Getting There

By Air

The airport is situated 24km (15 miles) southeast from Cannes. France’s leading airport after Paris, it has direct flights to the main cities of France and Europe, and to North America, Africa and the Near East. There are hourly flights to Paris.

Major airlines: France’s national airline is Air France . Other carriers include British Airways, Lufthansa, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Singapore Airlines.

Airport facilities: Services include duty-free shops and boutiques, a pharmacy, restaurants, a self-service cafeteria, a bar, bureaux de change and ATMs. Ada, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt provide car hire services. Disabled services are available . A free shuttle bus (navette), between terminals one and two and the car parks, departs every eight minutes during peak times, otherwise every 15 minutes. The airport organises a personalised welcome for VIP visitors on request.

Business facilities: The airport business centre , located in terminal one, provides fully equipped meeting areas, with a capacity for 250 people, as well as smaller offices - one with Internet access.

Transport to the city: Rapide Cote d’ Azur operate buses to Cannes, daily 0900-2200 (journey time - 45 minutes) every 30 minutes, costing €76. Taxis to the centre (journey time - 30 minutes) cost around FFr390 and are provided by Allo Taxis Niçois . Fixed-price ‘taxi cheques’ are available for purchase at the transport bureau, located near the information desk . The journey takes at least an extra 15 minutes during the International Film Festival. Seven-minute helicopter flights, operated by Heli Air Monaco and Nice Helicopteres , operate from Nice to Palm Beach, departing twice hourly from 0820-1720. A single trip costs FFr400 and a return costs FFr780 (including shuttle to the town centre).

Cannes-Mandelieu Airport (CEQ)

Situated eight kilometres (five miles) from Cannes’ centre (journey time - ten minutes), Cannes-Mandelieu is France’s leading private aviation airport.

Major airlines: Aeroplanes are available for hire from Chrokee Aer Odyssey , Euro Jet France and Rath Aviation ). There is also a helicopter for hire from Heli Inter Riviera

Airport facilities: These include reception rooms, hotel-booking, limousine and helicopter services. Car hire is available from Hertz and Europcar. Boat hire is also available with New Boat .

Business facilities: There is a VIP lounge available at the airport, as well as meeting rooms and catering services.

Transport to the city: Allo Taxi are available at the airport. A trip into the city centre costs approximately €28, which must be paid in cash (journey time - approximately 10 minutes).

Approximate flight times to Cannes: From London is 2 hours; from New York is 7 hours; from Los Angeles is 13 hours; from Toronto is 10 hours and from Sydney is 25 hours.

Arrival/departure tax: None.

By Water

The Cannes Chamber of Commerce is responsible for overseeing Gare Maritime du Port de Cannes , the port of Cannes, located close to the Palais des Festivals and La Croisette. Cannes is a major port for cruise liners, with 800 moorings per annum. The port is open daily between 15 and 30 June, 0800-1900, and between1 July and 15 September, 0800-2000. Outside these months, the port is open Monday to Saturday, 0800-1800.

Tariffs vary according to the size of the boat. At present, the port is not suitable for boats larger than 65m (21ft), however, work is underway in the Vieux Port to construct a quay where luxury cruise liners of up to 152m (500ft) will be able to moor. The planned date of completion is early 2001. Located as it is in the heart of central Cannes, restaurants, cafes and other facilities are widely available. The Riviera Ports website provides information on all the Cote d’ Azur ports.

Ferry services: Trans Cote d’ Azur ) operates a daily service between Cannes and the Lerins Islands, Saint Tropez, Monaco and Nice. Compagnie Esterel Chanteclair operates a service to Lerins Islands, Monaco, Saint Tropez and the Corniche d’Or.

Transport to the city: The port is located in the heart of the city centre, just opposite the Rapide-Cote d’Azur but and coach depot, which serves many destinations including Grasse, Nice and Saint-Raphael.

By Rail

Societe Nationale de Chemins de Fer - SNCF is the national rail carrier. Cannes Ville station is situated at place Pierre Semard and place Jean-Jaures. Facilities at the station include a newsagent, bakery, tourist infromation office bar, snack bar and car park.

Rail services: Cannes is served by the international trains, Trains Bleus (the Paris-Nice-Ventimiglia Express), TEE (the Trans-Europe Express) and TGV (high-speed trains). There are direct links to Paris, twice daily in winter and four times daily in summer (journey time - 7 hours), as well as to Basel (journey time - 10 hours 30 minutes), Brussels (journey time - 6 hours 30 minutes), Milan (journey time - 5 hours), Rome (journey time - 9 hours 50 minutes) and Venice (journey time - 9 hours 50 minutes).

Transport to the city: The station is just a five-minute walk from Cannes city centre, with the rue d’ Antibes leading onto La Croisette. A Rapide-Cote d’Azur bus stop is located at the station. Taxis are also available

By Road

Motorways bear the prefix ‘A’, national roads ‘N’ and minor roads are classed as ‘D’ roads. Traffic drives on the right and drivers must give way to the right, unless the route is marked with Passage Protege signs - a broad arrow, a yellow diamond or an ‘X’ on a triangular background - or the driver is at a roundabout indicating vous n’avez pas la priorite. Speed limits are 130kph (81mph) on motorways, 110kph (68mph) on dual carriageways separated by a central reservation, 90kph (46mph) outside built-up areas and 50kph (31mph) in built-up areas. Visitors who have held a driving licence for less than two years face tighter speed restrictions. The French police fine motorists on the spot for driving offences such as speeding. The legal alcohol to blood ratio for driving is 0.05% and random breath tests for drinking and driving are common.

The minimum age for driving is 18 years. All front- and rear-seat passengers must wear seatbelts and children under ten years may not travel in the front seat. A national driving licence, the car’s registration document and a red warning triangle must be carried at all times or the driver may be fined. All headlamp beams must be adjusted for right-side driving, by use of beam deflectors or by tilting the headlamp bulb-holder. EU nationals taking their own cars to France are strongly advised to obtain a Green Card, without which insurance cover is limited to the minimum legal cover in France. The Green Card tops this up to the level of cover provided by the car owner’s domestic policy.

The Regional Motorway Network provides information on traffic conditions and driving regulations.

Emergency breakdown service (toll free):

Inter-Mutuelles Assistance (0800) 757 575.
Free emergency telephones are situated every one kilometre (0.6 miles) along the motorways.

Routes to the city: The Cote d’Azur is linked to the European network of motorways. The A8 Esterel motorway links Paris to Cannes. From Nice, Exit 42 (Cannes Est) leads to Cannes.

Approximate driving times to the city: From Paris - 8 hours; from Nice - 30 minutes.

Coach services: The Gare Routiere de Nice is Nice’s international coach station, located at Promenade du Paillon. Agence Intercars-Eurolines and Agence Phoceens Cars, 2 place Massena, Nice , both provide regular services to major European centres.

There are two domestic coach stations (gares routieres) in Cannes. The main one, at place Cornut-Gentille , serves coastal destinations, while the other, located at place de l’Hotel de Ville, provides an inland service. Companies operating from both stations include Rapides Cote d’Azur , which links Cannes to Nice (city centre and airport), and CTM , which links Cannes to Grasse and Mandelieu.