The glittering film festival glamour - Cannes
Dear readers, I know the summer holiday has been over for some time, somehow I still keep thinking of how incredible that is to be able to return to the French Riviera (a.k.a. Côte d'Azur) this year, however, instead of going somewhere that I’ve been, this time I decided to go somewhere different, one of my wishful-thinking destination, is the city that filled with film festival glamour and summer resort elegance - Cannes. I have never been to Cannes before, the only thing I can recall is the famous Cannes Film Festival which takes place at the Palais des festivals et des congrès de Cannes each year, while I didn’t watch every single one of it in detail, the grand gathering of the most important movie stars from all over the world, making their appearance on the classic grand red carpet and the stairs at the entrance, flashing cameras on both side of the red carpet like sparkling stars contrasting the black outfit wore by those photographers and press, the fairytale-like atmosphere looks so surreal and sublime, and I always imagine how does it feel to be there?
But that’s not the only motivation that I had and makes me wanted to go to Cannes, there are two more reasons that motivates me to go actually, one is the history of the forgotten Parisian Jeweller, Lacloche Frères, which they made their ‘come back’ to the French Riviera in Cannes after WWI in 1924, opening their boutique in the then-famous Galeries Fleuries right next to the legendary hotel Le Gray d’Albion, renowned for their elite shopping paradise and a place that gather the finest thing in life for the affluent and famous, I was craving to trace back the history, the bygone glamour of this luxury Parisian jeweller and the sophisticated flair of those shoppers. The other one is after watching the clip from ‘The light of Cannes’ by haute couture brand Elie Saab’s during the pandemic period, I keep fantasizing about the film festival and Hollywood movie star glamour meets high society summer holiday in Côte d'Azur, the more I think about it, the more I developed a crave to visit Cannes one day, therefore, in July this year, I was fortunate enough to realize my dream.
As a first-timer to Cannes, of course I stopped by some of their iconic (and sometimes touristic) places, as mentioned at the beginning, I am pretty sure that no one will miss Palais des festivals et des congrès de Cannes, where not only one can find the handprints of some of the famous movie stars in the world (I got my favorite Angelina Jolie and Catherine Deneuve) at the Cannes Walk of Fame, you may also experience the film festive glamour by stepping onto the legendary red carpet, to feel the movie star fantasy for a bit. So, besides the Palais des festivals, is there any other places that is worth visiting in Cannes? The answer is ‘bien sûr’! Just walk along the famous Boulevard de la Croisette, not only it’ll take one to experience the summer resort vibe uniquely from the French Riviera along the coastline, to feel the sun and the breeze from the deep blue Mediterranean sea, you can also experience the luxury fashion glamour along this grand boulevard with all the famous fashion boutiques on one side, while the vibrant summer beach on the other.
Speaking of the beach, Cannes has numerous beautiful beaches located along the coast, such as Plage Macé and the Croisette Beach, but there’s also a smaller ones which they are also beautiful enough to let you experience the Riviera luxury summer resort flair, if you can go all the way the Boulevard de la Croisette and down to the Place Franklin Roosevelt, that’s where the famous elite member’s club, Palm Beach Cannes, and the smaller beach called Bijou Plage locates; I cannot make it there as my schedule is super crazy and tight, but as far as I know, that’s the place not only for the summer beach but also a romantic sunset dinner venue, to experience the glamour of Cannes in another way.
Back to the Palais des festivals et des congrès de Cannes, if you head to the right-hand side when facing the Mediterranean sea, it’ll take you to the old port and the ‘Vielle Ville’, Le Suquet, the old town that preserved the quintessential Cannes architecture and cultural atmosphere, sadly I cannot make it deep into ‘Le Suquet’, but it seems like a little charming area that shows the authenticity of Cannes which worthwhile to explore. I can barely make it to the old port, and enjoy the leisure atmosphere of Cannes at the Place du General de Gaulle, also walked down on one of the famous main street, Rue d’Antibes, where countless of restaurants located along both side of the street as well as small boutiques and souvenir shops, it’s one of the busiest street that I experienced in Cannes.
There are some other places that I’d like to go when I was in Cannes but sadly that’s the best I can go with my limited time, perhaps you might ask if I would like to revisit Cannes again? I can undoubtedly answer ‘yes’, and I think that it might be better to spend three days solely in Cannes, to experience more about this beautiful city without visiting like check-point tourism in a rush. In the end, Cannes is a unique resort destination that combined film festival glamour, the sumptuous French Riviera summer resort feel, and the high society elegance that derived from its history being the most sought-after holiday destination for the affluent, intellectual, elite and famous in the past, spending a summer holiday in Cannes (even a brief one) is one of the best thing I set for myself this year.
If you have been in Cannes before, then do share with us about how did you like this city? And where is/are your favorite spot?
