Published during the 79th Cannes Film Festival — because there's never a better moment to tell you what most people miss.

These days Cannes is full of stars. Movie stars, yes — but not only. You can see actors and actresses, directors, bloggers, and all kinds of celebrities not just on the red carpet, but also walking along the Promenade de la Croisette, sitting in a local restaurant having lunch, or grabbing coffee with their team. That makes hundreds of fans wait outside their hotels and in front of the Palais des Festivals, hoping to catch a glimpse, get a photo, or an autograph, if they're lucky enough.

All of that is fascinating in its own way. But this article is for the ones who want to know Cannes behind the red carpet and the luxury shopping. Because this city has layers that most visitors never reach. It is an all-year-round home for people who appreciate the sun, the warmth, sandy beaches and the sea, the most beautiful views and sunsets — and of course the food. The food is a whole story in itself.

I stayed in Cannes for several months while working on my fig cookbook, and I experienced everyday life here — which honestly felt like a dream come true. The morning markets, the neighbourhood café where they knew my order and asked "Cappuccino almond, as always?", the walks up to Le Suquet at golden hour, the ferry to Île Sainte-Marguerite on a random Tuesday afternoon with my dog and some drinks for the two of us, coffee for me and bowl with some fresh water for him. Let me share my Spoonful Journeys there, and you'll see why I find Cannes the most charming city in the South of France.

A Little Bit of History

Cannes was, until quite recently in historical terms, a small fishing village. The town you see today — the grand hotels on La Croisette, the international glamour, the festival that stops normal life for more than a week — is almost entirely the creation of the 19th century, when foreign aristocracies fell hopelessly in love with the place. Before all of that: just the sea, the fishing boats, the hill, and the light. Quite difficult to imagine today.

If you walk through the city slowly, you’ll see small signs reading Capitale des Pays de Lérins — a reminder that Cannes is not just a city but the heart of a small archipelago, the gateway to the ancient islands visible from the shore. Most visitors never notice these signs. The ones who do tend to end up on the ferry.

The light is still the thing, by the way. Nothing has changed about that very particular quality of light that has drawn so many artists here over the centuries. When I look at the sky at sunset, or at the bright azure colour of the sea, I understand them completely. It's all very inspiring — you want to create more and more, and somehow can't stop enjoying it, filling up your creative reservoir.

Le Suquet: Morning Coffee and the First Taste of Joie de Vivre

My favorite morning ritual in Cannes was walking up to Le Suquet — the old fishing quarter on the hill above the port — before the city had fully woken up. The streets are narrow, the buildings are ochre and terracotta, the kind of colours that exist specifically to glow in morning light. At the top, beside the 12th-century tower, Place de la Castre opens up and the whole bay spreads out below you: the old port, La Croisette, the Lérins Islands sitting on the water like something from a painting.

This is where I catch myself feeling joie de vivre — the joy of living, a French concept that describes that particular moment of happiness when you feel fully alive and inspired, when you enjoy life and all its elements exactly as they are. It's not about doing nothing at all — it's about being fully present in a small, perfect moment and recognising it for what it is.

The boulangerie-pâtisserie Saint-Antoine is a beloved neighborhood spot with a terrace made for exactly this kind of mornings and afternoons. Order a croissant au beurre and your favorite coffee. Sit, look at the view, let the morning do its thing. And if you see a blueberry éclair in the display — order it. Not too sweet, filled generously with blueberry cream, and made seasonally only in summer, so consider yourself lucky if you catch it.

One practical note: be careful of the pigeons. They have absolutely no shame, and they have been doing this far longer than you have been a tourist…

The Market: The Real Heart of the City

Come down from Le Suquet and walk to Marché Forville — the covered market near the old port that runs every morning until 1pm, except Mondays, when it transforms into an antique market until 4pm. This is where Cannes actually lives. The market is currently half under renovation, so part of it has moved outside in front of the Gare Maritime — but don't let that stop you. The vendors are all there, and the produce is just as good.

You'll find extraordinary French cheeses, vegetables and fruits from nearby farms in Provence, olives and tapenade in every shade from black to deep green, fleurs de courgettes — courgette flowers filled with a light ricotta-like cheese, delicate and unlike anything you'll find outside of France — local honey, chanterelles, fresh berries, and whatever the fishermen brought in that morning.

Go slowly, talk to the vendors, and try something you have never had before. You never know what might make you fall in love. It just takes a little braveness.

Since Cannes is a seaside city, don't miss the fish store right beside the market, it’s called Poissonnerie Forville. Nothing fancy, just locals stopping by for oysters or sea urchins. Simple and incredibly fresh.

Another place I would recommend for fish and seafood lovers is the restaurant Astoux et Brun, just nearby. There's a nice terrace, no reservations — just a queue for a table — but this small wait is absolutely worth it. Their Céviche de Daurade aux Agrumes et Guacamole (sea bream ceviche with citrus and guacamole) is beautiful and well balanced; the Moules Farcies à la Provençale (Provençal stuffed mussels) has such a bright taste thanks to that parsley-butter-garlic stuffing; and the Petit Loup à la Plancha, au Fenouil et Tian de Légumes (grilled small sea bass with fennel and vegetables) arrives perfectly cooked — and they will offer to debone it at the table, so you can enjoy it without any fuss.

La Croisette: Worth One Long Walk

Walk La Croisette. Not for the luxury boutiques — unless you want to, and Cannes is fairly renowned for its shopping — but because the boulevard itself is beautiful in the simplest way: the palm trees, the long curve of the sea, the way the light lands on the water at any hour of the day. This is another place where I like to stop for a coffee, sit on one of these blue chairs for a moment, and fully enjoy these small pauses — looking at the sea, feeling the warmth, letting the horizon do its thing. The horizon from here can make you feel that everything is going to be alright.

After your coffee, continue walking along the sea toward the new port, passing through la Roseraie — a beautiful rose garden where you can lose yourself not only in what you see, but in the aromas drifting from those roses in full bloom.

And this is how you find yourself in Pointe Croisette — another neighborhood of Cannes, quieter and more residential, elegant, leafy part of the city, and completely different in feel from the busy old town or the buzzing centre. Come here when you need tranquility, it will give it to you.

Another shopping street worth knowing is Rue d'Antibes — very lively. And if you get hungry after strolling the stores, from there you can easily reach Rue Hoche, a street lined with restaurants that locals visit daily. One of my favorites is Café Sauvage for breakfast or brunch — a spot with an Eastern European soul, where you'll find syrniki (soft cottage cheese pancakes), draniki (grated potato pancakes served layered with smashed avocado, salmon gravlax, tzatziki, and a fried egg on top), and a perfect omelette. The coffee is excellent too. For lunch or dinner, La Casa di Nonna is where I go when I want Italian food that genuinely feels homemade — warm dishes, warm service, the kind of place that makes you want to come back the next day.

Île Sainte-Marguerite: The Island That Can Steal Your Heart

Take the ferry from the old port. It leaves several times a day and takes fifteen minutes. Sit on the upper deck if you can. The wind will completely rearrange your hair and you will not mind at all, because Cannes will be growing smaller behind you and something ancient and pure nature will be growing in front.

The island is only three kilometrs long. There are no cars and even no trash bins - they’ll provide you a plastic bag to collect all the garbage with you and take to the land. There are a few permanent residents. There is a forest of Aleppo pines and eucalyptus… And fig trees, the topic of my researches for last years. The moment you step off the ferry, the smell hits you before anything else: pine resin, eucalyptus, fig trees and salt air all at once. I find it impossible to describe and impossible to forget too. The scenery is so beautiful, I couldn’t stop taking photos.

The Picnic

Find a spot and enjoy the picnic you bought at Marché Forville this morning. There are also two restaurants on the island, both near the ferry dock, both with terrace tables facing the water. Perfectly good for lunch.

The Man in the Iron Mask

Walk ten minutes east from the ferry dock and you reach Fort Royal — a 17th-century fortress built on the cliffs above the sea. This is where the Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned. I was with my dog, that’s why I wasn’t able to enter this time, so I’ll be back and I hope that my fluffy friend won’t be upset that I went alone, because he liked it here very much.

The Underwater Museum

A few dozen meters off the southern shore of the island, just below the surface of the water, there are six sculptures byBritish artist Jason deCaires Taylor: figures based on the Man in the Iron Mask, made from pH-neutral ecological material, already colonized by sea life. You can reach them by swimming with a mask and snorkel. I skipped this experience because it was cold, so I have another reason to be back. Even if I needed any reason, it is just a pleasure to be here.

A Bit of Culture: Two Museums Worth Your Time

If you find yourself wanting to step away from the sea and into something quieter, Cannes has two museums that genuinely deserve your attention. The first is the Musée des Explorations du Monde, tucked into the medieval castle of the monks of Lérins right at the top of Le Suquet. From there you can see the whole whole city and those views are unforgettable.

The second is La Malmaison, right on La Croisette — a beautiful Belle Époque villa that hosted the very first Cannes Film Festival, and today serves as a contemporary art centre. It reopened in early 2025 after a major renovation. I visited during the exhibition of Carole Benzaken, and the space itself is as worth seeing as the art inside it. There is also a rooftop café if you want to sit with a view over the sea afterwards. With a view like that, it is never enough, right?

There are many more museums in the South of France that deserve their own articles — and they will get them. Make sure you're subscribed to my newsletter so you don't miss the next stories.

The Food: Where Else to Eat in Cannes

The food of Cannes is the food of Provence and the Riviera — olive oil alongside butter, the sea in everything, vegetables that taste of actual sun, herbs from rocky hillsides that carry their dryness and warmth in every leaf. I've already mentioned Marché Forville, Poissonnerie Forville, Astoux et Brun, Café Sauvage, and La Casa di Nonna. Here is the rest of what I love.

La Môme — a Mediterranean restaurant with a warm atmosphere and food that matches it. There are two locations: one in the city, one right on the beach. Both are good; the beach one, for obvious reasons, is hard to leave.

Vegaluna — my go-to for coffee at the beach. You sit with your feet on the sand, the sea in front of you, and nowhere else you need to be. They always brought water for my dog without being asked, which, if you travel with a dog, you will understand is one of the kindest things a place can do.

For Italian

Scalini at the JW Marriott is the kind of Italian that reminds you why Italian food conquered the world — elegant and deeply satisfying.

Vesuvio is where I go for pasta and pizza done simply and correctly.

Bobo for pasta and desserts, in a relaxed neighbourhood atmosphere.

For French

L'Affable is a fine dining restaurant worth booking well in advance — a friend who knows Cannes well recommended it to me and loves their soufflé, which tells you everything you need to know about the kitchen's confidence.

La Petite Maison in Palm Beach serves French Mediterranean food and has a very chic atmosphere — there is always a sense of feast in the air, created by elegantly dressed people, live musicians, loud conversations and laughter all happening at once.

Nammos in Palm Beach is a Mediterranean restaurant that surprised me in the best possible way — perfectly cooked and seasoned meat, and service that was genuinely warm and attentive. The kind of place you don't expect to be this good, and then can't stop thinking about.

La Cantine Provençale is local, unfussy, completely honest. I once ordered the dorade there and it was beautiful in every sense of that word. Their veal sweetbreads were simply melting.

Chai Dee — a Thai restaurant right next to La Cantine Provençale, and one of those places I kept returning to without quite planning to. Their Massaman Kai is the reason. I always ask for it less spicy, and they adjust it perfectly every time, adding a little more coconut milk until it is exactly right.

For breakfast and brunch

Café Crème in the Hilton is where I often spent entire mornings writing, which is the highest compliment I can give a place — the breakfast is good, the coffee is good, and the view over the old port makes you feel like you are living a very pleasant life.

Restaurant Bella at Hôtel Belle Plage is another favourite, with Mediterranean food and an unforgettable view of the sea and hills — beautiful for coffee, breakfast, or a long slow lunch.

La Californie — don't miss their Tiramisu Minute: they make it fresh at the table, right in front of you, and the result is light and airy in the way a tiramisu should be — something I learned from a local chef in Padua, where the dessert was born.

For evenings

Zuma Cannes is a Japanese restaurant where the food is excellent and by evening, the music arrives and the atmosphere lifts into something you want to stay inside for a while longer. A place for dinner that becomes, naturally, late-night drinks. It’s also located in Palm Beach, and if Zuma is fully booked or you don’t like it enough, there’re many other places that you might like to check out.

One Last Thing

Cannes is beautiful all year round. Come for the festival or come in November when the crowds have gone and the light is still warm and golden and the market is full and the island is fifteen minutes away and the restaurants have space and the city exhales. Come with a dog. Come with a notebook. Come hungry. Here is always more to try, discover, and more reasons to stay just one more day... One more night… That is what Cannes does to you. And I say that as someone who planned to stay for a few weeks and ended up staying for months.

More stories from the South of France are coming — Nice, Antibes, Èze, Saint-Tropez, and even more. Subscribe to my newsletter so you don't miss them.

Written: May, 2026.
Please note that places can change or even close temporarily — which is always a bit heartbreaking, especially when they were as wonderful as I remember and recommend. I hope you’ll find them just as delightful!