What should I pack for Cannes?

Cannes is one of the few Côte d'Azur cities with proper sandy beaches, which tends to surprise visitors who've heard the Riviera is all pebble. That reputation belongs to Nice, about 30 kilometres east. The public stretches along Boulevard de la Croisette and the wider Plage du Midi west of the Vieux Port have fine, pale gold sand that gets hot underfoot by noon in July. Most of the prime La Croisette beachfront, though, is divided into private concessions. CBeach, Plage 45, and Long Beach set up padded sun loungers under blue-and-white parasols, with towel service included in the daily fee. The free public sections between the concessions fill up by mid-morning in summer. Arrive before 9 AM or walk 10 minutes west to Plage du Midi for more elbow room. Skip packing beach towels entirely. Private clubs provide them, and vendors along Rue d'Antibes sell oversized ones for 8-12 EUR.

Cannes has a stricter dress code than Nice or Antibes. Restaurants along La Croisette and inside the Carlton, Martinez, and Majestic hotels turn away diners in shorts and flip-flops at dinner, even in August when it's 30°C at 9 PM. Pack one smart-casual outfit per person. For men, long trousers and a collared shirt. For women, a summer dress or equivalent. Le Suquet, the hillside quarter above the Vieux Port, is more forgiving. The restaurants along Rue Saint-Antoine don't care what you're wearing. During the day, Cannes is still a beach town. Linen shorts, cotton tees, and sandals work everywhere. But the temperature tends to drop 5-7°C after sunset when the salt-tinged breeze picks up off the Baie de Cannes, so bring a light jacket or cardigan for terrace dining.

France uses Type E plugs with round two-pin prongs and a grounding pin that protrudes from the socket. If you're coming from the US or UK, bring an adapter before you arrive. The voltage is 230V, so US hair dryers and straighteners without a dual-voltage switch will trip the breaker in your hotel bathroom. A portable phone charger earns its luggage space. Google Maps navigation through Le Suquet's narrow stepped alleys, plus the Palm Bus app for local routes at about 1.50 EUR per ride, will drain your battery by mid-afternoon. Bring a collapsible tote bag too. France banned free plastic bags in 2016, and every shop from Monoprix to the smallest boulangerie on Rue Meynadier now charges 0.10-0.50 EUR per bag.

Late June through August means daytime highs of 27-32°C with humidity around 65-70%. You can smell warm pine resin drifting down from the hills above Le Cannet on still afternoons. Three lightweight tops you can rinse and hang-dry overnight are more practical than 7 separate outfits. If you're visiting between late October and March, the Mistral wind changes the equation. It can drop the perceived temperature to 5-8°C even when the thermometer reads 12°C, and you'll hear it rattling mast lines in the Vieux Port marina through the night. A proper windbreaker matters more than a heavy coat for those months. Skip packing an umbrella. Monoprix on Rue Meynadier sells compact ones for 5 EUR. Skip full-size toiletries too. Pharmacies here carry La Roche-Posay SPF 50 for 10-15 EUR, which is about what you'd pay stateside. Flat sandals or wedges handle the sand and Le Suquet's cobblestones better than heels.