16 Interesting Facts About Cannes, France

Facts on Cannes to Learn All About It

Ready to learn all about Cannes?

Facts are one of the best ways to learn more about something, and I personally love to read them! I’ve put together for you quite a bit of facts on Cannes; I’ve split them in 2 categories:

• The best Cannes facts
• General facts of Cannes

Let’s dive in straight away with the first category!

The Best Cannes Facts

In this first part, I will tell you about my whole 16 Cannes France facts. Some will be about history, some will be uncanny and some will be simply interesting!

1. Cannes was founded around the 2nd century BC

Cannes was first a settlement of a tribe called the Oxybii, people dwelling on the Mediterranean coast, from the Iron Age to the Roman times. The area was called “Aegitna” and was a fishing village as well as a port.

Just like in most European cities, the Romans eventually claimed the area, and built a garrison. When the Empire fell, the city was attacked by both Barbarians and Saracens.

2. Famous and fancy hotels emerged in Cannes during the 19th century

Nowadays, Cannes is very well-known for its festival, but most importantly for its overall wealthy and chic atmosphere. The coastal city is famous for regularly hosting some of the most renowned celebrities, as well as… well, simply rich people.

After Lord Brougham discovered the charm of Cannes, a pier was built in 1838. Then, a casino and an esplanade were founded, and a variety of fancy hotels began to grow, like the Carlton hotel.

3. Lord Brougham was a prominent figure who popularized Cannes

Lord Brougham was an important British statesman, who even became Lord Chancellor from 1830 to 1834 and was a huge part of the abolition of slavery. He spent thirty years of his life in Cannes and made it a popular resort for the British upper-classes.

On top of that, he is the inventor of the “brougham”, a four-wheeled carriage. There is a statue of him in Cannes.

4. During World War I, Cannes was transformed into a medical base

Most European cities, especially in France, suffered one way or another from both World Wars. If you have ever visited Western Europe, you have most probably seen at least one memorial somewhere in a city or in a village.

Cannes’ memorial is dedicated to all of the valiant soldiers who lost their lives during any of the 20th century wars. Its beautiful buildings were almost all transformed into a medical place during WWI.

5. Cannes quickly became a residence for winter homes

You have probably already guessed it, but since Cannes is on the Southern coast of France, the Mediterranean coast, it has pretty superb weather all around the year. On top of having access to the beach and to the sea, Cannes is also not that far away from the Alps mountains.

Following Brougham’s enthusiasm, tons of wealthy British people left England during winter and established themselves a winter home in Cannes.

6. The biggest heist in history took place in Cannes

This kind of makes sense, since Cannes is home to some of the fanciest homes and the wealthiest tourists. Tons of luxury goods transition through the coastal city all around the year.

In 2013, the Cannes jewel heist happened. It is still considered to be one of the most important robberies of all time. An armed robbery took place in the Carlton Intercontinental Hotel with stolen gems and jewelry for a whopping estimate of… $136 million.

7. Grace Kelly got married to Prince Rainier of Monaco in Cannes

Grace Kelly is one of the most famous Hollywood actresses of all time. She became Princess of Monaco when she married Prince Rainier III in 1956.

Her marriage took place in Cannes. After they met while filming Hitchcock’s “To Catch a Thief”, the coastal town saw the union of these two celebrities. Kelly even enhanced the already well-established image of Cannes being a fancy and glamour styled city.

8. The Man in the Iron Mask spent time in the prison off the coast of Cannes

“Île Sainte-Marguerite” is surely the most famous historical site in Cannes. It is an island with a fortress prison on it, 15 minutes away from the city.

If you tour the prison, you will see the cell where the mysterious Man in the Iron Mask spent 11 years of his life. There was even an exhibition dedicated to him in the “Musée de la Mer”, right next to the prison.

9. The “Marché Forville” is the best food market in Cannes

Cannes does not feel like a typical French city, I will give you that. With the amount of tourists and fancy shops, you will probably not get a true feeling of how France is actually like. However, gastronomy will be at its finest in Cannes.

In case you want to learn why French cuisine is so renowned, head to the “Marché Forville”. In there, you will find everything, from fresh vegetables to cheese and even flowers.

10. Cannes is the commerce center of the French Riviera

In fact, Cannes is so renowned as a shopping city that it is labeled as the “Sister City of Beverly Hills”. In there, you will find some of the fanciest shops of all the French Riviera.

One of the most famous avenues is “Boulevard de la Croisette”, in which you can see tons of luxury hotels and fancy restaurants. In the “Rue d’Antibes”, you will find the most interesting shops.

11. You can explore underwater in the vicinity of Cannes

If you have bathophobia you might not want to do what I am about to tell you. In Cannes, you can have a look at what’s under the waters with a glass-bottomed boat named the Nautilus. While it is not the same as the one from Jules Verne’s classic, the idea remains the same.

If you want to try it, head to Cannes during summer, during which the boat departs every hour.

12. There is everything you need in Cannes, even a nudist beach

Not only is “Plage de la Batterie” one of the best beaches in all southern France, but it is also ideal for both gay couples and nudists. If you want to break free from social constraints in a very serious and fancy city, this is the perfect place for you.

Some families even go there together! I guess the beach is quiet so you can just ignore the naked people running around if you are not into that…

13. The famous Cannes Festival nearly never happened

Jean Zay was one of France’s greatest reforming education ministers. He first thought of the idea of hosting a global film festival in 1939, in order for France to become a rival to the Venice festival (because it was at that time loved by both Mussolini and Hitler).

Biarritz, in southwestern France, was the first city that was chosen. However, since they did not have enough money… Cannes grabbed it!

14. Several plants that make the French Riviera and Cannes famous come from elsewhere

If you picture the French Riviera, you immediately think of palm trees and mimosa blossoms.

The first ones were introduced to France from Spain, in 1864, by a founding member of the French Society of Photography. The latter come from very far away: Australia! The mimosa was brought to Cannes by the British in the 1800s. On top of that, there are also a bit of eucalyptus trees, which came from Africa.

15. The population of Cannes is… variable

If you think about the city of Cannes alone, in what I would call “normal times”, there are just a bit more than 70,000 inhabitants, which is honestly not that much for a city on the “Côte d’Azur”.

However, when it is Festival time, the population of the city rises dramatically to 200,000 people! I guess you can say that Cannes is one of the only cities in the world with such a drastic change of demography.

16. During the Cannes Festival, the city is covered with 2 kilometers / 1.2 miles of red carpet!

That’s right, the red carpet you see on television, next to the entrance of the building with stairs is not the only place you can see the symbol of the festival. There are 2 kilometers / 1.2 miles worth of red carpet spread through the city.

On top of that, they all have to be changed 3 times a day: so many people walk on it that it gets very dirty, very quickly!

And there you have them, these were all the Cannes France interesting facts. I hope you enjoyed them and that you learned something new today.

In case you want to learn more about the city, or the country as a whole, feel free to keep reading, as I still have lots of facts to tell you about:

General Facts of Cannes

You’ll find below a few general facts of Cannes, to learn more about this French city:

• Name: Cannes
• Province: Cannes
• Region: Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur
• Land area: 19.62 km² / 7.58 sq mi
• Population: 74,000
• Name of inhabitants: Cannois, Cannoise (French)
• Website: Cannes

Cannes Flag

More Facts!

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Here is the main guide of the best France facts 👉 The 60 Best Facts about France

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Or click here to see ALL the facts up on the blog! Spoiler alert: there’s A LOT of them.

The Full List of 16 Cannes Facts

1. Cannes was founded around the 2nd century BC
2. Famous and fancy hotels emerged in Cannes during the 19th century
3. Lord Brougham was a prominent figure who popularized Cannes
4. During World War I, Cannes was transformed into a medical base
5. Cannes quickly became a residence for winter homes
6. The biggest heist in history took place in Cannes
7. Grace Kelly got married to Prince Rainier of Monaco in Cannes
8. The Man in the Iron Mask spent time in the prison off the coast of Cannes
9. The “Marché Forville” is the best food market in Cannes
10. Cannes is the commerce center of the French Riviera
11. You can explore underwater in the vicinity of Cannes
12. There is everything you need in Cannes, even a nudist beach
13. The famous Cannes Festival nearly never happened
14. Several plants that make the French Riviera and Cannes famous come from elsewhere
15. The population of Cannes is… variable
16. During the Cannes Festival, the city is covered with 2 kilometers / 1.2 miles of red carpet!

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