French Riviera - Cannes

I did a day trip to Cannes from Nice. The train from Nice took about 45 mins to reach Cannes. The  entire train ride pretty much goes by the coast, so the journey itself is as much a part of experience. The Cannes train station is  chaotic and walking out of the station through the  main shopping district  and onto the waterfront was really quite uneventful. We all know then that through the years this place has become famous for its film festivals, which in turn has given the town the 'glamour' tag. I would say that only a tiny part of the town lives up to that expectation, but most of cannes doesn't. 


The main waterfront promenade, Le Croisette is lined with palm trees and surrounded by grand Belle Epoque buildings on one side and sandy beach on the other. These building were loaded with designer stores that makes no apologies for their flamboyance . The promenade is one of the most touristy and liveliest places in Cannes.  

I walked towards the harbor passing Palais de Festival which hosts the Cannes Film Festival.   You can see the hand prints of the movie stars near the entrance of the tourist office. Again, the auditorium itself is  hardly glamorous.

The harbor is lined with restaurants and cafes and the port was filled with yachts. 

After walking around the port for sometime, I headed up the hill to the Old City "Le Suquet" overlooking the west end of the port. The Le Suquet area has narrow streets climbing up and around the hill, with 12th-16th-century church Notre-Dame  giving a touch of medieval flavor to the city.  And you get a 360 degree view  of Cannes from the top .

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Croissant crawl in France

Every time I have visited France, I am determined to find the best croissant in the city.  There are several boulangeries all around french cities, but if you are not local or do not have the local knowledge, just going to the first boulangerie you see, could be a hit or miss. Anyways in the hunt for THE croissant place in France whilst being a tourist,I have come to conclusion  that there are couple chain boulangeries in France, that fulfills my quest of the tasty pastries. Albeit, not the best top tier  patisseries or croissants , however you will find them in all major cities around France, so you know what you are getting.

Paul, is a boulangerie/bakery chain in France. I found this chain of boulangeries in Paris to be among one of the best.  My first visit to Paul's was the store in Champs Elysees and I liked it so much that I ended up visiting various other Paul in Paris, Nice & Cannes

The stores itself are impeccably French in a black shop-front with its large glass windows where you can see the bread arranged on wooden shelves and baguettes in baskets like umbrellas in a stand. 

Paul store in Cannes

You see, I'm quite a croissant connoisseur so I limited myself to buying just croissants, pain au chocolat & escargots each time. But the display of various flans, cakes, tarts, and sweets sure looks delicious. All the viennoiseries (translates to breakfast pastries in american english) costs between 1 and 1.50 euro each and were soft, fresh and delicious. Paul also have some delicious little Brioches and Bignets. Some french people say Paul is not great but hey, coming from USA where the freshest croissants at Starbucks is a day old, I really can't complain.

Bignets filled with Nutella

There is also has another chain of boulangerie called "La Brioche Dorée", I went there couple of times and its probably not my favorite ,I prefer the boulangerie of Paul anyday, but they do sell something called  a "maxi pain au chocolat" which is more than twice the size of a regular pan au chocolat almost the size of a brick for under 2 euros and its great for lunch if you don't like savory sandwiches.

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