Travel to Cannes

Flying to Cannes

Nice Côte d'Azur airport is situated 24km (15 miles) to the northeast of Cannes. France's second busiest airport has direct flights to the main cities of France and Europe, and to North America, Africa and the Middle East.

More than 30 airlines fly in and out of Nice, including British Airways, easyJet and Monarch direct from the UK. Delta operates direct flights from the USA. It’s possible to grab a bargain outside the school holidays, but during July and August you’ll pay considerably more.

Planes can also land at Cannes-Mandelieu Airport, a private airport situated 8km (5 miles) from the city centre.

Flight times

To Nice: from London - 2 hours; New York - 8 hours 10 minutes; Los Angeles - 13 hours 45 minutes (including stopover); Toronto - 9 hours 30 minutes (including stopover); Sydney- 24 hours 30 minutes (including stopover).

Travel by road

Motorways bear the prefix 'A', national roads 'N' and minor roads are classed as 'D' roads. Traffic drives on the right and 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 minimum age for driving is 18 years. All passengers must wear seat belts and children under 10 years may not travel in the front seat. You must carry your national driving licence, the car's registration document and a red warning triangle at all times or you may be fined. 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 your domestic policy.

Emergency breakdown services

Cannes Dépannage (tel: +33 4 9219 5151). Free emergency telephones are situated every 1km (0.6 miles) along the motorways.

Routes

The Côte d'Azur is linked to the European network of motorways. The A8 Estérel motorway links Paris to Cannes. From Nice, Exit 42 leads to Cannes.

Coaches

Eurolines (tel: 0892 899 091, in France only or +33 1 4186 2421; www.eurolines.fr) provides services to Nice from neighbouring countries and major French towns and cities. Eurolines buses stop at the Gare Routière Internationale de Lindbergh, the international bus station near the airport at 175 boulevard René Cassin. 

There are two domestic gares routières (coach stations) in Cannes. The main one, at place Cornut-Gentille, serves coastal destinations, while the other, located at place de l'Hôtel de Ville, provides an inland service. Companies operating from both stations include Rapides Côte d'Azur (tel: 0800 060 106, in France only; www.rca.tm.fr), which links Cannes to Nice (city centre and airport), and CTM Cannes La Bocca (tel: +33 4 9390 9292), which links Cannes to Grasse and Mandelieu.

Time to city

From London - 14 hours; Paris - 9 hours; Geneva - 5 hours 30 minutes; Milan - 4 hours.

Travel by Rail

Services

Cannes Ville station is situated at place Pierre Semard and rue Jean Jaurès, which is about a 10-minute walk from the city centre. Cannes is well served by domestic and international trains including the Trains Bleus (Paris-Nice-Ventimiglia Express), TEE (the Trans-Europe Express) and TGV (high-speed trains). 

Most of the staff at the railway station are fluent in English, so if you have any queries they should be able to help you. If you’re heading along the Côte d’Azur by train, you might want to keep your camera handy; the scenery is stunning.

Operators

SNCF (tel: 3635, in France only or +33 892 353 535; www.sncf.com) is France's national railway service provider.

There are direct links to Paris, as well as to Nice, Marseille, Lyon and Genoa. If you're travelling from the UK, you can take a Eurostar train from London to Lille, from where there's a direct TGV service to Cannes.

Journey times

From Paris - 5 hours; Nice - 30 minutes; Marseille - 2 hours 10 minutes; Lyon - 4 hours; Lille - 7 hours; Genoa - 3 hours 30 minutes.