Cannes is truly an iconic city on the French Riviera. In this article where we list Cannes facts, it’s impossible not to mention the Cannes film festival as the festival is so important to the city, and has such a huge impact on it. Partly thanks to the film festival, Cannes has been able to establish itself as a city of glitz and glamour where many rich and famous come to stay and spend their vacation, but as the facts about Cannes will reveal, there’s so much more to the beautiful city on the French Riviera than that.
In this post, you’ll learn through the Cannes facts that the history of Cannes is long and rich, and was a city long before the Cannes film festival came about. The facts about Cannes will also reveal how people live here, and the factors that have contributed to shaping the city into what it is today.
Top most interesting Cannes facts: Facts about Cannes
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The mysterious and iconic Man in the Iron Mask spent 11 years of his isolated life on the island belonging to the commune of Cannes, Just a 15-minute ferry ride from the main city
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Cannes is coined as the ”Sister City of Beverly Hills”
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Cannes is seen as the commerce and activity center of the French Riviera
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Boulevard de la Croisette is the most famous street in Cannes
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On Boulevard de la Croisette, you’ll find Palais des Festivals, the location of the world-renowned Cannes International Film Festival
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Every day of the week, except on Monday, you can visit the best food market in Cannes, the Marche Forville
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Cannes was first mentioned in 42 BC e
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Interesting Cannes fact: the Ligurian Oxybii established a settlement in Cannes by the 2nd century BC
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The city area of Cannes is 19.62 km2 (7.58 sq mi)
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Cannes has a population of 73,000
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Cannes was detached from the monks and became independent after having been ruled by them for hundreds of years in 1530
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Cannes’s train station Gare de Cannes station opened in 1863
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Cannes was attacked by the Saracens in 891 and remained in their control until the end of the 10th century. The Saracens devastated Cannes and the area around it
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The Cannes Film Festival was founded in 1939
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The first full-length Cannes Film Festival opened in 1946
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The Empress of Russia came to Cannes accompanied by the entire royal court in the hopes of returning to good health with the help of the amazing climate in Cannes. An interesting fact about Cannes is that many of the visitors from this trip enjoyed Cannes so much that they decided to build houses here. This has contributed to growing Cannes into a resort
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Work began on building a pier in Cannes in 1838 which, when finished, helped attract the yachting community, which meant lots of wealthy individuals
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Cannes was home to many large ‘Belle Epoque’ villas and hotels by the end of the 19th century. Most of the buildings still stand today, including iconic buildings like the famous Carlton Hotel, built for the members of the English aristocracy
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In the 20th century, the war reached Cannes
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During World War One many of the large buildings in Cannes were requisitioned and used to treat the wounded
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In the 1920s, tourism started to grow substantially in Cannes. Part of the reason is that sunbathing became fashionable, which drew lots of tourists to the amazing beaches of Cannes
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Interesting fact about Cannes: In the 1920s, Cannes was more accessible to the lower classes which means more people could go to Cannes for their vacations
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Cannes was occupied by German and Italian forces during World War Two
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Cannes was liberated in 1944 by the Americans in 1944. Another interesting Cannes fact about this is that the liberation operation is said to have involved the American actor Mr. Douglas Fairbanks Jr, who captained a US naval ship
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The iconic Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic opened in 1923
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The famous art deco style Hôtel Martinez opened in 1929. Today, the hotel is known as Grand Hyatt Cannes Hotel Martinez and was opened in 2012
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The oldest hotel in Cannes is InterContinental Carlton Cannes which opened in 1911
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Here’s an interesting fact about Cannes that not too many people know about: The Cannes film festival was supposed to begin in Cannes in 1939, but due to the war, the launch date was put off
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The mainland of Cannes has 7.5 kilometers sloping sandy beaches
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The coastline of Cannes is officially 15 kilometers long, but this also includes the Lerins islands
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Not really the most surprising fact about Cannes, but Cannes is one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious film festivals
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In 1834, Lord Brougham who was a former Lord Chancellor of England was detained in Cannes during a trip to Italy. The reason? A cholera outbreak that temporarily prevented him from traveling to his end destination Nice
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Cannes is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department
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In the 10th century, the town was known as Canua
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Here are some interesting facts about Cannes: there are 13 public beaches in Cannes. There are two town beaches and 33 private beaches
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It is believed that the name Cannes derives from “canna,” a reed
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Cannes is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur, France
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Cannes has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa)
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Cannes enjoys 11 hours of sunshine per day during the summer month of July
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Cannes’s economy is based on tourism, business fairs, trade, and aviation
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Cannes has 6,500 companies, of which 3,000 are traders, artisans and service providers
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In 2006, 421 new companies were registered in Cannes
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Cistercian monks are the only inhabitants of the southern island of L’erins, St Honorat Island
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Monks have inhabited the island Saint-Honorat, belonging to Cannes since AD 410
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Cannes is situated 24 km (15 mi) from Nice Côte d’Azur Airport
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Cannes is the only French town that has 3 casinos
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Every year, 200,000 actors, directors, producers, agents and fans come to Cannes for the film festival. That’s an interesting Cannes fact, to say the least
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The hotels of Cannes make 15% of its annual turnover in just 12 days during the Cannes Film festival. This certainly is one of the more interesting facts about Cannes
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On his return from Elba in 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte stayed in Cannes
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Cannes has more luxury goods shops than anywhere else in France outside Paris
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Around 70 top name brands have their stores along the Boulevard de la Croisette in Cannes, in an area of just 800 meters
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In 2013, a robber, believed to be one of the Pink Panthers, took gems worth 103 million euros (US$112 million) from the Carlton hotel as they were being displayed. The heist remains the biggest heist of all time
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Cannes is a French town, yet despite this, t it was actually the British who made it what it is today
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There are 100 hotels in Cannes
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The total number of rooms available in the hotels in Cannes are around 6,000
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32 of the 100 hotels are four-star or more
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The Croisette is s 3 kilometers long
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In total, the Palais des Festivals now has 44,000 m² of exhibition space
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In 1915, Cannes was classified as a seaside resort by ministerial decree
As the Cannes facts revealed, the city on the French Riviera is a city with a long and rich history. The events and history have helped shape Cannes into what it is today, now attracting millions of tourists each year. From being a small fishing village, it has established itself as one of the most iconic and luxurious cities on the French Riviera, known all over the world.
How many of these Cannes facts did you know from before? Which facts about Cannes did you find the most interesting?
Let us know in the comment section below! We’d love to hear about it!
Check out the top Cannes books
Moon French Riviera: Nice, Cannes, Saint-Tropez, and the Hidden Towns in Between
Murder in Cannes: A French Riviera Mystery
French Riviera Made Easy: The Best of the Côte d’Azur: Nice, Monaco, St-Tropez, Cannes, Antibes, Villefranche and More!
