Orientation

Cannes is a very easy city to get around; it’s a lot smaller than you imagined it was in that last dream of yours where you won Palme d’Or and exchanged room keys with TMatt Damon. The town can be easily divided into two areas—the expensive part of town and the normal part, where the actual residents live. To the East of the Palais des Festivals, the hotels, prices, and breast augmentations get bigger. With names like Dior and Chanel scattered around the private beaches, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. If the bling is too much for you, head back toward the Castre—the large castle on hill to the West—back to the Suquet, where the restaurants are intimate, the prices are lower and people in general are a little more mellow. The nightlife thrives around rue Docteur Gerard Monod, but residents generally stick to the cafes and brasseries that line rue Felix Fauvre. The best (and free) bacchanalias are further West past the Vieux Port, where you’ll find the local population of the young and the restless partying it up almost year round.