Spotlight on Cannes: The French Riviera’s Revitalized Gem

SOURCE: Sotheby’s

Best known for its star-studded film festival, Cannes is also a year-round spot for sunshine seekers and lovers of luxury living, writes Caitlin Gunther

Cannes has long been a place to hit reset. In the 1920s, it became a sun-soaked playground for the cultural elite—F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso and other Riviera regulars sought inspiration and escape along its palm-lined boulevards. Today, the city is most famously tied to its star-studded film festival in May, when yachts crowd the harbor and red-carpet glamor spills into the streets. But beyond the flash of cameras, Cannes shines in what it does best: offering a slower, more languid luxury. 

Thanks to its proximity to Monaco and Saint-Tropez, as well as two airports (Nice Côte d’Azur and Cannes-Mandelieu), the city is uniquely positioned to welcome the style set. The recently renovated Palm Beach, once a jazz-era haunt patronized by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Winston Churchill, JFK and Grace Kelly, now hosts trendsetting restaurants like Zuma and Nammos. Grand dames such as the Carlton Cannes have been refreshed, revealing updated interiors that nod to art deco roots while embracing a more contemporary chic. 

“There is a certain poetry to the Riviera—a rhythm of life that is both refined and free,” says the interior architect and designer Rémi Tessier. “Cannes has always exuded elegance, but with the rebirth of landmarks like Palm Beach, we are witnessing a renaissance. The city is evolving—no longer only a summer retreat, but a destination with a soul that resonates year-round.”

Over the past decade, Cannes’ real estate market has also been heating up, driven by its growing appeal as a year-round destination. “Cannes is no longer just seasonal,” says Frédéric Barth, managing director of Côte d’Azur Sotheby’s International Realty. “We benefit from 300 days of sunshine a year—you can enjoy lunch on the beach even in January.” 

While it’s a small city—around 70,000 inhabitants—each neighborhood offers a unique vibe while being part of the whole. As Barth adds: “You can walk to the sea, dine at Michelin-starred or charming family-run restaurants, or take a boat ride to the Lérins Islands—all year.”

Responding to an increasing number of requests for projects across the region, Tessier—who is known for his interior work on superyachts and private jets—has recently relocated from Paris to the South of France and opened a second atelier in Monaco. “The demand here is not simply for beautiful spaces—it is for meaning, for craftsmanship, for timelessness,” he reflects. “Clients are seeking environments that speak to the Riviera’s unique blend of heritage and modernity.”

When it comes to Cannes real estate, sea views are understandably in high demand and this renovated six-bedroom villa in the hills offers panoramas of both the Cap d’Antibes and the Estérel mountain range. The master suite has a private terrace and the main dining area opens out to an infinity pool within a beautifully landscaped garden. Further selling points include a fitness room, massage room and every film-lover’s must: a home cinema. 

A contemporary villa in La Californie is also designed to maximize its ocean outlook with elegant windows on every floor, affording views of the pool, garden and sea beyond. Best of all, the calm of this popular but quiet residential neighborhood is only minutes from La Croisette, the city’s seafront promenade, where to see and be seen remains a Cannes divertissement.

Tessier’s connection to the region runs deeper: he is currently in the midst of building his own private residence on the coast, a highly anticipated project five years in the making. “I’ve worked all over the world, but there is something here—the light, the landscape, the spirit—that continually draws me in,” he says. “It felt only natural to create something of my own here.”

Cannes remains an enduring escape, where the design aesthetic mirrors the mood: airy, sun-drenched and relaxed. “The spirit of pioneers like [Modernist designer] Eileen Gray still lingers in the light, the lines, the landscape,” Tessier says. “What we are creating now is a new chapter—deeply rooted, quietly bold and unmistakably Riviera.”

SOURCE: Sotheby’s