The Cannes Film Festival is twelve days in May when the French Riviera stops being a luxury destination and becomes something stranger and more specific: the most important two weeks in cinema, packaged inside the world's most elaborate garden party. Every year, the same stretch of La Croisette that is a pleasant boulevard for walking becomes a corridor of industry deals, red carpet arrivals, yacht parties, and hotel lobbies where the most valuable currency is not money but access.
The 79th edition runs May 12 through 23, 2026. Jury president is South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook — director of Oldboy, The Handmaiden, and Decision to Leave. If you're planning to be there, here's what actually matters.
TL;DR: Cannes Film Festival 2026 runs May 12–23 at the Palais des Festivals. The two essential hotels are the Regent Carlton Cannes and the Hôtel Martinez. Yacht hospitality is the primary premium experience and should be booked now. The Croisette itself — La Promenade de la Croisette — is the spine of the event and free to walk. The red carpet screenings at the Palais des Festivals are invitation and badge only; the evenings are hotel bars, yachts, and dinners that run until 3am.
The two hotels that define Cannes during Festival week
The Regent Carlton Cannes is the festival hotel — full stop. The Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star property opened in 1913, and its Belle Époque facade — two distinctive domes visible from anywhere on La Croisette — has been the defining landmark of Cannes for over a century. The hotel completed a multi-year restoration in 2023, carried out by 750 French artisans including gilders from Ateliers Gohard and craftsmen from the workshop that maintains the chandeliers at the Palace of Versailles. The Grand Salon now features rose-hued marble columns with gilded caps, Murano glass chandeliers, and intricately frescoed ceilings. The lobby, redesigned by Tristan Auer, has soaring ceilings, restored white stucco columns, and a color palette of rose pink, pale green, and light gray.
The 369 rooms include some of the most storied suites in the world. The sixth-floor Alfred Hitchcock Suite was a filming location for To Catch a Thief. The Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, and Sean Connery suites on the seventh floor have sea views that justify the rate on their own. During Festival week, the suites upstairs are where studios host screenings, press junkets, and parties that don't officially exist. The lobby is a deal-making room. The terrace café is a camera trap. Rates during Festival week are among the highest hotel rates in Europe.
The courtyard holds Cannes' largest infinity pool, surrounded by roughly 22,000 flowers and plants, with cabanas and Riviera-inspired loungers. The wellness complex Le C Club includes a marble-clad spa, yoga and Pilates studio, and a full-size boxing ring inaugurated by Mike Tyson — the first of its kind in Cannes. Dining: the Carlton Beach Club (light Italian, five types of spritzes), the Riviera Restaurant (Mediterranean brasserie), and Rüya (modern Anatolian cuisine).
Hôtel Martinez is the alternative — the Art Deco landmark further along La Croisette where the jury traditionally stays and where the Cannes atmosphere is slightly less frenetic and slightly more considered. The private beach is one of the better hospitality venues on the Croisette. The Martinez is also home to La Palme d'Or, the two-Michelin-starred restaurant that is one of the most serious dining rooms on the Riviera. Book months in advance for both the room and the table.
Other strong options: JW Marriott Cannes on La Croisette for a less historically loaded alternative at competitive festival-week rates; Five Seas by Inwood Hotels in the old town for something more intimate and further from the Croisette frenzy.
Yacht hospitality — the premium experience that's still available
Festival week in Cannes sees the largest concentration of superyachts in the Mediterranean for any event, moored in the Vieux Port and the Port Pierre Canto. For guests who want the festival experience without the Palais crowds, yacht hospitality is the answer — and unlike hotel rooms, it is not too late to arrange for 2026.
The standard offer: a day or evening on a chartered vessel in the port, with catering, service, and a view of the Croisette from the water. For brand or corporate groups, full charter for the duration of the festival provides a private venue, a fixed berth, and the ability to host screenings, dinners, and receptions without the logistics of a land venue. Brokers including Fraser Yachts and Bespoke Yacht Charter are active in this market. Prime berths book early but mid-range charters for the week are still accessible.
What you can actually attend without a badge
The festival has two audiences: the industry (badges, invitations, Palais access) and the public (La Croisette, the beach, the atmosphere). Red carpet screenings at the Palais des Festivals — the official competition and out-of-competition films — require accreditation. The same is true for most official screenings and the beach parties hosted by studios in the pavilion area.
What does not require a badge: walking La Croisette, the hotel lobbies and terraces, the restaurants and bars, and the Cinéma de la Plage — the nightly free outdoor beach screenings that the festival runs on the Macé Beach for the public, typically showing classic films and Palme d'Or winners from previous editions. The beach screenings are one of the more underrated Cannes experiences and completely free.
The Un Certain Regard section and several parallel sections (Critics' Week, Directors' Fortnight) are partially accessible to cinephile badge-holders at reduced cost — if the films are the point, this is worth researching before you travel.
What You Actually Want to Know
When is the Cannes Film Festival 2026?
May 12 through May 23, 2026 at the Palais des Festivals, Cannes. The Palme d'Or ceremony and closing gala are on the evening of May 23.
Who is the jury president at Cannes 2026?
South Korean director Park Chan-wook — director of Oldboy (2003), The Handmaiden (2016), and Decision to Leave (2022), which won Best Director at Cannes that year.
Do you need a badge to attend Cannes Film Festival?
For official screenings and Palais access, yes — industry or press accreditation is required. For the Croisette, hotel terraces, restaurants, the public beach, and the free outdoor Cinéma de la Plage screenings, no badge is required.
What is the best hotel for Cannes Film Festival?
The Regent Carlton Cannes for proximity to the industry action and historical significance. The Hôtel Martinez for a slightly more refined atmosphere and the best dining on La Croisette. Both require early booking for Festival week — rates are at annual peak and availability is limited.
How do you get to Cannes?
Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (NCE) is the primary gateway — approximately 45 minutes from Cannes by taxi or private transfer, or 30 minutes by TER train from Nice-Ville to Cannes station. Helicopter transfer from Nice takes approximately 7 minutes. The Monaco helipad is 20 minutes from Cannes by helicopter if you're combining the two.
Noon's advisors handle Cannes during Festival week regularly — hotel access, yacht hospitality coordination, and the logistics of a trip that rewards advance planning more than almost any other event on the European calendar. Tell us what you're planning.
By Noon Travel Editors | April 12, 2026
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