m ft
The place of the famous Cannes Film Festival, Cannes receives much worldwide attention because of it.
France » French Riviera

Why Visit
The city offers much like sandy beaches, shops, restaurants, the curving Croisette broadwalk and all in a gorgeous natural environment.

History
The area was first inhabited by the Ligurian tribes in the second century BC. It was known as Aegitna to the Greeks. In 69 AD, in the Year of the Four Emperors, it was the site of a battle between the forces of emperor Othos and emperor Vitellius. By the 10th century the town was known as Canua and was a small Ligurian port. It was attacked by Saracens in 891. The raids and insecurity forced the monks living on the Lérin Islands to settle at Suquet, on the mainland. In 1035 the town was fortified to protect against raiders. By that time it was known as Cannes. Around 1530 the town became independent from the monks. At the end of the 19th century several railways were built which improved the infrastructure of the town.

In the 20th century new luxury hotels like the Miramar and the Martinez were built. The city was modernized with a sports centre, a post office and schools. It attracted many American tourists after World War I and a summer casino at the Palm Beach was constructed. On September 20, 1946 the now-famous international film festival opened, held in the Casino Municipal.

Museums - Archeological
The city is home to many museums and important sites. The Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Provence houses artifacts from prehistoric to present, in an 18th-century mansion. The Musée de la Castre has objects from the Pacific Atolls, Peruvian relics and Mayan pottery. Other venues include the Musée de la Marine, Musée de la Mer, Musée de la Photographie and Musée International de la Parfumerie. There are also many villas in Cannes. Most of them however are not open to the public, with the exception of Villa Domergue, which can be visited on appointment.

Beaches
The Cannes coastline runs 15km from the foothills of the Esterel mountains to the eastern city limits and including the Iles de Lerins. About 7.5km of the Cannes coastline is beach. There are 13 public beaches, two municipal beaches and 33 private beach restaurants.

The coastline of Cannes proper can be divided into five separate beach zones: Ganzagnaire, the furthest east; Port Canto near the port of the same name; La Croisette where most of the hotels lie; Boulevard de Midi west of the town centre; La Bocca in a residential neighbourhood furthest west. Each zone is a mixture of public and private beaches although La Croisette has the smallest space devoted to public beaches and the most expensive beach-restaurants.

Religious Monasteries and Churches
Cannes is the seat of Cannes deanery in the diocese of Nice. The town is divided into two Catholic parishes, St. Nicolas to the east and St. Vincent de Lérins the west. The Catholic community has in the parish of St. Nicolas church Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Voyage of the Sacred Heart du Prado, the Christ the King, built in St. Joseph in 1930, Notre-Dame-de-Hope, blessed in 1645 and Notre-Dame-des-Pins, chapels Memorial, St. Paul, of Mercy, St. Roch and St. Georges inaugurated in 1887. The parish of St. Vincent de Lérins has in common church Sainte-Marguerite and Saint-Jean-Bosco and the Chapel of St. Cassian installed in the airport.

Several religious communities have settled in the town whose Auxiliatrices sisters, the Sisters of the Assumption Lochabaire and missionaries of Our Lady.

The Russian Orthodox community has the church of Saint-Michel-Archange. Cannes also has an Anglican church. The Protestant community has a temple of the Reformed Church, 7 rue Notre-Dame, built in 1874 and another Evangelical Church. The Jewish community has two synagogues, one being Commander Vidal street, and the other 147 boulevard d' Alsace. A proposed mosque for the Muslim community was being financed in 2010.