The fame of Cannes began in 1834, when the British lawyer and writer Lord Brougham stopped here, fell in love with the place, and stayed. He was followed by nobles, princes, and kings from England and Russia in search of a winter domicile in the mild south. And so, in a few decades, Cannes grew from a humble fishing village to a fashionable, well-known jet-set destination. A century after Lord Brougham found the town, the successful International Film Festival did the rest to put Cannes in the spotlight.
Because of its one-of-a-kind location on the striking French Riviera and the presence of the Film Festival, this small town in the south of France has become the meeting place of the stars. Flavio Briatore and Giorgio Armani regularly come here with their yachts. The Cote d'Azur thrives on its legend as a destination for the rich and beautiful. Stars like Cary Grant, Rita Hayworth, Ingrid Bergmann, Sophia Loren, Liz Taylor, Romy Schneider, Sean Connery, and Alain Delon have regularly stayed here. Brigitte Bardot posed for photographers in a bikini on the beach in 1953. Today, the trendy star designer Philipp Plein enjoys his free time in his villa in Cannes.
When the Cannes Film Festival arrives each May, this small town on the French Riviera is at its peak. Cannes becomes all about the hunt: Actors hunt the golden palm, photographers chase the actors and supermodels on their yachts, and would-be actors chase the photographers. The town’s only thunderstorms come from the flash of the cameras; the French Mediterranean coast basks in glorious sunshine about 300 days of the year.
