Best Day Trips from Cannes City-Centre

TLDR

Cannes makes a strong day trip base thanks to the TER coastal train, the Lerins Islands ferry and the Zou Azur bus network. The six day trips worth your time: the Lerins Islands, Antibes, Grasse, Eze, Monaco and Mougins. All are reachable by public transport. No car needed.

The Cote d’Azur packs an unusual number of worthwhile day trip destinations into a short coastal strip, and Cannes is well placed as a base for most of them. The TER coastal train connects Cannes Ville to Antibes, Monaco and Menton in one seamless line, the ferry runs to the Lerins Islands from the old port, and the Zou Azur bus network covers the inland villages.

This guide covers the six day trips that actually justify a day out of Cannes, in rough order of how most first time visitors should prioritise them. Times and prices are 2026 figures for public transport. None of these trips requires a rental car.

The Lerins Islands: Sainte Marguerite and Saint Honorat

The two Lerins Islands sit 15 minutes off the old port of Cannes. Ile Sainte Marguerite is the larger and busier, with the Fort Royal where the Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned, a 5 kilometre walking loop through pine forest and several rocky swimming coves. Ferries run every 30 to 60 minutes in summer, EUR 17 round trip.

Ile Saint Honorat is the smaller monastic island, still home to a working Cistercian abbey. The monks produce wine and Lerina herbal liqueur that you can buy at the abbey shop, and the walking loop is 3 kilometres through pines and vineyards. The ferry is a separate service run by the monks at EUR 19 round trip, with fewer sailings than to Sainte Marguerite.

Bring a picnic, water and walking shoes. The islands have very limited food beyond one or two cafes on Sainte Marguerite, and the point is to eat outdoors anyway. Do not try to do both islands in one day. Pick one.

Antibes: Old Town and Picasso

Antibes is a 12 minute TER train ride from Cannes Ville at EUR 3.30 each way, every 15 to 30 minutes. The old town sits on a small peninsula with the daily Marche Provencal under a 19th century iron canopy at Cours Massena, the Musee Picasso at the Chateau Grimaldi (EUR 8 entry, one of Picasso’s actual studios in 1946), and the Port Vauban with its yacht row.

A relaxed day covers the market in the morning, a lunch at one of the side street bistros just off Cours Massena (EUR 22 to 35 for a main, several honest options), the Picasso Museum in the afternoon, and a sunset walk along the ramparts overlooking the bay back toward Cannes.

Juan les Pins, the neighbouring beach town, is a 4 minute train further and worth an optional stop if you have beach time in mind. The Juan les Pins Jazz Festival in mid July packs the town but the rest of summer it is calmer than central Cannes.

Grasse: The Perfume Capital

Grasse is 17 kilometres inland from Cannes, 30 minutes by car or 55 minutes on Zou Azur bus line 600 for EUR 5.70 one way. It is the historic capital of French perfumery, with the three main perfume houses (Fragonard, Galimard, Molinard) all offering free factory tours and the International Perfume Museum at EUR 6 entry.

A strong half day covers a factory tour of one of the three houses (Galimard is the most hands on with an optional perfume creation workshop at EUR 55 where you design your own fragrance), the perfume museum, and a lunch in the old town which has several decent family run bistros.

Combine Grasse with a quick stop in Mougins on the way back (both connect via bus line 600 or a car trip) for a full day that takes in the perfume houses, a museum and a hilltop village.

Eze: The Hilltop Village and the Mediterranean View

Eze is a medieval hilltop village perched 400 metres above the sea between Nice and Monaco. Getting there from Cannes is a 50 minute TER train to Eze sur Mer at the bottom of the hill, then bus 83 climbing up to the village in 15 minutes. The bus runs every 30 to 60 minutes.

The standout is the Exotic Garden at the top, a cactus and succulent garden built on the ruins of a 12th century chateau, with what is arguably the best coastal view on the Cote d’Azur stretching from Italy to St Tropez. Entry is EUR 6, open year round.

The village itself is small, polished and very tourist oriented with a cluster of galleries, perfume outposts and restaurants. Allow 3 to 4 hours including the garden, and factor in the Nietzsche Path which descends from the village to Eze sur Mer on foot if you want a proper walking element to the day.

Monaco: The Grand Prix City and Monte Carlo

Monaco is 55 minutes direct from Cannes Ville on the TER coastal train at EUR 11 each way, every 30 minutes. The station at Monaco Monte Carlo puts you in the middle of the principality, within a 20 minute walk of the Monte Carlo Casino, the Grand Prix harbour and the old town Monaco Ville on its rock.

A sensible day covers Monaco Ville in the morning (the Prince’s Palace, the Oceanographic Museum at EUR 19 entry, the Cathedrale Notre Dame Immaculee where Grace Kelly is buried, the old town lanes), a harbour side lunch, and the Monte Carlo casino and gardens in the afternoon.

Monaco is expensive even by Cote d’Azur standards. Eat light or picnic. The casino entry is EUR 18 after 2pm if you want to see the atrium. For value, the Oceanographic Museum is the standout paid attraction. Skip the Grand Prix circuit unless you are there during the Formula 1 week in late May.

Mougins: The Artist Village

Mougins is a hilltop village 8 kilometres inland from Cannes, reachable on Palm Bus line 600 in about 30 minutes for EUR 1.50. It was Picasso’s home for the last 12 years of his life, and the village retains a proper medieval core of cobbled lanes, a small central square with several restaurants, and views over the surrounding countryside.

The Musee d’Art Classique de Mougins (MACM) closed in 2022, but the village remains a strong half day destination for its atmosphere, its restaurants (several at 1 Michelin star level including Paloma and Le Saint Martin) and the sculpture garden dedicated to Picasso.

Mougins combines well with a morning in Grasse for a full inland day, or works on its own as a half day lunch trip from Cannes. The village is small enough to walk in 30 minutes, which means the point is really the food and the setting rather than the sights.

For the official visitor angle on this side of the Cote d’Azur, the SNCF Connect timetables keeps up to date opening hours, event listings and transport changes that are worth a quick check before you set out.

You might also find these useful: Things to Do in Cannes, Getting to Cannes, Best Time to Visit Cannes.

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