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Bargain Travel Europe guide to Europe on a budget for vacation destinations, travel ideas and secret spots missed by travel tours.

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
Glamour on the Riviera on a Budget

So you're going to Cannes. You want to rub elbows on the red carpet with famous movie stars at the grandest international world film premier. Or you're an independent filmaker with a movie to pedal at the Marche du Film. You're planning late, going on a budget, or it's all just new. Don't know where to stay, in Cannes, nearby, in Nice. What about the crowds. Is the food that expensive? Do you need a tux?

The Cannes Festival dates for 2008 are May 14 to May 25

Most Cannes hotels near the Palais du Festival book early or are very expensive. The hotels that remain available until later on in the game at a modest price can be found a distance from the Croisette. Many rooms you might find are in the district of Cannes La Bocca, Le Cannet about 2 to 3 miles from the Palais or in the nearby Riviera towns of Antibes or Juan le Pins (see Juan Les Pins). And there are almost always rooms in Nice (see Nice Choice Hotels), a 25 minute train ride. If you know well ahead of time you're going to Cannes for the festival you can look for weekly apartments at Iimmosol.

The train ride from Nice is convenient and the Nice Gare is about 4 blocks from the Palais. The fare from Nice is 11 Euro. You can get day or week pass from kiosks at the Cannes or Nice rail station, (Cannes Gare - Nice Gare) or stops in between like Antibes. The one drawback is if you want to stay late for parties, the last train leaves at midnight. Many hotels in Cannes run shuttles but they often stop around 9 or 10 pm. If you're going to evening festival premiere screenings or official parties a tux or evening wear is expected. Even all the press cameramen wear tuxes to stand outside. You can rent them locally if you don't want to pack. For Marche du Film market screenings or afternoon festival shows leave the tux at home. And if you're not involved in the festival or don't have a pass, you can buy tickets to individual regular screenings.

For lowest airfares you can check Travelocity and Priceline and also check the airlines directly, sometimes you can find lower on the airlines site, sometimes not, but the larger comparison sights can sometime find more options. As of January economy flights from L.A. to Nice (LAX-NCE) run about 1,050 dollars. British Airways economy from London is about £101 ($200). Easyjet flies to Nice from London Airports for around £60 including one piece of baggage.

For hotels Booking.com has last minute deals with maps. TripAdvisor compares hotels with reviews on different booking engines, Expedia, Venere, Orbitz, Hotels.com. You can search Travelocity and Priceline, they find many of the same rooms but with variations. More Europe hotel search Hotel Club and Hotel Pronto. Make sure you check the address. Even though you're searching for Cannes some offerings can be a distance away.

The Cannes Festival Studio Hotel in Cannes La Bocca is an apartment hotel catering to the festival goer that can sleep up to 6 for families or groups.

In Nice are three Choice Quality Hotels (see Three Choice Hotels Nice)

The Best Western Hotel in Nice convenient to the rail station in is the Hotel de Madrid

From Juan les Pins, Antibe, Nice or other Cote d'Azure towns you can easily take the train, though a hotel on the beach may be a bit from the station in some towns. Buses run along the coast but can be a slow trip. There are other villas and hotels inland but you'll need a cab or a rental car. Driving into Cannes you can park at the multi-floor garage next to the Cannes Gare for all day. At around 6pm the lot gets fuller as car loads of local dressed up babes start to arrive looking for the parties. Traffic through town is very congested so give yourself time. Cars can be rented at the Nice Cote d'Azure airport or at the Nice Gare main rail station.
Easycar   Europcar   Hertz rent from the Nice rail station and Cote d'Azure Airport.

The Cote d'Azure Airport is 35 minutes by cab in ordinary traffic or or 20 minutes by train. Train Schedules can be checked at SNCF France National Railways

If you arrive in Paris or another distant city you can book the TGV high speed Train through Rail Europe's TGV Booking Center

If you just want to make Cannes part of your visit and see more of the country you can get a Rail Pass from Rail Europe. The rail line travels along the coast from Marseilles through Cannes, Nice, Monaco, San Remo, Italy to Genoa. See How a Rail Pass Works.

Food and drink can be very expensive along the Croisette, but if you walk a few blocks back toward the rail station, the restaurants on the back streets are much more reasonable. A food stand near the American Pavilion is a popular place to grab a sandwich for lunch. Unless you really want to pay $30 for a espresso coffee in a demi tasse. © Bargain Travel Europe

See Also:

FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT ON THE COTE d'AZURE
Kids on the Riveria - Dolphins and Dauphins

DIJON CENTRAL HOTELS
Bargain Hotels close to TGV Rail in Historic Old Dijon

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