Cannes

Cannes (Canas in Provençal) (pronounced /kan/) is a city and commune in southern France, located on the Riviera, in the Alpes-Maritimes département.

Demographics

Population of the city (commune) of Cannes at the 1999 census was 67,304 inhabitants (69,700 inhabitants as of February 2004 estimates). Cannes is part of the Nice metropolitan area (aire urbaine) whose total population was 933,080 inhabitants at the 1999 census.

Geography

Cannes lies on the Côte d'Azur within easy reach of the Maritime Alps. It is noted for its gorgeous sandy beaches (in contrast to Nice), which are mainly public, particularly as one moves west to Cannes La Bocca.

History

In the Middle Ages Cannes was a feudal depency of the Lérins monastery. Until the early 19th century, Cannes it remained a small agricultural and fishing village with the highest density of population on Le Suquet hill. Beginning in the 1830s, foreign and French aristocrats built vacation homes in the area, gradually turning Cannes into a resort town.

The man responsible for Cannes' growth is Lord Henry Peter Brougham (1778-1868). A respected and talented British politician in his time, he discovered Cannes in 1834 on his way to Italy. Having bought land to the west of the Suquet hill, now the entrance to the city, Brougham used his many contacts in French politics to help develop the French Riviera.

Economy

The area around Cannes has developed into a high-tech cluster. The technopolis of Sophia-Antipolis lies up in the hills beyond Cannes.

The Cannes Film Festival, held annually in May, is a major event for the world film industry. There is an annual television festival, airing in the last week in September.

Cannes also hosts the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

Culture

Between Festivals and major events, Cannes lives to the beat of the arts year around, thanks to the many organizations contributing to its reputation and teaching. Cannes Municipal Music and Drama Conservatoire promote the awakening and introduction to music since the age of three years old for viola, violin and cello students and since five years old for those registered to musical awakening.

Transportation

Cannes lies on the main rail line from Italy to Marseille and is well served by the TGV, interregional, and regional trains. The SNCF station is close to the centre; buses leave from both here and the Hôtel de Ville.

The town center is served by an electric bus system — the E-LO — whilst an open top beachside bus service links the Hôtel de Ville and the Palm Beach Casino.

Cannes is located about 25km west of Nice, and easily reachable by bus from Nice's international airport. Shuttles run every half hour from 8am through 8pm (hourly early in the morning and after 6pm). The ride takes approximately 30 minutes. Taxi rides from the airport cost 60 euros one way.

Miscellaneous

Births

Cannes was the birthplace of:

• Gisèle Pascal (b. 17 September 1923) is a French actress, and a former lover of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco.
• Claude Bolling (born 1930), jazz pianist, composer, and arranger

Twin towns

Cannes is twinned with:

• 1957: Madrid, Spain
• 1970: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, United Kingdom
• 1986: Beverly Hills, California, United States
• 1991/1992: Shizuoka, Japan
• 1994: Acapulco, Mexico
• 1997: Sanya, China

This article is licenced under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cannes".