Cannes Questions

[ajtraveler66]

We hope to be on a Mediterranean Cruise in 2023.  We're going to put most of our time, effort, cash, and energy into the ports for Florence, Naples, and Rome.  That said, is there anything in Cannes that can be done within walking distance from the port?  A nice long lunch and a feel for the city is really all we care about....as long as it's within walking distance or an easy to reach by taxi/bus.

[Hlitner]

Assuming you have no mobility limitations, the entire tourist part of Cannes is within walking distance of the tender pier (just about everything is within a 1 mile radius).  So what is there to do?  You are in a seaside resort town with hotels, shops (some high end), restaurants, cafes, etc.  There are also a couple of beaches with the closest (Plage du Midi) actually having real sand (as opposed to the stones that are common on French beaches) and being within a 10 min stroll from the tender.

 

There is also a "Petit Train" which is tourist train (on wheels) that snakes its way through all of tourist Cannes.  That train is an option for those who cannot or do not like to walk.  DW and prefer to walk everywhere because that makes it easy to browse shops, window shop, stop at various cafes, etc.  And that is what you have in Cannes.     I should mention there is also the large Exposition Center (home of the Cannes Film Festival) that is within a 10 min walk from the tender pier.  That huge building is only useful if there happens to be some kind of exposition open to the public.   DW and I have actually stayed in Cannes (twice) for multiple nights and used it as a base for the region.  But we had a rental car and spent most our days outside of Cannes.   But we also did spend some beach days in town, and took advantage of some nice restaurants for dinner.

 

Another option is to make the long (just over a mile) walk to the Cannes train station.  You can then catch the regional TER train that spans the coast from Cannes to Monte Carlo (and beyond to Menton) with stops in places like Antibes and Nice.  This is a commuter type train (no reservations) so you simply buy your tickets and get on the next train.  

 

Hank

[MeHeartCruising]

Cannes is a perfect port for your plan to get off the ship and wander around.  We walked along the waterfront and then up a small hill for some scenic overlooks.  Lots of places to eat/drink/people watch.  We sat and watched the beach and our ship floating in the bay for a couple hours.  Enjoy!

[carlmm]

There are also museums in walking distance.

Up the hill there is the castle with museum and of course a great view.

Down at the promenade is Malmaison, a lovely old villa with varying exhibitions.  

[ajtraveler66]

Rather than to go off on a shore expedition to Monaco (or whatever), we've decided to just stay at port in Cannes, find a nice restaurant (hopefully in a beach setting) and enjoy an hour or so there.  Then just mosey around for a while and head on back to the boat.

 

Another option in lieu of the above would be to find a great French pastry shop and splurge on pastries and coffee.

 

Ready to hear your thoughts.

[carlmm]

The tender pier us roughly at the western end of the main beach area and promenade. Thus if you walk in easterly direction you will find many beach clubs with restaurants. These are generaly open to the public and rather on the expensive side.

[Hlitner]

When you walk out of the tender pier area and head towards the heart of town, you will have the water and a Marina on your right.  On your left, across the street, there are several restaurant/cafes,  Once you reach the main part of town (near the Exposition Center) there are plenty of hotels and restaurants.  Everything is open to the public.  But as Carlmm said, many places on on the expensive side (especially places with water views) although we have always found the quality of food to be adequate.  When we stay in Cannes we like to eat in the smaller restaurants that are up in the Rue Saint-Antoine area (you can google this street if interested).  I am not sure how many of these smaller (but not inexpensive) restaurants are open for lunch, but we have found most places in this neighborhood to have very good food at fair (but not cheap) prices.  I hesitate to recommend specific restaurants since many places went out of business or changed ownership as a result of the bad Covid years.  We are all going to need to reassess how things are today and not rely on years past.

[marazul]

To follow up on Hank's ideas.  There are several restaurants on your left as you walk along the Old Port (marina).  That street is called Quai Saint-Pierre.  We used to take visitors to L'Assiette Provençal because it was good and reasonably priced (for Cannes), plus it has a view of the water.  We haven't been there since before the pandemic, so no guarantees.  

 

If you don't care about the water view, do look for the Rue Saint-Antoine which is very near there. To get there just walk past L'Assiette Provençal to the corner (there is a police station there). Turn left and, at the end of the short block, cross the street.  Rue Saint-Antoine is a cobblestone pedestrian street directly in front of you. 

 

Like anywhere in France, the best thing to do is walk along the street, read the menus and see what appeals to you.  All restaurants have a plat du jour or daily special available.  Look for the little blackboards by the doors.  This will always be tasty and reasonably priced (for Cannes) 😉. You can always order a pichet (carafe) of house wine instead of a bottle if you prefer.  They come in 1 liter, 1/2 liter or 1/4 liter sizes.  Also, order a pichet of water (free) instead of expensive bottled water.

 

I assume this is your first visit to the area.  If so, I encourage you to have Soupe de Poissons (fish soup) as a first course.  If there are a few of you, and if they are in season, order stuffed courgette (zucchini) flowers as a first course to share.  For a main course try the grilled daurade (sea bream) or loup (sea bass). The waiter bones it and filets the fish for you.  For wine, you are at the heart of the rosés area and they go perfectly with that meal.    

 

There is a stone church nearby, Nôtre Dame d'Espérance which has great views over the city and the sea.  It will be a little bit of a climb, but well worth it. 

 

Don't fail to come back to the port past the Congress Palace (where the Film Festival is held) and walk along the beautiful Boulevard de la Croissette where the hotels and beaches are.  Actually, some of the beach restaurants are very good, but they might not be open in April.  There are some wonderful and horribly expensive restaurants on the other side, like Fouquet's.   

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by marazul

[Hlitner]

Marazul,  You will be proud of me :).  During our recent (end of April) 3 days in Nice I sought out my beloved Soupe de Poissons.  My search was a little disappointing as I only had the soup two times (in three days.  And although what I had was good, neither portion was award winning!  Very sad.   The concierge in our hotel just shrugged and said many good things seem to have disappeared during the COVID shutdown.  This all gives me a good excuse to get back to the south of France to continue my search for the perfect bowl of Soupe de Poissons.  

 

Hank

[marazul]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Marazul,  You will be proud of me :).  During our recent (end of April) 3 days in Nice I sought out my beloved Soupe de Poissons.  My search was a little disappointing as I only had the soup two times (in three days.  And although what I had was good, neither portion was award winning!  Very sad.   The concierge in our hotel just shrugged and said many good things seem to have disappeared during the COVID shutdown.  This all gives me a good excuse to get back to the south of France to continue my search for the perfect bowl of Soupe de Poissons.  

 

Hank

Always proud of you.  Research is key to knowledge.  I do hope to keep up my own search for the perfect soupe de poissons.  I will keep you posted. 

M

 

[mskaufman]

Plenty of beaches walking distance.  Maybe this photo (last Friday) helps.  The first picture is what is across the street from the beach.  On the ramp in the second picture are people walking back to the tender pier.

[ajtraveler66]

I'm asking this question specifically of Cannes, but my question applies to Mediterranean ports of call, in general. (We'll be in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, and Albania).

 

When we are in Cannes, we will have just toured Italy/Sicily for four days, and we will probably just want to stroll around Cannes for the day and take things a bit slowly...doing things on our own and not doing the ship's excursions.

 

So, my question is this?  Do most restaurants in Cannes take recognized credit cards?  If so, which cards?  If not, how do we go about obtaining our euro's?

[JHLH821]

We went to our bank to exchange dollars for euros- it took a while so give yourself time to arrange

The euro and credit cards should be accepted in the larger cities- possibly smaller shops may not.

In Cannes, if you have a plan on what to see, you can research them online and reach out to them before your trip to ask about their payment policies.

 

The euro is the official currency in Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal but in Croatia it is the "Kuna". ATM's are widely available in the larger cities. I recommend using Visa or Mastercard, not Amex. Establishments are not required to accept euros but I know people who have used them. I think the country is changing over to the euro some time next year.

 

Euros are accepted in Albania but their official currency is the LEK.

[John Bull]

Much the same reply as IIhillman's.

 

Visa & Mastercard accepted pretty-well everywhere, though you should take a few euros for the odd occasion when cards aren't accepted like some market stalls, taxis, buses, public toilets.

Amex & D/C not so widely accepted - don't rely on them.

Use your cards whenever possible, because you'll get a better exchange rate than any exchange bureau. If you're happy to arrive with no euros in your pocket, compare rates at exchange bureaux and banks in town.  Those in airports are notoriously awful value - just see the difference between their buying & selling rates. 

 

Until this year Croatia's government had insisted that merchants only accept cards and Croatian currency (kuna), altho many merchants flouted that rule.

Now it's official that euros are acceptable, and we spent two days in Croatia without needing kuna - so be confident with just euros & cards unless you visit anywhere un-touristy.

 

I can't help with Albania, but word is that cards and euros are widely accepted.

NB If any in your party has to have a full EU visa (US citizens don't), because Albania is mid-cruise they're likely to need a multi-visit visa, not a single-entry one.

 

The Euro is the official currency for your other ports

 

When using a card, make sure that you're charged in local currency. Some merchants will offer to charge  your card in your own currency "for your convenience" 🙄, some will actually charge in your currency & hope you don't notice 🥵. The exchange rates they use will be much poorer than your card's rates. So always check the figure before you swipe etc, and insist that they charge in local currency - which will be the same figures as the price label or check. (In Croatia I guess that if the price or negotiation is in euros it's best to be charged in euros)

Same aoplies if ship's currency isn't the same as your own (eg MSC or  Costa)  - decline any offer to charge your on-board spend in USD. 

 

JB 🙂

[lasanders77]

I was thinking of taking the Ferry over to Sainte Marguerite island.   Any pro's or con's on this idea?

[GreenFamily]

5 hours ago, lasanders77 said:

I was thinking of taking the Ferry over to Sainte Marguerite island.   Any pro's or con's on this idea?

Sainte Marguerite isn’t that great. There’s so much more to do in the area that would be better. 

[edinburgher]

Another option in lieu of the above would be to find a great French pastry shop and splurge on pastries and coffee.

 

All French boulangeries/bakeries are wonderful.  but you should really look for a boulangerie/pattiserie or a patisserie where the cakes are especially beautifully presented and you will be spoiled for choice.  I just love admiring the  shop displays and the finesse of the bakes as the detail is absolutely pefect.

 

Do note though, that having an onsite  sit down/coffee area isn't that common in bakeries (which mostly  sell bread related items).and most are takeaway only.

 

To have coffee and cake at a table, you would really need to look for a cafe.  or in Cannes, you could buy cake and takeout coffee from somewhere and sit somewhere  like a park or the promenade to enjoy them.

 

 

Edited September 29, 2022 by edinburgher

[Thunderbird19]

The discussion about credit cards above mentioned Euros are good to have on hand (agreed!) .   My question is what euro amount (paper or coin?) is typically is needed for public toilets in France and Italy?  Would not want to need a public toilet and have to worry about making change before being able to enter one!

[Hlitner]

On 10/12/2022 at 12:40 PM, Thunderbird19 said:

The discussion about credit cards above mentioned Euros are good to have on hand (agreed!) .   My question is what euro amount (paper or coin?) is typically is needed for public toilets in France and Italy?  Would not want to need a public toilet and have to worry about making change before being able to enter one!

We have seen all kinds of public toilets throughout France with prices varying from Free to 1€ with 50 cents (Euro) being most common.   When we travel around France (and Europe) DW and I seldom use public "facilities" since we prefer just stopping at a cafe for a drink and to use their facilities.  Any excuse for a cup of cafe au lait or a glass of wine is a good thing.

 

Hank

[KW2]

Are there any recommendations for traveling to Monaco while the ship’s docked? Or should we just stay in Cannes?

[marazul]

1 hour ago, KW2 said:

Are there any recommendations for traveling to Monaco while the ship’s docked? Or should we just stay in Cannes?

On a long port day you can easily take the train to Monaco and still have time to poke around Cannes when you get back.  Search this board for details.  

[tony s]

Depending on time,train is easy to use between Cannes and Monaco

[Hlitner]

10 hours ago, KW2 said:

Are there any recommendations for traveling to Monaco while the ship’s docked? Or should we just stay in Cannes?

Some love Monte Carlo and others (including DW and me) see it as a place to avoid.  We love this region of France (have vacationed there many times) but never go to Monte Carlo unless we have no choice.  But getting there from Cannes is very easy as the regional TER train spans the coast.  So you would get on the train and pass through Antibes and Nice (among other places) before you finally arrive at Monte Carlo.  Just keep in mind that the station in Monte Carlo i s some distance from many of the most popular tourist attractions (i.e. Palace, Casino, etc) so you should do some pre cruise homework if you want to use the local buses...or otherwise, plan on paying somewhat more money for a taxi (taxis in France and Monte Carlo are expensive.

 

Hank