Cannes. From Mandelieu to the Croisette in minutes, with the four busiest weeks planned well ahead.
For most of the year Cannes is an easy place to arrive in. Four times a year it is one of the hardest on the coast, and both facts matter when you are planning.
The essentials
Cannes at a glance
- On the doorstepCannes Mandelieu (CEQ)About 8 kilometres west of the Croisette. Jets to 35 tonnes, turboprops to 22, daylight hours only.
- The main gatewayNice Cote d'Azur (NCE)Around 27 kilometres east. Thirty to forty five minutes on a quiet road, considerably more in season.
- On the waterVieux Port and Port CantoTwo harbours a short distance apart, with anchoring in the bay for anything larger.
- The four weeksMarch, May, June, SeptemberMIPIM, the Film Festival, Cannes Lions and the Yachting Festival fill the town completely.
How Cannes works
Everything happens in one kilometre
The Palais des Festivals, the Vieux Port and the Croisette hotels sit within a few minutes' walk of each other, which is why Cannes works so well as a base and so badly as a place to drive. In a normal week a car will take you from the Croisette to Mougins or Antibes quickly. In a festival week the same car will spend a long time in one place, and the useful journeys are the ones to and from the airport, not the ones inside the town.
We arrange the aircraft into Cannes Mandelieu or Nice, the cars along the coast and the yacht if you want one, with one person holding the whole plan. Our own chauffeurs take you to the London terminal; on the Riviera, cars are arranged through operators we know.
Which airport
Mandelieu saves an hour, if your aircraft fits
Cannes Mandelieu is the closest a private aircraft can land to the Croisette, and in a busy week that is worth a great deal: ten to twenty minutes by road instead of an hour in traffic on the A8. The price of that is a hard set of limits. The maximum take-off weight is 35 tonnes for jets and 22 tonnes for turboprops, the main runway is around 1,610 metres, and the field is daylight only with no night operation. Through the high season, roughly the middle of May to the middle of September, slots and prior permission are required for arrival, departure and parking.
A large cabin aircraft simply cannot use it, and even one inside the weight limit can be constrained on a hot afternoon with a full load. That is a question for your operator, and the honest answer is sometimes a reduced fuel load or a stop on the way. If Mandelieu is not open to you, the plan is Nice and a drive, which we quote alongside it.
Journey times
To and from Cannes by road
| Between | Quiet roads | Busy periods |
|---|---|---|
| Cannes Mandelieu and the Croisette | 10 to 20 minutes | 25 to 45 minutes |
| Nice airport and the Croisette | 30 to 45 minutes | 50 to 80 minutes |
| Cannes and Cap d'Antibes | 20 to 30 minutes | 35 to 60 minutes |
| Cannes and Monaco | 45 to 70 minutes | 1 hour 20 to 2 hours |
| Cannes and Saint-Tropez | 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 45 | 2 hours to 2 hours 45 |
Realistic ranges, not promises. In festival weeks the streets around the Palais are controlled and drop-off points move, so the driver confirms where he can stop on the day.
Arriving by sea
Berth, or anchor and tender in
The Vieux Port sits directly below the old town and takes yachts of roughly 45 to 50 metres on its larger quays. Port Canto, at the eastern end of the Croisette, handles larger vessels, to around 90 metres. Beyond that, and in the weeks when both harbours are full, yachts anchor in the bay off the Croisette or towards the Lerins islands and run tenders in, which is the normal picture in May and September.
A tender arrival changes the ground plan: the car waits at the quay rather than at a hotel, and the evening works backwards from the last tender. Tell us where the yacht will be. See Cannes Vieux Port and yacht charter.
The peaks
The weeks that fill the town
The two festivals with their own guides, with the next dates from each. The trade weeks that fill the same hotels follow below.
Cannes Film Festival
11 to 22 May 2027
The 80th edition. Controlled streets, yachts at anchor, and the heaviest aviation demand of the year.
Cannes Yachting Festival
7 to 12 September 2027
Vieux Port and Port Canto are both given over to the show, so visiting berths all but disappear.
11
7The next dates have not been announced yet. Ask us and we will tell you the moment they are.
Also in the diary
The trade weeks
| Event | When | What it means on the ground |
|---|---|---|
| MIPIM | 15 to 19 March 2027 | The property industry takes the whole town. Hotels and cars are committed months ahead. |
| Cannes Lions | 21 to 25 June 2027 | The advertising festival, with the same hotel and car pressure as MIPIM in warmer weather. |
Dates checked in September 2026 and worth reconfirming before you commit.
Planning it well
What experienced visitors do here
- Settle the airport question first. The aircraft type, not the diary, decides whether Mandelieu is even possible
- In festival weeks, hold a car rather than call for one. Repositioning through the town centre takes longer than waiting does
- Agree the drop-off point with the driver the night before. The ones near the Palais change with the security plan
- If you are on a yacht, plan around the tender and tell us the quay. It is the fixed point in the day
- For the four big weeks, plan in months. For the rest of the year, a couple of weeks is usually enough
Request a quote
Tell us the week
Dates, the aircraft if you have one, how many of you, and where you are staying or berthing. We will come back with the Mandelieu plan and the Nice plan side by side, with the cars and any yacht arrangements in the same proposal.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Cannes
Can we land at Cannes itself?
At Cannes Mandelieu, if the aircraft is a jet under 35 tonnes or a turboprop under 22 tonnes, in daylight, with slots and permission in the high season. Otherwise Nice.
How long is the drive from Nice?
Thirty to forty five minutes when the roads are clear, fifty to eighty when they are not, and longer again on a festival evening.
Are these your own cars?
Our own cars and chauffeurs are in London and Manchester, and a trusted global network covers everywhere else. On the Riviera cars are arranged through operators we know, with one contact at Odyssey throughout.
Can you get us onto the red carpet?
No. Festival access is controlled by the people responsible for it. We arrange the transport to and from it.
How early should we ask about May?
As early as you can. Aircraft, parking, berths and cars in Cannes in May are committed long before the programme is announced.
One contact, wherever you are