Cannes Film Festival in luxury

Let’s get the delicate matter out of the way first: you cannot buy your way onto the red carpet at Cannes. Not a ticket, not a favour, not a quiet word with the concierge. The festival is by invitation only, and the Palais is filled by people who were asked.

Good. Now that’s settled, we can get on with enjoying ourselves, because the red carpet was never the point. It’s a staircase. The pleasure of Cannes is everything around it.

The Croisette, from a good terrace

For twelve days in May, the boulevard along the bay becomes the world’s favourite place to stare. Limousines glide past at the pace of a stroll, photographers stack three deep at the barriers, and every seafront terrace fills with people who are, or would adore being mistaken for, someone. Take a room with a sea view on that stretch and you have what the crowd at the barriers only wishes for: a front-row seat, a cold glass, and somewhere to retreat when the heels start to pinch. The Palais is on the Croisette itself.

Black tie at seven

Should an invitation find you, and they do have a way of finding the right people, the festival is gloriously strict. Gala screenings mean black tie: a dark suit and bow tie, an evening dress or evening trousers, elegant shoes. No beachwear and no flip-flops at any screening, and leave the tote bag in your suite. Pack the black tie regardless. On the Croisette at seven in the evening, it is simply what one wears to look at the sea.

The screening money can’t improve

Here’s the secret worth having. After dark, the Plage Brigitte Bardot (until 2026, the Macé beach) becomes an open-air cinema, the Cinéma de la Plage, free and open to absolutely everyone, with the Majestic just across the road. A classic film, sand under your chair, the lights of the yachts glittering in the bay. No guest list, no badge, and a thoroughly civilised evening.

Arriving

Keep photo ID in your bag: should accreditation come through, you’ll need it to collect your badge.

So, leave the red carpet to those who were asked. Book the sea view, pack the black tie, and spend your evenings where Cannes is at its most delicious: on the terrace, and on the sand.