Top most interesting Cannes facts: 

  • ​The mysterious and iconic Man in the Iron Mask spent 11 years of his isolated life on the island belonging to the commune of Cannes, Just a 15-minute ferry ride from the main city
  • The main objective of the Cannes Film Festival has always been attracting public attention to the works of French and international filmmakers, raising the prestige of their films and promoting the film industry all over the world. All its participants have remained true to this idea ever since the first festival in 1946, in a small French seaside town. Since then, Cannes has become an international luxury destination, marked by the glamorous film festival, which attracting the top film stars from across the globe. The festival has been a favourite venue not only for industry professionals, but also for film-lovers and those interested in the lives of their favourite film stars.
  • Woody Allen has never taken part in the competition for the Palme d'Or. He has long said that he would only fight for the prize if all the directors make films on the same topic. Nevertheless, his films have repeatedly opened the Cannes Festival.
  • In 1983, photographers refused to shoot Isabelle Adjani on the red carpet. The French actress neglected the press conference and the photo call, which they found offensive. Paul Newman had the same experience in 1975.
  • From 1946 to 1959, the jury of the Cannes Festival was only chaired by Frenchmen. In 1960, however, Belgian Georges Simenon broke the trend. Two years ago, an Australian, George Miller, became the jury chairman for the first time in the Cannes Festival history.
  • Ever since mid-1990s, the jury meetings have been held at the Domergue Villa, in the California quarter. Modelled after a Florentine palace, the mansion was designed by Jean-Gabriel Domergue in the 1930s and is open to public.
  • The Cannes Film Festival has been a setting in about 12 films. Among them «Any Number Can Win (Melodie en sous-sol)» by Henri Verney, «What Just Happened» by Barry Levinson and «Femme Fatale» by Brian de Palma. Mr. Bean has also used the Cannes festival in the second series of his adventures.
  • The first Cannes Festival poster was designed by Toulouse-Lautrec's cousin, Jean-Gabriel Domergue. He made it for 1939, but that festival was cancelled due to World War II breaking out.
  • The idea of the Cannes Festival belongs to the French Association of Artistic Action Director (AFAA), Philippe Erlanger and the film critics, Emile Vuillermoz and Rene Jeanne.
  • The legendary 24 steps walked by the world's top celebrities requires 60 metres of carpet, changed three times a day for the duration of the film festival.
  • The host of the Cannes Film Festival is nominated by the France's Canal+ alongside the festival director Thierry Fremaux and event director, Pierre Lescure.
  • The Palme d'Or, or Golden Palm, was created in 1955. The Festival organizers asked jewelers to compete for the creation of the trophy. Lucienne Lazon's design was chosen. Since 1997, Swiss company Chopard has been in charge of manufacturing the award.
  • The regular population of Cannes is about 73.700 inhabitants, but it swells to over 200.000 people during the festival.
  • The price of the Golden Palm branch is about 20.000 Euros. It is made of 18-carat gold. Each year, two reserve awards are made in the event of two winners or an accident.
  • Cannes is coined as the "Sister City of Beverly Hills"
  • Cannes is seen as the commerce and activity center of the French Riviera
  • Boulevard de la Croisette is the most famous street in Cannes
  • On Boulevard de la Croisette, you'll find Palais des Festivals, the location of the world-renowned Cannes International Film Festival
  • ​Every day of the week, except on Monday, you can visit the best food market in Cannes, the Marche Forville
  • Cannes was first mentioned in 42 BC e
  • Interesting Cannes fact: the Ligurian Oxybii established a settlement in Cannes by the 2nd century BC
  • The city area of Cannes is 19.62 km2 (7.58 sq mi)
  • Cannes has a population of 73,000
  • Cannes was detached from the monks and became independent after having been ruled by them for hundreds of years in 1530
  • Cannes's train station Gare de Cannes station opened in 1863
  • GAre de Cannes - Cannes train station
  • Cannes was attacked by the Saracens in 891 and remained in their control until the end of the 10th century. The Saracens devastated Cannes and the area around it
  • The Cannes Film Festival was founded in 1939
  • The first full-length Cannes Film Festival opened in 1946
  • The Empress of Russia came to Cannes accompanied by the entire royal court in the hopes of returning to good health with the help of the amazing climate in Cannes. An interesting fact about Cannes is that many of the visitors from this trip enjoyed Cannes so much that they decided to build houses here. This has contributed to growing Cannes into a resort
  • ​Work began on building a pier in Cannes in 1838 which, when finished, helped attract the yachting community, which meant lots of wealthy individuals
  • Cannes was home to many large 'Belle Epoque' villas and hotels by the end of the 19th century. Most of the buildings still stand today, including iconic buildings like the famous Carlton Hotel, built for the members of the English aristocracy
  • In the 20th century, the war reached Cannes
  • During World War One many of the large buildings in Cannes were requisitioned and used to treat the wounded
  • In the 1920s, tourism started to grow substantially in Cannes. Part of the reason is that sunbathing became fashionable, which drew lots of tourists to the amazing beaches of Cannes
  • Interesting fact about Cannes: In the 1920s, Cannes was more accessible to the lower classes which means more people could go to Cannes for their vacations
  • Cannes was occupied by German and Italian forces during World War Two
  • Cannes was liberated in 1944 by the Americans in 1944. Another interesting Cannes fact about this is that the liberation operation is said to have involved the American actor Mr. Douglas Fairbanks Jr, who captained a US naval ship
  • The iconic Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic opened in 1923
  • The famous art deco style Hôtel Martinez opened in 1929. Today, the hotel is known as Grand Hyatt Cannes Hotel Martinez and was opened in 2012
  • The oldest hotel in Cannes is InterContinental Carlton Cannes which opened in 1911
  • Here's an interesting fact about Cannes that not too many people know about: The Cannes film festival was supposed to begin in Cannes in 1939, but due to the war, the launch date was put off
  • The mainland of Cannes has 7.5 kilometers sloping sandy beaches
  • The coastline of Cannes is officially 15 kilometers long, but this also includes the Lerins islands
  • Not really the most surprising fact about Cannes, but Cannes is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious film festivals
  • In 1834, Lord Brougham who was a former Lord Chancellor of England was detained in Cannes during a trip to Italy. The reason? A cholera outbreak that temporarily prevented him from traveling to his end destination Nice
  • ​Cannes is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department
  • In the 10th century, the town was known as Canua
  • Here are some interesting facts about Cannes: there are 13 public beaches in Cannes. There are two town beaches and 33 private beaches
  • It is believed that the name Cannes derives from "canna," a reed
  • Cannes is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France
  • Cannes has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa)
  • Cannes enjoys 11 hours of sunshine per day during the summer month of July
  • Cannes's economy is based on tourism, business fairs, trade, and aviation
  • Cannes has 6,500 companies, of which 3,000 are traders, artisans and service providers
  • In 2006, 421 new companies were registered in Cannes
  • Cistercian monks are the only inhabitants of the southern island of L'erins, St Honorat Island
  • Monks have inhabited the island Saint-Honorat, belonging to Cannes since AD 410 
  • Cannes is situated 24 km (15 mi) from Nice Côte d'Azur Airport
  • Cannes is the only French town that has 3 casinos
  • Every year, 200,000 actors, directors, producers, agents and fans come to Cannes for the film festival. That's an interesting Cannes fact, to say the least
  • The hotels of Cannes make 15% of its annual turnover in just 12 days during the Cannes Film festival. This certainly is one of the more interesting facts about Cannes
  • On his return from Elba in 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte stayed in Cannes
  • Cannes has more luxury goods shops than anywhere else in France outside Paris
  • Around 70 top name brands have their stores along the Boulevard de la Croisette in Cannes, in an area of just 800 meters
  • In 2013, a robber, believed to be one of the Pink Panthers, took gems worth 103 million euros (US$112 million) from the Carlton hotel as they were being displayed. The heist remains the biggest heist of all time
  • Cannes is a French town, yet despite this, t it was actually the British who made it what it is today
  • There are 100 hotels in Cannes
  • The total number of rooms available in the hotels in Cannes are around 6,000
  • 32 of the 100 hotels are four-star or more
  • The Croisette is s 3 kilometers long
  • ​In total, the Palais des Festivals now has 44,000 m² of exhibition space
  • In 1915, Cannes was classified as a seaside resort by ministerial decree
  • As the Cannes facts revealed, the city on the French Riviera is a city with a long and rich history. The events and history have helped shape Cannes into what it is today, now attracting millions of tourists each year. From being a small fishing village, it has established itself as one of the most iconic and luxurious cities on the French Riviera, known all over the world.

How many of these Cannes facts did you know from before? Which facts about Cannes did you find the most interesting?

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Source: cannesestate.se and hellomonaco.com