The 5 essential guided tours of Cannes

Guides de France is a national platform that groups together the offer of guided tours and excursions with qualified guides listed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Today, the Guides de France take you to Cannes. They have selected five guided tours for you, which will allow you to find out more about one of the most beautiful towns on the Côte d’Azur. Cannes is one of the essential locations on the Côte d’Azur that the Guides Sud Provence recommend you visit, along with Nice, Antibes, Monaco and Saint-Paul-de-Vence.

VISIT AN AUTHENTIC CANNES WITH THE GUIDES DE FRANCE

Cannes’ image is closely linked to the film festival… That said, away from the glitter and the sparkling La Croisette, there is an ancient centre, up high, the Le Suquet district, which can be reached via narrow alleyways such as Rue Meynadier. The whole area was fortified by the abbots of Lérins, lords of the Cannes estate in the Middle Ages, then, in the 16th century, a church, Notre-Dame d’Espérance [Our Lady of Hope], was built; at the feet of this, magnificent viewpoints open out over the entire bay and, in the distance, towards the islands of Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Honorat. To find out more about the authentic and ancient Cannes, follow the Guides de France and book your tour.

Book your “Authentic Cannes” guided tour with the Guides de France

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CANNES AND THE CINEMA REVEALED WITH THE GUIDES DE FRANCE

The origins of the 7th art in Cannes date back to the 1930s when, to tackle the rising political dangers in Germany and Italy, the governments of the French Republic, on the initiative of Jean Zay, decided to create a so-called “free” cinema festival. The 1st edition, scheduled for September 1939, was cancelled due to the start of World War II. Once peace returned, Cannes finally hosted its event: it was now September 1946. Since then, the links between the town and the silver screen have ceaselessly intensified. The Guides de France will tell you tales of the Cannes Film Festival, long and short! They will also take you to La Croisette and tell you the story of one of the biggest hotels on the promenade. For an initial glimpse of your guided tour of Cannes, listen again to the Guides de France on France Bleu Azur.

Book your “Cannes and the cinema” guided tour

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THE GUIDES DE FRANCE TICKLE YOUR TASTEBUDS WITH A GOURMET CANNES

Cannes is a town that lives to the rhythm of the Forville market and its food stores, about which the Guides de France know the secrets. The Guides de France will have you discover Cannes and its region through unusual, tasty experiences, first at the market and then in the surrounding shops. Tapenades, pissaladières, olives and wines are on the menu for this gourmet tour designed especially for those who love good products and sharing fun moments with family or friends. The Guides de France have several addresses in their directory that will allow you to learn about Cannes and its region through taste. Follow them for a gourmet tour thanks to which you’ll learn more about the history of the market, the work of the architect Henri Bret in 1929 and which has some wonderful stories to go with it.

Book your gourmet tour of Cannes

A TOUR IN THE FORM OF A SPIRITUAL RETREAT WITH THE LERINS ABBEY

Cannes houses one of the oldest monastic communities of Europe with the Cistercian Abbey of Lérins. This was founded in the 5th century by Honorat d’Arles who, according to legend, went to the habitable islands off the coast of Cannes after having asked God to chase away the snakes by praying to him from the top of a palm tree. This legend has fed a powerful image of this tree, which explains the most important prize at the Cannes film Festival being…. the Palme d’Or [Golden Palm]. During a stroll on Saint-Honorat Island, the Guides de France will have you visit the abbey, showing you the most beautiful viewpoints and having you go back in time. Book your guided tour with them and, for a preview of this, listen again to the interview given on this subject to France Bleu Azur.

Book your guided tour of the Lérins abbey, off the coast of Cannes

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A HIKING TOUR AROUND THE SAINTE-MARGUERITE ROYAL FORT

Sainte-Marguerite Island would bear the name of the sister of Honorat d’Arles, the founder of the Lérins abbey on the neighbouring island. It is the largest on the Lérins archipelago, which is found off the coast of Cannes: it plays the role of sentinel against the town’s enemies, which were, chronologically, the Arabs in the 8th century, then the Spanish in the 16th and 17th centuries. Aware that the taking of the island could threaten the south of his kingdom, Louis XIV commissioned Vauban to construct a military fort, completed by a royal prison in 1685. This was operational until the First World War and housed famous prisoners, the identities of whom the Guides de France will be pleased to reveal during a guided tour in the form of a hike that will also allow you to discover spots for moving memories and flora that is characteristic of the Mediterranean climate.

Book your guided tour of Sainte Marguerite island, off the coast of Cannes, with Guides de France

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