Cannes or Bust » trains

Cannes no-go areas during the G20

Cannes or Bust — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 06:58:44 +0000

Unless you have been doing some intergalactic travel recently, you’ll know that the G20 summit will be held in Cannes November 3 and 4 next. The nature of these events means that very strict security measures will be in place to protect the visiting heads of state and keep any demonstrations away from the town. In fact, one of the reasons that Cannes was chosen was the ability to effectively cordon it off.

Hotels, the Croisette and port off bounds

In practical terms, access to the town will be difficult between October 31 at midnight and Friday November 4 at 6pm at least. As you can see from the map, the inner city has been divided into two:

Zone 1 includes the port, Palais, hotels and Croisette, which are all closed to everyone without a badge Oct 31 (midnight) to Nov 4 at 6pm
Zone 2 includes the area between the railway tracks and Le Suquet. It will be closed to anyone without a badge Nov 1-4.

Extraordinary measures – such as locking manholes – have been taken, and the city will doubtless have a serious cleaning up period afterwards. It has been announced that the Schengen agreements will be suspended for the period, to try and keep organised gangs from attending (notably from Italy). Strict police controls can be expected across the region, with a strong likelihood of disturbances to train and bus schedules. There will also be heavy helicopter traffic throughout the week.

So my advice is stay away for the period if at all possible.

Essential info if you’re stranded in Cannes

Cannes or Bust — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 21:12:18 +0000

This article was originally written during MIPTV 2010, when thousands of people were stranded in Cannes and Nice due to the shutdown of European airports. The info remains useful in case of air or rail strikes, which is why I left it. News is added in the comments section as updates.

Although many people are trying to put a brave face on it, when you’re stranded in Cannes you are still stranded. Most people have jobs to get back to, and are racking up bills for hotels and trying to keep in touch with people back home.

Several Cweeps (Cannes Tweeps) use Twitter as a way of relaying news, tips and offers to share cars and coaches to people that are stranded in Cannes by French rail and air strikes or volcanic ash. Many visitors living on mainland Europe can find alternative ways to get home, most of which involve 15 hour trips on motorways.

For visitors that are stuck in Cannes or Nice here are a selection of information sources:

Nice airport (which can be quite slow). Alternatively, to get SMS/text message updates concerning your flight, send “NICE [your flight n°]” to the French phone n° 71009. It costs 50 eurocents, plus the cost of your call on your carrier. But remember that text messages are not necessarily instantaneous.
French railways (the mobile version which is admirably brief)

When Cannes was hit by the fallout of volcanic ash, one of my tips was that people use car-pooling services. Try these sites:

RoadSharing

and the newer GeoGoer.

Twitter has been invaluable in providing information and hooking people up. A number of hashtags sprang up, including #stranded, #ashtag, #getmehome. My tip, however, is to use the #euva hashtag, as this is used by people such as EuroControl to exchange breaking news about European air traffic.

Follow it here #euva and read the comments below for more Cannes travel news and links.

French railway strike

Cannes or Bust — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 09:19:58 +0000

There is something depressingly familiar about strikes on France’s impressive railway network. As I’m writing this (April 7 2010), large numbers of people are hanging around stations wondering when they will be leaving. But the SNCF makes a range of information services available.

Phone: Main lines-TER 0805 90 36 35; Transilien 0805 700 805 (freephone numbers on most networks)
SMS/text Transilien: 4 10 20 (type in the name of your station)
Web: Sncf.fr or (for mobile phones) Sncf.mobi

It’s worth remembering that rail strikes have to comply to certain levels of service in France. So trains usually run at about 60% of service. So our tip is to check the above numbers before deciding to make other expensive plans.

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The cheapest way to get from Nice airport to Cannes

Cannes or Bust — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:58:32 +0000

With taxis costing upwards of €90 depending on where you are staying in Cannes, it’s always worth checking the other options. If you are travelling with one or two people and have travelled a bit, you might just want to get downtown as quickly as possible in which case the taxis are a tempting option. If you are travelling alone, on a budget and have a little time, there are three cheap ways to get to Cannes.

To determine which the best option is, think first about where you are actually staying.

Cannes centre: the express bus and the train are the best options.
Antibes, Golfe-Juan or Juan-les-Pins: the Golfe Juan express bus or train is the way to go.
Cannes La Bocca or Mandelieu: go for the train (just check on a map how close your hotel is to the relevant stations).

Our first tip is the cheapest: the bus. The NoctamBus 200 takes over from the express shuttle bus (see below) on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. The journey takes about 90 minutes and costs just €1. It drives through Antibes, Juan-les-Pin and Golfe Juan, so is handy if your hotel is located there.

Tip n° 2: It’s a little-known secret that Nice airport has a railway station (relatively) near by: Nice-St Augustin. It brings you to Cannes in about 35 minutes for the price of about €5.20 (Januray 2011). It’s particularly handy if you are staying in Juan-les-Pins or Antibes. To reach it, take bus 23 or the car park shuttle bus from Terminal 1. Nice-St Augustin is the second stop. Alternatively, go to the bus station in Terminal 1 and look for signposts for the “L’Arénas” office block. Then take Avenue Lindbergh and then a right on the Blvd Cassin. Cross at the lights and head under the railway bridge. You’ll find the station on your right. It takes about 15 minutes, not recommended if you have heavy cases but perfectly doable otherwise. Last trains are at 21:43 weekdays and 14 past midnight on Saturdays and Sundays according to the train timetable. But I’m hesitant about recommending the last train. Look for the latest timetable on the SNCF site or Train timetable Nice-Cannes (You might want to print this info and the timetable).

Tip 3: the Cannes Xpress bus (n° 210) is a popular option, as it leaves from Terminal 1 every 30 minutes, visits Terminal 2 and then takes the motorway straight to Cannes for €15.60 in 50 minutes (return ticket €25.50). I like this one, as you often meet people on the bus and your Cannes festival starts straight away! The last bus leaves the airport at 8pm. The bus arrives and then leaves from the “gare routière” near Cannes town hall. There are ample bus connections from there, or take a taxi if you’re out of town. Another express bus, n° 250, goes from the airport to Antibes, Juan-les-Pins and Golfe Juan for €8 (€15 return).

The newest kid on the block is CannesExpress (confusingly close to the shuttle bus name). They offer a shared taxi shuttle service for €20 to a large number of hotels and apartments in Cannes, Le Cannet and Mandelieu via their website. I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s a very tempting offer. Read the fine print and book in advance at CannesExpress.

Updated January 26, 2012. But I’m not responsible for changes to the timetables.

Please double check if you are getting in late.

If you have any further tips, feel free to leave them as a message. To stay informed of transport times and travel tips -and inside news about Midem, Mipim, Mip and the Cannes film festival – why not get them sent direct to your e-mail address?

Toulon airport to Cannes

Cannes or Bust — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:43:43 +0000

I occasionally get questions about reaching Cannes from Toulon airport. It’s certainly a cheap option as the flights are nearly all from low-cost carriers, but not very practical if you’re trying to reach Cannes. Airlines flying there include Air France, Ryanair, Transavia and Jetairfly. Six cities are serviced: Paris, London, Rome, Brest, Brussels and Stockholm. However, as it is a regional airport, you can get there later than other airports to check in. The building is pretty, set in wooded landscape with Provençal-style architecture and a view of the hills.

Toulon is on the main high-speed TGV line between Marseilles and Cannes. There is no direct train connection at the airport. The main problem is that there are only about 5 bus connections to Toulon station per day, a trip of about 35 minutes (check the timetable to coordinate connections). So if you’re not careful, you will end up waiting for the bus at the airport and then waiting for a train to Cannes or Nice at the station. If you are willing to rent a car, it could work out cheaper than flying to Nice airport. The airport is about an hour’s drive to Cannes along the main A57 motorway.

For more information, visit the Toulon airport website in French.

How do you get from Toulon airport to Cannes? It’s about 130km from the airport to Cannes. If you don’t want to take a taxi or rent a car, take the 210 bus to Toulon station (about €1.40) and then catch a direct train to Cannes, roughly 1 hour 15 minutes (about €20).

If anyone knows any better ways to reach Cannes from Toulon, just drop a message below.

RailEurope and TGV simplify trains to Cannes

Cannes or Bust — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:20:55 +0000

TGV has decided to simplify things for people travelling in Europe by train. The Raileurope service will now fall under the banner of TGV, the high-speed network that connects France, Belgium, Germany and Holland. I just had a quick look at the prices from Paris, which range from €43 to about €92 one-way depending on time and the availability of promo prices. The journey takes about 5 hours but has the enormous advantage of bringing you straight to Cannes station, a 10-minute walk to the Palais. So you skip the 40-minute trip from the airport and the extra expense. If you have never taken one, the high-speed trains are a great way to travel. Check for available times here

Getting to Cannes from Milan

Cannes or Bust — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 12:57:03 +0000

We often get requests about getting to Cannes from the Italian city of Milan, and the answer we often give is the train. Trenitalia runs three daily trains to Nice at 11.10 am, 13.10 and 15.10 that take roughly five hours to cover the 334 kilometers. From there, it’s another 20-30 minutes to Cannes itself by train. Trenitalia rates start at about €15, although you can reasonably expect to pay more. This is an EC train so you have to reserve. I tried the booking engine online and couldn’t get a final price. Try for yourself at their Smart Price promo. [Note: I had to update this link. You might have to start from the Trenitalia homepage/Promotions/International Special Offers/Smart Price - Michael, October 2009]

The other option is by plane, of course. Air France flies direct, and several others fly with one stopover. The cheapest price I could find with a quick search was €178 return with Swiss (a 3-hour journey) or €311 direct return with Air France (1-hour journey).

If you have any better ideas for this trip, why not drop a message below?

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Trains from Milan to Nice for as little as €15

Cannes or Bust — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 11:59:22 +0000

If you have the possibility of travelling from Italy, this is an option that might be worth checking. The Italian railway is currently running Smart Price deals on tickets for international destinations. Nice, which has direct and very regular connections to Cannes, is included in the list, with prices from Milan starting at €15 (Naples, Rome and Venice can be reached from as little as €35 in an overnight couchette). Conditions apply, needless to say. For details and booking in English or Italian, visit Trenitalia Smart Price.