, I also have a few suggestions! For a nice lunch, try Le P’tit Zinc (which has an amazing Salade du Chevre). Or if you want a nice dinner, try Chez Vincent et Nicolas for some great Provincial french food or Astoux et Brun for some incredible seafood. If you want a nice coffee shop to do some work, or have a nice brunch, I suggest Casa di Nona or Café Picco (which is not anything fancy but it is right across from the Collège and has pretty good pastries and coffee).
   

   

   
4. Location, location, location: Cannes is situated along the French Riviera in the region of Provence. The riviera runs along the coast of the Mediterranean sea, which means crystal clear blue waters and beautiful weather almost all year long. The region of Provence is home to beautiful little medieval towns that will make you feel like you are in an old fairy tale. And Cannes is perfectly nestled right in between Italy (just a two hour train ride away) and Spain (only a cheap hour long flight away). Basically, even if you get bored of Cannes, it is perfectly located right by some amazing places that you should definitely take the time out to visit if you are ever in Cannes. Some great nearby French cities to visit are Monte Carlo, Nice, Èze, and Menton, all coastal cities to the east of Cannes. Other provincial towns to visit are Nîmes, Arles, Avignon, and Les Baux de Provence. Each town has amazing medieval architecture and will definitely make you feel like you are in a movie. As I noted, Italy is just a two hour train ride away. Ventimiglia is the first city on the France-Italy border and it is a cute little coastal town, but make sure to have your french language skills ready because most of the locals do not speak english (but they do speak italian and french). You will find a beautiful, but rocky, beach here and some amazing Italian food. If you want to go to a more touristy destination, it is super cheap to buy train or plane tickets to Rome or Florence. For more information on some of the local traveling that I did, see my post “Pont, Palais, et Pizzas: Local Exploration.”
   

   

   Ventimiglia, Italy

   

   Nice, France
5. Hollywood: Even if most people have not heard of Cannes, they have probably heard of the Cannes Film Festival. This festival drops a Hollywood bomb over Cannes during the two last weeks of May. Inside the Palais des Festivals, there is the film market full of hundreds of film companies, from production to distribution, marketing themselves to fellow filmmakers and industry professionals. Half of the Croisette (a major street in Cannes) is blocked off for the Red Carpet, which dozens of celebrities climb up to three or four times a day when a film is premiering inside the Palais theater. The whole city buzzes with festival-goers, festival workers, security, military, police, and tourists and locals with signs begging for movie tickets for the chance to climb that coveted red carpet. During the two weeks, there are other film competitions going on all over the city, where people with Cinephile badges can try to get in to see almost any movie they please (of course, many times there are limits on who can or cannot get into the movies). But it is an amazing opportunity to see movies months before they hit theaters, or see movies they may not be able to see at their local theaters because they are independent films. There are also concerts and movie screenings (of old movies) on the beach. The entire city it lit up with excitement – and occasionally film industry stress – from the crazy atmosphere of Hollywood infiltrating that small french town. My experience at the festival was a bit hectic but also amazing. I gained experience working in the film industry and dealing with businessmen and women as well as the perks of getting to climb the red carpet twice and see the festival premiere of Sofia Coppola’s new film. So if you want to visit a touristy Cannes, then go during the festival. It is a completely different town at this time of year than the rest of the year but it is still an amazing experience. (See my previous blog post: “Hollywood in France” to learn more about what I did during the film festival.)

These are only a few of the reasons that Cannes is the best place to visit/study/vacation. I have a billion more but that would turn this blog post into a thesis project. I may also be a little biased because Cannes was made a home to me for four months and it will always be another home to me but it does not take away from the fact that it is my favorite city and one that everyone should definitely travel to at some point.

Pont, Palais, et Pizza: Local Exploration

The last few weekends have been filled with less “heavy duty” traveling and have been filled with more exploring of the area around the Côte d’Azur and the Provincial region of France. Cannes is a city which itself is really cool – the beaches are gorgeous and the giant hotels and designer clothing stores along the seaside are great to stare at and dream “one day.” Looking out onto the purest blue sea water I have ever seen in my life never seems to get old. But Cannes is also situated in a beautiful region of France, close to other cities full of life, culture, and history. And they are only a short, cheap bus or train ride away.

Two weeks ago, I spent my weekend exploring several historical cities and sites in the Provincial region: Arles, Le Pont du Gard, Avignon, and Les Baux de Provence. We traveled the whole way by bus, which stopped at each city and we spent one night in Avignon. Our first stop, after a three hour bus ride, was Arles. Arles was a cute little town with an amazing market, full of locally grown produce, amazing cuisine from different cultures, handmade clothes, and CHEESE. I cannot stress the sheer amount of cheese and olives. It was incredible. If you ever go to Arles, do not buy lunch at a restaurant. Get there early enough in the afternoon to visit the market and get food from the market. Everything tastes rich and amazing. After the market, we also visited the café where Van Gogh painted his famous, “Café Terrace at Night.” Then we traversed around some amazing Ancient Roman ruins that were located in the city, which were breathtaking and made me feel less disappointed about not making it to Rome this trip.

Then we took a short, twenty minute bus ride to a nearby medieval castle. I enjoyed exploring this little castle because it brought about memories of being young and dreaming of living in a castle with dragons – not to mention I seriously felt like I should have been a character in Game of Thrones, as I stood on the roof of the castle and looked out onto the gargoyles of the castle and the crystal blue water of the river below.

And after that happy little nerd moment, it was off to another beautiful, historical landmark: Le Pont du Gard. If you remember anything about aqueducts from your middle school history classes, you’ll remember that this aqueduct was built by the Ancient Romans as well (truly the Romans were just everywhere in Europe) to carry water between a spring at Uzés to Nîmes. It is grand and gorgeous, especially with the view of the river below it. The waters in the river are also crystal clear and dozens of other tourists were down in the river, swimming or kayaking. I braved the cold water and sharp stones, myself, and waded in the shallow part of the river. It is a definite must-see in the south of France, and don’t forget to bring your swim suit!

Then we hopped back on the bus and made our way to Avignon where we spent one night in a local hotel. Driving into the city, was a fascinating sight to take in. Firstly, I saw the famous Pont d’Avignon (the famous old bridge in Avignon) as we crossed the river (on a different bridge) to get to Avignon (You may know the song: “Sur le pont d’Avignon. On y danse. On y danse. Sur le pont d’Avignon. On y danse. Tous le rond.”). The second thing I saw upon arrival in the city, is that Avignon is still surrounded by castle-like large walls that box in the city. It was quite a sight to take in as our bus driver tried to navigate the incredible tiny streets of the old city to get us to our hotel. The next morning we were up by 10:00 a.m. and were off to explore the Palais des Pâpes, which was the papal residence when Pope Clement V moved there from Rome in 1309. It was home to two popes before the papacy returned to Rome in 1377. So needless to say, this building has a lot of history. I took an audio-guided tour of the Palais, which was actually very fascinating and allowed me to take in the history of the site at my own pace and brought back some nostalgia from my AP European history days, making me wish I was a history major. All in all, Avignon is a gorgeous little city with an incredibly immense history that you must visit in the south of France.

After our tour of the Palais, we hopped back on the bus and traveled to Les Baux de Provence – an area known for its lavender fields. Unfortunately, the lavender is not in bloom until July and we went in mid-April, however the greenery and beauty of the area is no less breathtaking. First we visited the Carrières de Lumières which is a vast, cold dark cave where multimedia shows are projected onto the walls – it is an indescribable experience that I can only recommend you see for yourself. After staying for the 45 minute presentation, we headed to the Castle of the Baux de Provence, which was mostly eroded away, but the ruins were incredible to climb up and get an incredible view of the region. We also watched a catapult demonstration which was an amusing experience as well, and if the Medieval Times is a subject which interests you, or you just like incredible views, Les Baux de Provence is an excellent area.

And thus concluded my weekend exploring the Provincial region of France – there is still plenty more to see but I was content with the sites I saw. And the next weekend was another weekend of a little bit of local exploration. As I stated before, Cannes is situated in an area that has fairly easy travel access to plenty of other areas, including Italy. Since the start of my time here in France, I had heard that Italy was a short train ride away and therefore I was dying to go to Italy, just for the day, just to eat some good Italian food. And so on Saturday, that is exactly what I did. My friends and I left the Cannes train station at around 2:15 p.m. and got to Ventimiglia, Italy by four o’clock. The ride itself was beautiful since the train tracks are right on the coast, which means that we got to see the breathtaking clear blue waters and beaches of Antibes, Nice, Monte Carlo, Èze, and Menton. By the time we got to Ventimiglia, we were starving. We did a quick exploration of the small, beautiful town then sat down at a tiny restaurant where I ordered a pizza, which was amazing. It was full of cheese, basil, and olive oil and it tasted great.

Ventimiglia, Italy

After we had stuffed ourselves silly, we walked around the large market full of fresh produce, meat, and cheese. We were in awe of the vast amount of every type of food they had and how fresh everything looked – I made a mental note to come back and do some grocery shopping there. We spent another half hour window shopping then we headed to the beach, which had no sand actually. It was covered in large stones, which was a very cool site to take in, especially in juxtaposition with the blue sea water. As we relaxed on the beach, we saw a few guys with parasails and what I can really only describe as giant fans – they would take a running start with their fans blowing at full speed and their parasails strapped to their backs and then up into the sky they went! It was an incredible thing to watch and looked so fun.

After an hour on the beach, we were off to eat more food! We could not go to Italy and not eat pizza and pasta, after all. So we went to a newer restaurant called “Pasta & Basta” where we chose the type of noodle we wanted and then the type of sauce. It was mouthwatering food, and I was so full by the end of the meal I could barely finish the amazing tiramisu I ordered for dessert. And after we had stuffed ourselves to death for the second time that day, we headed back to the train station and went home.

I may have only traveled to one city that weekend, but it reminded me of all of the nearby cities and places that I can travel to for so little money, so quickly – and just for the day! Who does not want to go to Italy just to grab a bite to eat after all?