Cannes Film Festival chauffeur

What changes in Cannes during the Festival

For about twelve days in mid-May, Cannes turns around one building: the Palais des Festivals, at the western end of the Croisette next to the Vieux Port. A security perimeter goes up around the Palais, the Croisette is progressively closed to general traffic near the venue, and only authorised vehicles drive inside the restricted zone. Pavements fill with crowds, photographers and fans waiting behind the barriers.

The practical result: a car that normally takes five minutes to cross the town centre can take thirty. Taxis are hard to find after the evening screenings. And there is one year-round rule that many visitors do not know. The City of Cannes does not allow vehicles over 3.5 tonnes on the Croisette without an exceptional permit. That is why we use the E-Class and the V-Class for Croisette runs, and keep the Sprinter for group shuttles to hotels further away.

Drop-off points around the Palais des Festivals

The Festival’s official visitor guide is clear on this point. Until 5pm, chauffeur-driven cars can reach the edges of the Festival zone, with a quick drop-off at the Gare Maritime and access to the underground car park of the Palais. After 5pm, the closest stopping points move back to boulevard Victor Tuby, boulevard de la Ferrage and boulevard de Lorraine, a short walk from the Palais.

Your accreditation is personal. It gets you into the Palais, the Marché du Film and the screenings, but it does not open the barriers for your car. Badges are collected at the Gare Maritime or at the automatic dispensers at La Pantiero, so if you land on the first day, we can take you there before the hotel.

We will not promise to set you down at the foot of the steps at 7pm. Nobody can. What we do is agree the exact drop-off and pickup point the day before, based on that day’s restrictions, and the chauffeur waits where the car is allowed to stop.

Red-carpet evenings

The red-carpet climbs happen in the evening, at the time printed on your invitation, and the security queue can take a while. In evening dress, a few hundred metres on foot from boulevard Victor Tuby is part of the plan, so choose your shoes accordingly.

Our usual timing:

Leaving from	Leave before the invitation time
A Croisette or town-centre hotel	45 min
Antibes or Juan-les-Pins	1 h 15
Mougins or Valbonne	1 h
Nice	1 h 30
Monaco	2 h

After the screening, your phone is your best friend. Send a WhatsApp message to the chauffeur when you leave the Palais, walk to the agreed point and the car pulls up a few minutes later.

Parties in Cap d’Antibes and the Mougins villas

The Festival does not end at the Palais. Private dinners and parties take place on the Croisette beaches, at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc on Cap d’Antibes, and in villas in the hills of Mougins and Super-Cannes. Many of these villas sit at the end of narrow gated lanes, with a guest list checked at the gate.

Give us the full address and the name under which you are invited. The chauffeur checks the access during the day, drops you at the gate and waits nearby, even if the party ends at 3am. With a car at your disposal, you can also go from one dinner to another without waiting for a taxi on a hillside.

Staying in Nice, Antibes or Monaco and commuting

The big Croisette hotels are booked months in advance, often by studios and brands for the whole fortnight. Many Festival guests stay in Nice, Antibes, Juan-les-Pins or Monaco and commute every day. It works well with a chauffeur, as long as you allow for Festival traffic.

From	Distance to the Palais	Usual time	During the Festival
Nice Côte d’Azur airport	27 km	30 to 45 min	about 1 h
Cannes-Mandelieu airport (private jets)	6 km	10 to 15 min	20 to 30 min
Antibes	12 km	20 to 30 min	40 to 50 min
Mougins	8 km	15 to 20 min	30 to 45 min
Nice city centre	35 km	40 to 50 min	1 h to 1 h 15
Monaco	55 km	50 min to 1 h	1 h 15 to 1 h 30

Arriving by plane? Our Nice airport transfer includes meet and greet in arrivals and flight tracking, so a delayed flight from New York or Los Angeles costs you nothing.

A chauffeur at your disposal for the whole Festival

Most of our Festival clients keep the same chauffeur and vehicle for their entire stay: three days, a week or the full fortnight. The driver learns your schedule, your hotel entrances and the people you travel with. You get one WhatsApp contact and no taxi queues.

For one to three passengers, the E-Class is discreet and slips easily into the town-centre streets. For a team of up to seven with outfit bags and equipment, the Mercedes V-Class with chauffeur is the vehicle we use most in May. For crews and delegations staying outside Cannes, the 19-seat Sprinter runs scheduled shuttles to the edge of the Festival area.

The rest of the year, our private chauffeur service in Cannes covers the trade fairs, the Yachting Festival and everyday transfers.

Book months ahead

The Festival dates are announced well in advance and the accreditation portal opens at the start of the year. Do the same with your transport. A request made in January or February gives you the vehicle you want and a chauffeur dedicated to you. In late April, the choice is much smaller. Send us your dates, your hotel and the number of passengers through the booking form, and we reply with a fixed price.