One reason we picked the Riviera for this experimental
winter stay in France (other than the fact that it’s warmer here than in Maine
by about 30 - 40 degrees most days) is the great local transportation
system. By bus or by train,
you can wander up and down the coast and (by bus) into the hills and
hinterland. The bus network
costs 1 Euro per ride – about $1.30 and can take you from Cannes all the way to
the Italian border.
I’ve only been to Cannes once before, for a luxury travel conference, when
Air France lost my luggage and I stomped around under the sunshine for five
days in my winter boots. I saw
only the breakfast room (very lovely, with a sea view) and my room (don’t
remember it) and the conference (very crowded), and a long string of luxury
shops lining the Croisette.
Not my style, really.
But we’re here and it’s close, so we went. And it turns out that off-season at least,
Cannes has another side, less glamour-girl movie festival and more down home France - with a few luxury touches, of course.
We arrived on a really good day. A big brocante (flea market) had set up near the port, right
next to a sizable Christmas Market and across from a carnival of rides.
Of course being Cannes there were furs for sale, as well as
other items.
So we browsed and then made our way through the old part of
Cannes, called Le Suquet, where a good market street ran up to the base of the
hill. You can always tell which
shops are the best, by the lines waiting.
Obviously this butcher shop is a good one.
The top of the hill holds a church and a museum, with good
views down across the town and the bay with its fleet of yachts.
There’s also a huge covered market, much larger than the one
here in Antibes, surrounded by cafés and restaurants.
Note that there are exotic products imported even from the
USA.
And something I'd never seen before. At the café outside the market where we stopped for coffee, blankets were thoughtfully provided, in case the sitting got too chilly.
Lest you forget that you’re in the city of the film
festival, some of the wall paintings will remind you. Gérard Philipe, a famous French actor born in Cannes,
adorns one of the city’s painted walls.
And leaving on the bus, we spotted another movie icon.