How to Plan a Not-So-Fancy Day Trip From Nice to Cannes

A day trip from Nice to Cannes is an easy excursion if you’re already visiting the French Riviera. We were staying in Nice on our own trip there, so we took the scenic train ride from Nice to Cannes the morning of our trip without a ton of extra planning.

If you’re interested in doing the same during your visit to Nice, I’ve put together a guide to how we made it happen. I include tips on what to do once you’re in Cannes with an emphasis on the not-so-fancy.

You don’t need to doll yourself up for this one unless you want to, no matter what you’ve heard about visiting Cannes!

A day trip from Nice to Cannes is easy.

You can easily visit Cannes on a day trip from Nice. We had enough time for a side trip to Sainte Marguerite Island on our own full-day tour of Cannes, but you can easily fill up a day’s worth of activities without the added boat ride.

How far is Cannes from Nice?

Cannes is 21 miles, or about 34 kilometers, from Nice. The distance from Nice to Cannes feels pretty breezy if you’re watching the scenery go by on the train.

How to Get to Cannes From Nice

The train is the easiest and most economical way to get from Nice to Cannes. Start off your morning early, with one of the first trains out. You’ll want as much time as possible in Cannes, especially if you’re only there for the day.

The Nice to Cannes train takes a little more than half an hour and is a comfortable ride.

We were able to buy tickets at the Nice-Ville station, the main train station in the city, without any problems and within minutes. There is one main station in Cannes, Gare de Cannes, for trains into Cannes.

You can check times on your maps app, but generally, you’ll get a train every half hour. SNCF is the main train operator in Nice and across France.

I called the train from Nice to Cannes the “warm blanket train” for how nap-worthy it was, although that may have also been the wine and cheese.

READ MORE: Curious about what there is to do in Nice? I have a detailed itinerary!

If you like exploring your options, here they are:

• Take a bus from Nice to Cannes. You’ll just likely need to transfer at some point during your journey. If you go that route, the Cannes bus system is run by Palm Bus.
• Take a ferry from Nice to Cannes. There are several options available if you’re eyeing a Nice to Cannes ferry or Nice to Cannes boat ride. Start with the Trans Côte d’Azur for more budget-friendly options.
• Drive or share a ride from Nice to Cannes. If you’re traveling with a group, sharing a car, rideshare, or taxi can make for a scenic drive. It may be a more comfortable way to travel if train timetables don’t work out for you and your group.
• Book a guided tour. I love doing the French Riviera in a self-guided way, but if the thought of that is intimidating, there are other options. Here are a few highly-rated guided experiences from Nice to Cannes:

Many of the tours include trips to nearby towns like Antibes. We LOVED Antibes, but you don’t need a tour to make it happen from Nice. I have more in my guide to Antibes if you’d like to take a look!

Things to Do in Cannes

Before I get on with it, here’s a brief disclaimer: France is notorious for random business closings when it comes to its bars and eateries.

Before getting your heart set on what you’ll be eating (or drinking) on your Cannes day trip from Nice, it’s always best to call ahead if you have any must-dos on your list.

Even better, have an alternative plan at the ready in case the establishment you want to visit on your trip to Cannes is closed.

Stroll Le Suquet.

Le Suquet is Cannes’ oldest area, and what would be considered the city’s “old town.” Its windy, narrow streets will give you a bit of a workout following lunch as you climb up Rue Saint-Antoine.

Once you’re at the top, you’ll see the Musée de la Castre. We didn’t go in, as for us it was enough to see the medieval tower from the outside.

If you visit, you’ll be treated to landscape paintings, musical instruments from around the world and, if you climb the tower, views of the surroundings below.

A stop we did make was at the Église Notre-Dame de l’Esperance, a 17th-century church still in operation as a place of worship. If you’re there in July, the area outside is used for concerts, which sounds dreamy.

Note: We saw some ads for a Christmas concert the upcoming weekend, as well.

Snap a pic at the Cannes sign.

Instagram lovers will enjoy the Cannes sign just opposite the church. We had one of us take pics from down below to get the full sign in the shot. I mean, it’s a must, pretty much, even though it was probably placed there for this purpose.

If anything, the view from up there is fantastic.

Make a stop at the Hotel de Ville.

We made a quick stop outside of the Hotel de Ville, a former hotel that is now the city’s town hall. A visit inside isn’t necessary, as its significance is the exterior architecture.

A war memorial across the street from the town hall honors the country’s dead soldiers across wars since World War I.

READ MORE: If you DO like things a little fancy, you may want to plan a trip to Monaco while you’re close.

Wander Le Vieux Port.

Walking through Le Vieux Port is where things start to get fancy in Cannes. It’s a busy port where celebrities and generally rich humans dock their yachts. This is before doing their boutique shopping and eating snails and things on land.

Note: All jokes aside, this is actually one of the oldest ports on the French Riviera.

We had some fun pondering who owned which yacht. There were no George Clooney sightings.

Feel like a movie star at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès.

Passing by the port, we followed our online maps to find the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, where the Cannes Film Festival is held every year. There is a series of 22 steps that we wanted to take photos on, famous for leading into the main hall.

It’s where all the Meryls and other celebs (but really, who else matters?) ascend to take in the year’s best films.

Fun fact: Dinard in Brittany is home to a competing film festival focused on British art and artists. The town is also SUPER charming!

We felt pretty proud of ourselves when we found what we thought were the steps. We spent approximately 15 minutes taking photos doing various poses and duck lips. I even got on the ground for some leg action.

Sure, we thought it was weird that there was no one else there, and they were just these drab gray stairs leading into what, in hindsight, looked like an entrance for the help, or at most, the D-list celebs.

We went for it anyway.

We continued our way around the building and our hearts sank when we saw a line of people waiting to take their photos on the actual steps, decorated with a red carpet and all.

My friend Cindy and I decided we had to attempt a re-do of what just occurred on the D-list steps, but this time we did it together…since there was a line.

In any case, if you don’t see the red carpet, you’re in the wrong place.

See the handprints at L’Office de Tourisme de Cannes.

Continue making your way past the actual steps and you’ll pass L’Office de Tourisme de Cannes.

You don’t need to step inside unless you’re looking for additional information on things to do in Cannes, but it’s worth some time to check out the handprints of celebrities who have visited Cannes for the film festival.

The prints are right outside the tourism office and wrap around the festival building.

Basically, I can say I held Meryl Streep’s hand now that I’ve placed my hand in her handprint.

Not creepy at all, right?

Promenade La Croisette.

We continued our fancy times down La Croisette, the main shopping drag in Cannes. It’s a beautiful promenade with all kinds of cheesy stops to make.

Brian wanted to feel what it was like to be held by Leonardo DiCaprio, so he pulled a Kate Winslet in a cardboard cutout at one point.

Photos of famous faces who have visited the film festival are found along the sidewall. We considered walking into one of the boutiques (Prada, to be exact), and then looked at ourselves and thought against it.

La Croisette took us all the way to the InterContinental Carlton Cannes, a hotel that feels rich and famous, where we spotted a gal taking selfies without trying to look like she was taking selfies.

We thought about asking her if she wanted us to take her photo, but it all looked very purposeful.

She was probably selling something, like Rolex watches or whatever else people wear to the InterContinental.

Enjoy some wine in Cannes.

It’s easy to find great wine in Cannes. Our pick was Le Cirque, a bistro on a busy side street with cheap wine and plentiful outdoor seating. Unfortunately, outdoor seating in France often means you’re exposed to secondhand smoke.

France, you do so well in so many things. Why so much smoking?

The only fun thing about being around cigarette smoke was watching a youth blow smoke right into the ear of the friend next to him for a good half hour. The friend never protested, so I had many questions about that dynamic.

The bistro was very busy, with one waiter handling all of the folks outside. His relief person appeared to be panicking, speed walking the interior with butter knives in his hands.

We weren’t in a rush, so we split some warmed camembert and bone marrow with our cheap wine.

Take a trip to Sainte-Marguerite Island.

I hate when bloggers take you away from the destination you’re researching to do something elsewhere, but I have to include this one here. It’s just too good.

Sainte-Marguerite Island is home to the Musée de la Mer inside the Fort Royal. The main draw of the museum is the chance to see the prison of the Man in the Iron Mask.

Yes, I’m talking about the same mysterious man played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie of the same name.

If you’re not aware of the legend, the man was an unidentified prisoner whose face was hidden from view. The material the mask was made out of has never been determined, but I like to go with iron, based on the works of Alexandre Dumas.

Oh, you didn’t know you’d get schooled here, too?

Fun fact: Visiting Île St-Honorat is another option if you’re not into Sainte-Marguerite Island. The island is essentially run by the monastery there.

We got tickets online for the ferry to Sainte Marguerite Island. It’s cheaper to do so. There seem to be a few tour operators, but we used the Riviera Lines site.

There are no times attached to tickets, so you’ll need to visit the booth at the Port de Cannes before your trip for timed paper tickets, even if you book online.

Ferries run about every hour out to the island, apart from a two-hour break in the middle of the day when everyone is having lunch. The workers will tell you which dock to wait at.

Your ticket is roundtrip, and you can get on any of the return boats from the island.

The ride out to Sainte Marguerite Island, Île Sainte-Marguerite, was only 15 minutes, but it was a bumpy 15 minutes. If you’ve got motion sickness, it’s best to prep ahead of time.

I was definitely doing the stare-at-the-horizon thing the whole way out, despite taking some seasickness tablets.

Tickets were €6 at the time of this guide. It doesn’t cost anything to wander the grounds.

We checked the time after we saw all of the remaining exhibits in the museum — paintings inspired by the prison, the remains from shipwrecks in the surrounding waters, and Roman cisterns — and realized we could make the next ferry back.

If we waited, we’d need to deal with a long lunch break for the ferry operators. We shook a leg and made the ferry.

Be less like us and check the timetables ahead of time, if you don’t want to be stuck out on the island for a good chunk of time.

We really didn’t feel like we missed anything by bolting out of there, but that doesn’t mean I don’t highly recommend a visit. We’re all about checking out the weird and wonderful on our trips, and this was certainly that.

Interested in more of a guided experience? Check out these tours to Île Sainte-Marguerite and other islands nearby:

More Things to Do in Cannes

As we spent our morning on the island, there were some things we missed in Cannes proper. Here’s what’s on our list for next time:

• Check out the city art. Les murs peints, or “the painted walls,” are frescoes throughout the city dedicated to Cannes’ love of cinema. Cinema Cannes on the Place Cornut-Gentille looks particularly striking.
• Explore Marché Forville. This local market near the port is a great option for fresh produce, meats, and local foods if you’re not in a hurry. I love getting to know a place by noshing on its local foods, especially in France.
• Visit the best beaches in Cannes. While we had great weather for a day in Cannes, it wasn’t beach weather by any means. If you’re here for the beach, Plage du Midi, Port Palm Beach, and Plage de la Bocca are great options.
• Take a guided tour. If you’d like a specialized tour, there are some fun options out there. This one digs into the city’s film history. This guided experience takes you around town on a cute vintage bus.

Where to Eat in Cannes

Our eating in Cannes was a little sporadic as we had ferries to navigate and catch, but things started off in a delightful way.

When you’re in France, it’s important to eat as many pastries as you can. Our pick was La Boulangerie par Jean-Luc Pelé. Somehow, it was my first croissant on the trip, and it was well worth the wait, with pain au chocolat for Brian.

If you’ve got some time to kill, the bakery is near the historic Rue Meynadier, a pedestrian-only street full of specialty shops.

Just imagine yourself back in the day in a horse and carriage situation, shopping for your cheeses and your hats and your shoe polish, or whatever.

As far as more substantial meals, we had gotten those quick market sandwiches on our way to the island, so we had those on a very windy bench once we returned to shore in Cannes.

We didn’t know we wouldn’t need the additional time exploring Sainte Marguerite Island, but now you do. If you time things right, you can grab lunch back on land if you want to take a boat ride.

Here are some options for dining in Cannes that were on our list:

• Aux Bons Enfants: If you’re feeling like a nice sit-down meal, try this family-run establishment. Reservations are available online and are highly recommended.
• Fromagerie Ceneri: This cheese shop has been serving up local yums from the Provence region since 1968. I have no problems with cheese plates as meals.
• La Table du Chef: This bistro is known for its ever-changing menus, big on the freshest ingredients. Reservations are available on La Fourchette.

Where to Stay in Cannes

If you’re on day trips from Nice, that’s where you’ll stay. Our pick was the Hostel Ozz Nice.

They have both hostel-type accommodations and private rooms with bathrooms. This is budget lodging, for sure, so expect small spaces. You’ll have more cash for exploring the Riviera, though.

If you’re lucky enough to have an overnight in Cannes vs. a Nice to Cannes day trip, check out these well-reviewed options from the map below:

Is Cannes worth visiting?

I’ve been to Cannes twice now, and I will say the second time allowed me to appreciate it more. Most travelers have this idea of Cannes in their minds that it’s all glitz and glamour, but as you’ve seen from this guide, there’s so much more to Cannes.

A day trip to Cannes from Nice is an easy introduction to not only Cannes but the French Riviera. It’s also scenic as heck, a big reason why I’m sure I’ll be back.

Planning more travel in France? Check out these guides:

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• Winter in Colmar Is a Magical Thing!
• Why (and How!) We Moved to France
• A Guide to Playing at Le Golf National

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