Villas in Cannes

Table of Contents

• At a glance: What should you know about renting a villa in Cannes?
• Villas in Cannes: find your perfect retreat
• Exploring Cannes: our top recommendations
• Activities: What are the top things to do and see in Cannes?

• Space and privacy: Villas in Cannes suit families and couples who want a private pool, a walled garden and room to spread out, from the town centre to the hills of Californie.
• Where to base yourself: Le Suquet for old-town character, La Croisette for the beaches, Le Cannet and Californie for quiet, leafy hillside addresses above the bay.
• Book early for May: The film festival fills the town every May and sends prices and availability to their yearly extreme, so plan far ahead or travel either side of it.
• Eating well: Marché Forville supplies the villa kitchen each morning, while Provençal, Greek and Italian kitchens across town handle the long, slow dinners.
• Days out: The Îles de Lérins, the Musée de la Castre, the Boulevard de la Croisette and the hill villages behind town fill a fortnight without ever repeating a day.

Villas in Cannes range from compact Provençal houses with a plunge pool and a shaded terrace to large, architect-designed properties in the hills of Californie, sleeping eight or more. Most come with a private garden, parking and air conditioning, and many sit a short drive from the sea while keeping the quiet of a residential street. If you would rather be in the middle of town, browse the wider choice of holiday lettings in Cannes or the more central apartments in Cannes. Whatever the size, a villa gives families and couples the space, privacy and outdoor living that define a Riviera summer. Look out for these features in particular:

• Private pool with sun loungers
• Walled garden or olive-shaded terrace
• Outdoor kitchen or barbecue
• Air conditioning throughout
• Off-street parking and Wi-Fi

Together they turn the villa itself into as much of the holiday as the town below.

What are the best areas to stay in Cannes?

For a first visit, Le Suquet is hard to beat: the old town rises straight from the Vieux Port, with the Musée de la Castre at the top. The table below details areas for specific interests:

What do our guests say?

Guests staying in and around Cannes consistently rate the same things: the pool and terrace they barely left, how close they were to a beach or a market, and how much easier a whole property makes a holiday with children or a group of friends. Ratings above 9.0+ are common here, and the properties below have earned some of the highest scores on Holidu over the past year.

Here are our top-rated places to stay in Cannes from the past year:

1. Magnifique Villa - Piscine - Cannes centre - 10.0+: A villa for six with its own pool, close to the centre of Cannes and an easy walk from the Croisette beaches.
2. Stevam suquet - 9.9+: A holiday house sleeping ten with a balcony, set in Le Suquet within minutes of the old port and the market.
3. Marjolette - 9.6+: A pet-friendly villa for eight in Cannes, with a garden and a large terrace for long evenings outdoors.

Cannes sits on the Côte d'Azur in the Alpes-Maritimes, between the bay of La Napoule and the wooded hills behind, with the Îles de Lérins just offshore.

🥗Where to eat in Cannes?

According to Google Maps data and reviews, La Cantine Provençale is the best rated restaurant in Cannes. Below is a table showing the top 5 highly-rated restaurants hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest traveller Charlotte recommends Le BAO (Bouche à Oreille) in Cannes: a small, unhurried dining room a short walk from Le Suquet, ideal for a couples' dinner after a long, lazy day at the villa.

1. Stroll the Boulevard de la Croisette
2. Climb through Le Suquet
3. Sail to the Îles de Lérins
4. Shop Marché Forville
5. See the Palais des Festivals
6. Drive up to Mougins
7. Swim from the Cannes beaches

1. Stroll the Boulevard de la Croisette

   The Boulevard de la Croisette runs for two kilometres along the bay, past palm trees, private beach clubs and the grand facades that gave Cannes its reputation. Walk it early, before the heat, when the joggers and the delivery vans have it to themselves, or late, when the water goes flat and the lights come on across the bay towards Golfe-Juan. The villas set back behind the boulevard and up in the hills are the reason so many families make Cannes their base for a fortnight rather than a weekend.

2. Climb through Le Suquet

   Cannes began on this hill, and the lanes of Le Suquet still climb in tight, stepped turns above the Vieux Port. At the top, the Musée de la Castre occupies the old castle keep, with a collection of instruments and antiquities and a square tower you can climb for a view over the whole bay and out to the islands. Come down slowly: the rue Saint-Antoine is lined with small restaurants that fill up from about eight, and tables outside are worth booking.

3. Sail to the Îles de Lérins

   Boats leave the Vieux Port for the Îles de Lérins all day and the crossing takes about fifteen minutes. Sainte-Marguerite is the larger island, with eucalyptus paths, quiet swimming coves and the fort that held the Man in the Iron Mask. Saint-Honorat is smaller and quieter still: monks have lived there since the fifth century and work the vineyards that cover much of it. Take water and a picnic, because facilities on both islands are deliberately sparse.

4. Shop Marché Forville

   A villa with a proper kitchen deserves a proper market, and Marché Forville is the one. It runs most mornings just behind the port, with Provençal vegetables, fish landed that morning, olives, cheeses and the socca and pissaladière you eat standing up. Go before ten, buy for lunch rather than for the week, and you will eat better at your own table than in most restaurants. On Mondays the hall turns over to a brocante for second-hand finds instead.

5. See the Palais des Festivals

   The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès sits at the western end of the Croisette, and the famous red-carpeted steps are there to be photographed year-round. Set into the pavement outside are the handprints of the stars along the Allée des Étoiles. If you are visiting in May, be aware that the film festival takes over the entire town for a fortnight, when accommodation is booked far in advance and prices climb sharply, so plan well ahead or travel either side of it.

6. Drive up to Mougins

   Twenty minutes inland, Mougins spirals up its own hill in a single narrow street of galleries and restaurants, with wide views over the coast. Picasso spent his last years here. Push a little further and the lavender fields, hill villages and markets of Provence open up, an easy day out from a villa with a car. It is the standard antidote to a week on the beach, and children usually come back happier than they expected.

7. Swim from the Cannes beaches

   The sand along the Croisette is split between private clubs and free public stretches, and the public ones are perfectly good: Plage du Midi runs west with gentle water, while Plage Macé sits right in the middle of town. For calmer, family-sized coves, drive west towards La Bocca, or spend a day on the beaches of Nice half an hour along the coast. Bring shade, as the promenade offers very little of it after eleven.