#WhenIn Cannes (& Antibes)

Yuan Nielsen
Jul 28, 2017 · 4 min read

This idea of a glistening Cannes in the warm French Riviera (home to that glamorous film festival that everyone wants to go to), was already formed in my mind 10 years ago when I was a singer and actress in Los Angeles. Now, having actually visited the place (and experienced it to be a bit different from what I had envisioned), I ponder what it is that Cannes really can…

Where to stay:

Villa Claudia, a charming, newly-renovated, and fairly-priced boutique hotel, is in walking distance to all the main beaches (it was deliberately chosen for being different from the other major hotels down by the beach). Decorated with various movie paraphernalia (well it is Cannes…), it is an actual villa with limited rooms, a lovely green garden, and a pretty dining room, in which a nice continental breakfast is served every morning. The only downside is that it is located near a not-so-charming main street, so the view is not as nice (even from our room with the top balcony) as the property itself.

How to get around:

Walk or take Uber. If you walk around, you will find that Cannes seems to be going through what I think is a bit of a midlife crisis. Based on the pink, glittery, Swarovski-showered storefronts (which really hurt my eyes) and Russian-translated restaurant boards, the city seems to make a remarkable effort to accommodate its Russian visitors, which is somewhat confusing for its own culture and identity.

Where to eat:

Breakfast:

Coffee and croissants (even after the nice breakfast at Villa Claudia) made a good excuse for doing a second breakfast on the beach.

Lunch:

Miramar Plage serves very good French food and wine, right by the beach. With a glass of sauvignon blanc in your grasp (and the rest of the bottle in the ice bucket), many hours can be spent here chatting, nibbling, and enjoying the view, even if the sun decides to be indecisive.

Dinner:

Noisette is a really great Italian place with incredible truffle pasta and osso buco, and the service by Alice and Silvio (husband and wife) is just wonderful.

What to eat:

Miramar serves delicious tartare and scallops, which works particularly well if the weather is hot. Noisette makes truly good Italian food, and though everything on the menu is great, their pasta is a must. In general, I could go hunting for authentic Italian food (don’t get me wrong, my feelings towards Sauternes, confit de canard, and foie gras are truly very devoted, but these menu items are surprisingly hard to come by in Côte d’Azur). The food in Cannes seems to be more influenced by the south, so it’s not a bad idea to go all in on Italian food.

What to do:

Walk along the beach. Although it can get quite busy with the lineup of restaurants and roaming tourists, it is a nice stroll, and honestly the beach is kinda the main thing to do around Cannes.

Take the train to Antibes and walk around in Old Town. The train ride from Cannes to Antibes is very short, and though parts of Old Town can be very crowded with tourists, many nooks are also super cozy and charming. It is a great alternative place to spend some time outside of Cannes.

What not to do:

Astoux et Brun is listed multiple places as having the best seafood in town, but it really does not live up to the hype (the food is mediocre, the service is forgettable, and the atmosphere must have left for another restaurant). And to be honest, Cannes itself left me with an ambivalent feeling. I found it too commercial (and culturally diluted), so if I were to visit again, I would definitely explore more around it by for example going to the Lérins Islands, which include Île Saint-Honorat and Île Sainte-Marguerite.

#WhenIn

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Yuan Nielsen

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#WhenIn

#WhenIn

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