Is Cannes really like that???!
 

My husband is going to Cannes in France for a week on business and would like to take me along. How will the weather be in January? From "lifestyles of the richand famous" it seems like a place to see and be seen..is it like that in reality? Does everyone there wear designers? I like dressing comfy aka grungy on holiday. WIll I get the stares? Also, what is there to do? please help me with your expertise.

The weather is likely to be mild and pleasant in the day time, around 18-20 C (I had lunch on the beach in January)but of course still chilly at night. Out of season, which is definitely the case in January, Cannes is nothing more than a nice, small Southern French town, so no need to dress up particularly... that is, by European standards ! So, easy on the grudge factor: Cannes has a got a sizeable, conservative, senior citizen community, and the general atmosphere is closer to San Diego than Seattle !

Pack warm clothes...can be chilly, especially at night. We've noticed that people there don't often wear &quot;running&quot; shoes as casual wear. Most people dress in an &quot;office casual&quot;-type mode...not dressy, but comfortable and warm. Everybody stares there, particularly if you seem &quot;different&quot; either language, clothes, etc. Harmless; they're just curious. Get there, see how they dress, then try to &quot;blend&quot; in. It's fun! Plus you can shop there for local things. Make sure you go to the open-air &quot;market&quot; in Ventimiglia in Italy across the border on any Friday morning, about 40 minutes east of Cannes. We go to France a great deal and you can see info about daytrips and other plenty of things to see and do in Cannes and environs on our website at http://pages.prodigy.net/cgleason/<BR><BR>Have a good time! Suzie

Isn't Suze's posting an advertisement [not allowed on this forum]?

Hi dana,<BR><BR> May I suggest that you should reconsider the &quot;I like dressing comfy aka grungy on holiday&quot;?<BR><BR> How would you feel if a group of bums came walking through your neighborhood?

Dana:<BR><BR>Do Cannes a favor and stay home. No one in France dresses the way you do, whether in Cannes or out in the boondocks in the countryside. You don't need designer clothing, but you do need to be respectable, and &quot;comfy aka grungy&quot; sounds less than respectable. Would you actually walk into a French caf&eacute; or restaurant dressed like that? How gauche! <BR>As for what there is to do, ever heard of a guidebook? Or an internet search? Or are you too comfy and grungy to bother with doing any research?<BR>Cannes is a high-end French resort town. A lot of people with a lot of money will be showing it off on any given day. If you want to look like a bum, go ahead, but be prepared to come home and complain you were treated rudely.

Grunge,<BR><BR>Since you brought up the subject of doing research, why don't you do some research on tact and how to be nice. If Cannes is as snobby as lifestyles of the rich and famous makes it sound, then it sounds like you will fit in perfectly.

We were just in Cannes this past summer. While the locals definately dress better than the locals would in a U.S. beach town, I didn't find it to be in anyway comparable to the dress one would see in the nicer parts of Paris or NY. Casual is probably fine.<BR><BR>What Robin Leach doesn't tell you is that Cannes' has a McDonald's. I mean how upscale can it be?

<BR><BR>I doubt &quot;everyone&quot; in Cannes dresses alike. Dress as you please. If people stare at you, just stare back.

Meg:<BR><BR>Here's some research for you that has nothing to do with the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: Cannes has,in summertime, the biggest population of wealthy Europeans of any maritime community. I for one don't care how they dress, but since Dana brought it up, it would seem as though being at least fairly well dressed, and not &quot;comfy aka grungy&quot; would be at the minimum intelligent if she wants to get decent service at caf&eacute;s and restaurants and hotels (the French do notice these things, you know). It's not a matter of being &quot;nice&quot; (by the way, how totally American politically correct of you to mention to me that I'm not &quot;nice&quot; commenting on someone who is obviously oblivious to presenting herself decently in public)but a matter of just presenting yourself in decent clothing in public and not some sweatshirt and jogging pants. It really doesn't take a fashion genius to dress properly in Europe.

Dress smartly as you would in any large N American city. I find Cannes to have things to appeal to all budget levels whether you're looking for accomodation, restaurants or shopping. I mean, if you have the big bucks La Croisette has Chanel, Celine, etc, the rue d'Antibes has the mid to upper mid-priced shops while the rue Menardier has the less expensive and funky clothing stores. You can shop for fresh food in the Marche Forville or along the rue Menardier. Cannes is a great location from which to tour east and west along the coast. We've driven to St.Tropez, Grasse, St.Paul de Vence, Biot, Eze, Gourdon, Antibes, Monaco, etc. Have had a great time both in July and in October; going back next June.

We were sitting in a nice cafe in Nice and up came a couple with dreadlocks, baggy pants, torn tshirts and sandals. I am sure they were trying to look in their own subculture style, but the waiters took one look and waved them to a back table. If that is how you want to be treated,wear your grunge. When you grow up you will look back at your trip and shake your head.