After spending one full day exploring Nice, we spent the next day exploring Cannes with a short stop in Antibes along the way. We took the train from Nice to Antibes and then Antibes to Cannes. It is very easy to explore the French Riviera by train – the TER (Transport Express Régional) is the train that has the most stops along the coast, including Antibes and Cannes (and Monaco which we explored the next day!). Our transportation was covered under our Europe Rail Pass, but you can get a one-way ticket on that route for around $6.50. It was a wonderful day!
Antibes
We didn’t have much time to spend in Antibes, but we knew we wanted to stop and see the luxury yachts. We couldn’t believe it when we arrived – there were so many amazing yachts! How can so many people afford these?
Daniel in his happy place
Even though this one is on the smaller side, the yacht on the right was my favorite with its sails and mixed wood and gold details!
There was nothing blocking us from walking around and getting a close look at them. It was so cool to see the yacht names and home countries in writing on the back of them.
Ladurée
When we arrived in Cannes after a very short train ride from Antibes, we saw a Ladurée soon after we started walking around, so we just had to stop for a macaron snack. We had been to the location in Paris before, but we thought this one was just as tasty and just as beautiful on the inside!
We then took our macarons with us to eat on the beach next to La Croisette while we waited for our train tour to start.
La Croisette
La Croisette is a famous street along the beach in Cannes. It’s a great place to people watch and enjoy the sun!
This was the first day of our whole backpacking trip where we felt warm while outside! These boots were not the most ideal while sitting by the beach in the sun, but since they were the only pair of shoes I brought on our three-month trip, I made do!
Petit Train de Cannes
We didn’t have too much time to spend in Cannes, so we knew we wanted to do some sort of tour that took us to all the major spots and taught us about the city’s history. The Petit Train de Cannes was the perfect way to do that!
We chose to do the Big Tour, a “two-in-one” tour covering both the history of the city and the luxe side of the city (think movie stars, beaches, fancy hotels and casinos, etc). After paying about $12 each for the Big Tour ticket, we hopped on the little train and put on our headphones. Once the train started moving, the pre-recorded tour began. While I definitely prefer to have a live person talk during a tour, we thought the recording was good, and the tour gave a good overview of Cannes.
The first part of the tour focused on the coast, the fancy hotels, and stories of movie stars who stay in the fancy hotels.
As we passed the coast, we saw people parasailing! It was such a beautiful day.
For me, the highlight of the tour was our stop at Le Suquet, a hill-top medieval neighborhood with stunning views of Cannes.
Clock tower at Le Suquet
Exploring by Foot
After our train tour, we had a couple hours left before we needed to head back to Nice. We decided to spend that time exploring Cannes by foot and grabbing a bite to eat.
We knew we had to stop by the famous Cannes Film Festival red carpet….
And take some pictures of some of the gorgeous carousels you find all around the South of France….
And just soak in the beauty of this famous French city by the sea….
Before heading back to the train station, we grabbed drinks and a cheese plate to share at a restaurant near the beach.
That was our one day in Antibes and Cannes! Up next on our French Riviera adventure is our day trip to the city-state of Monaco!
Our time in the French Riviera was part of a 2.5 month trip across Western Europe. Click here to check out all of my posts from this adventure!
{Thanks for reading! Want to know a little more about me? I’m a CPA learning how to balance a career with frequent travel while planting roots at home in Austin, TX. When I’m not exploring my home city with my husband Daniel or cuddling with our chubby orange cat Banana, I’m probably planning, packing, traveling to, or daydreaming about our next adventure. After all, my travel mug collection is never complete. If you have wanderlust too, be sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat (emilya89), or subscribe to my blog!}
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