Cannes, on the French Riviera

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Cannes grew up a small fishing town to become a haven for international celebrities and the social elite. In the 11th century, Cannes was owned by monks, whose budget, fattened by wealthy pilgrims, allowed them to expand beyond their monastery to the nearby Island of St Honorat. They built a square tower on the top of the hill, as a lookout post for Saracen pirates. It still stands, next to the Castre Museum, in the heart of Le Suquet, Cannes' Old Town that was built on the site of a Roman military camp. The fishing tradition lives on and fish caught at the Vieux Port – to the west of the Palais des Festivals – are brought daily by the fishermen to the covered Forville Market, where they are sold by their wives, who rarely fit the city's glamorous image.

Today, tourism has largely replaced spirituality on the Cannes mainland, although the monks still pray five hours a day on their tiny island. It was Lord Brougham, former British Chancellor of the Exchequer, whose visit to Cannes in 1834 established the city's reputation as a health resort among the British aristocracy. The trend spread to the French establishment and the arrival of the railway increased Cannes' accessibility. Soon the international aristocracy was playing golf and sunning themselves in the most coveted part of the Côte d'Azur, favoured for its hot and dry Mediterranean climate. This internationally famous city of Cannes is really little more than a grandiose village that can easily be covered by foot, although the stars of the film festival may opt for a limousine.