I was there for just a day, a stop over when I traveled to Ste Margeurite, an island off of Cannes. The town of Cannes itself was beautiful and very high-end. They actually had sand beaches, as opposed to the rock beaches of Nice. Ste Margeurite is DEFINITELY worth the trip to Cannes and I’m sure there are other things to do there. Not sure about during the film festival. I’m afraid that without a lot of cash, it’d be near impossible to be in town then.

Hope this helps!

The film festival is the busiest and most exciting time to go (if that’s what you’re after), although unless you’ve got invites and VIP status you’re pretty much limited to rubber-knecking (and that may involve climbing trees!). Another good time is during the fireworks festival (which spans three weeks). You don’t have to stay in town as it’s a quick train journey along the coast, although they don’t run quite late enough to get you out of town much after midnight. Check cannes.fr for an events calendar.