Is Cannes worth visiting with kids? An honest day trip guide
Cannes has a reputation. Red carpets, film stars, yachts the size of small countries. It’s not exactly the first place you picture when you’re wrangling a toddler who’s refused to wear shoes for the third day running. But here’s the thing: underneath all the glitz, Cannes with kids is actually one of the easier French Riviera towns to do as a family, mostly because of one very underrated fact. It has real, proper sand.
Cannes has been populated since the second century BC by Greeks, Romans, and eventually the French, none of whom, as far as I know, had to negotiate a stroller down a cobbled hill. I have.
We’ll get to that.
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How to get to Cannes
If you’re travelling the Riviera with little ones, I’d still base yourself in Nice, there’s so much to do, see and eat there that it makes a genuinely great home base, and everywhere else becomes a manageable day trip rather than a full relocation with all your gear.
Drive
From Nice, it’s 35 minutes to an hour along the Côte d’Azur depending on traffic, past Cagnes-sur-Mer and bypassing Antibes and Juan les Pins. Fine if the car seat’s already sorted and you fancy the flexibility of your own wheels, though the coastal glimpses are nice enough that older kids might actually look up from the iPad for a minute.
Train
My pick, as always. Cannes has its own station a short walk from the waterfront, with regular trains from Nice-Ville taking 25 to 40 minutes.
If you can, catch an express that only stops at Antibes and Cannes. Less time trapped in a train carriage with a bored small person is always the goal.
A one-way ticket runs about 6.10 euros, and booking in advance is worth doing so you’re not queuing at a machine with a meltdown brewing.
Bus
Cheap at around 2 euros each way on the 200 from Rue Verdun or the Promenade des Anglais, but it takes two to three times as long as the train. Only worth it if your day has zero time pressure and your kids genuinely enjoy the scenery more than they enjoy being anywhere else.
Where to stay in Cannes
If you’re basing yourselves in Cannes itself rather than day-tripping in, know upfront that this town does not do budget.
It’s a genuinely lovely place to stay, but the price tags reflect the yacht-lined harbour views. Look for an apartment within walking distance of the waterfront. Having your own space to spread out kids’ gear (and escape to nap time without waking the whole family) tends to matter more here than proximity to any particular sight.
Things to do in Cannes with kids
Beach time, the actual headline act
Let’s start with the best bit: Cannes is one of the few Riviera towns with proper sandy beaches instead of pebbles, which after a few days of picking stones out of shoes elsewhere on the coast, feels like a genuine luxury.
There are free public sections as well as the glossier private beach clubs (La Croisette and Plage du Martinez are the best-known), so you can absolutely have a lovely, budget-friendly sandcastle session without needing to rent a sun lounge for the price of a small car.
Explore the old town Le Suquet (bring your walking shoes and your patience)
Le Suquet is Cannes’ old town, all narrow laneways and pastel shutters climbing up the hill, and it’s genuinely lovely to wander. Fair warning for anyone with a pram: it’s uphill, and cobbled, and my own stroller-pushing experience here mostly involved a lot of muttering under my breath.
If you’ve got a baby carrier instead of a pram, this is the move. Older kids who can walk it themselves will be rewarded at the top with sweeping views out over the bay towards the Lérins islands.
Visit the Musée de la Castre (optional, and only for the patient ones)
At the top of Le Suquet sits the Musée de la Castre, reachable via 109 steps. Yes, I counted, mostly out of sheer disbelief by about step 80.
The views from the top are genuinely gorgeous, but the museum itself, full of landscape art and antiques, is more of a “nice if the kids are having a good day” stop than a must-do.
I’d treat the climb itself as the activity and the museum as an optional bonus round.
Walk (part of) La Croisette
Cannes’ answer to Nice’s Promenade des Anglais, La Croisette is a wide, flat, very pram-friendly waterfront walk lined with palm trees and eye-wateringly expensive hotels. You don’t need to do the whole stretch with tired legs in tow.
A shorter stroll with an ice cream in hand covers the vibe just fine, and there’s people-watching enough to keep everyone entertained for a bit.
Hunt for handprints on the Allée des Étoiles du Cinéma.
This one’s a genuinely fun activity for kids, and I wish I’d thought to frame it that way myself the first time round.
Along La Croisette near the Palais des Festivals, over 150 celebrity handprints are set into the pavement, think a French version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Turn it into a scavenger hunt (“can you find one bigger than your hand?”) and you’ve bought yourself a solid ten minutes of entertained little ones for free.
Is Cannes worth visiting with kids?
Yes, just go in with realistic expectations. Cannes isn’t going to hand you a single big “kids’ attraction” the way Monaco’s Oceanographic Museum might, but the combination of proper sandy beach, a flat and pram-friendly promenade, and a genuinely fun handprint scavenger hunt makes for an easy, low-stress day. Save the full Le Suquet stair-climb for when everyone’s had a good sleep and a decent breakfast.
If you’re weighing it up against nearby options, Villefranche-sur-Mer is the more relaxed choice for a shorter attention span, while Antibes sits nicely in between the two on the effort scale.
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Cannes with kids: quick FAQs
What other towns should I visit on the French Riviera?
The Riviera has towns dotted all along the coast and inland into the hills. My favourite coastal picks with kids are Villefranche-sur-Mer, Nice, Menton and Antibes. Further inland, Grasse is the perfume capital and worth a look if your kids can handle a slightly quieter museum-style stop, while the walled medieval villages of Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Èze are stunning but probably better suited to older kids or a childfree day given all the hills and stairs. You can even push on to Monaco if you fancy ticking off another country for the day.
What is Cannes famous for?
Cannes is best known for its film festival and its reputation as a favourite of the rich and famous, with a long history in the arts and no shortage of luxury hotels and restaurants to match.
When is the Cannes Film Festival on, and should we avoid it with kids?
The festival usually runs in May, and I’d genuinely steer clear with young kids that week if you can. Accommodation prices spike, the town gets crowded, and it’s simply not the relaxed, sandy-beach day you’re after. If you’re a die-hard film fan without kids in tow, though, it might be the ultimate time to visit.
Are there beaches in Cannes?
Yes, and it’s one of the very few Riviera towns with sandy rather than pebbled beaches, a genuine point of difference from Nice. There are free public sections as well as private beach clubs like La Croisette and Plage du Martinez if you want to splash out.
Is Cannes stroller-friendly?
La Croisette and the flatter parts of town are genuinely easy with a pram. Le Suquet’s cobbled, uphill laneways are not. A baby carrier is a far better bet if you want to explore the old town properly.
If you’re still building out your itinerary, my France bucket list has plenty more ideas for stops worth adding along the way.
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