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General Information
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Cannes has its glorious time in May when the whole world looks at the glamour of the International Film festival. Actually, many people only know Cannes from the TV screen with movie stars strolling over the red carpet. It cannot be denied that this enormous event shapes the city’s reputation in the world, but it should not be overlooked that Cannes is actually France’s second important city when it comes to business tourism. No congress, no festival or season is not suitable enough for Cannes. Throughout the year business people come for a diversity of events like the MIDEM (Music Business) in January, the MIPIM (International Real-Estate Market) in March or the Tax Free World Exhibition in October. Therefore it is hard to imagine that Cannes grew from a small fishing town. Still today the fishing tradition is alive at Vieux Port wshere fishermen sell their fresh fish at the Forville Market. In the 11 th century Cannes was owned by monks who expanded their territory to the nearby Island of St Honorat where they are still settled today.
Due to the popularity of the town, the appearance of Cannes and its inhabitants is very fancy and glamorous. Sandy beaches and luxury cruise boats, palatial hotels and designer shops as well as the luminosity and gastronomy of the Côte d'Azur belong to the city life of this grandiose village. Appearances are important in this city of stars, and latest purchases are flaunted in the trendy bars and bistros.
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Weather
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Cannes is an ideal place when it comes to the weather since the temperatures are about 30 °C in summer (July – Sept) and only 12 to 18 °C in winter. Nevertheless, there is a high percentage of rainfall from March to early May. During the festival, temperatures range between 18 and 23 °C.
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Languages
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People in Cannes speak French with a southern accent. Until 1914 the inhabitants of Cannes spoke Cannois, a variant of Provençal-Maritime, which can still today be noticed in most place names. Today only a small group mainly from the fishing community speaks that typical accent from this branch of Provençal.
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Religion
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Most of the people in Cannes are Roman-Catholic but minor religious groups like Muslims and Jews exist equally.
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Currency
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The currency used in France is the Euro. Notes come in denominations of €100, €50, €20, €10 and €5 and the coins in use are €2, €1, € 0.50, € 0.20, € 0.10, € 0.05, € 0.02 and € 0.01.
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Tipping
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Service charges are included on all restaurant bills. However, it is standard to tip according to the level of service given. It is common practice to give a small tip to chambermaids and porters.
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Taxes
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Sales tax is quite high at 18.6%, and is included in the shop prices. This tax can be refunded to tourists from outside of the EU whenever €175 or more is spent in the same shop. Most retailers will present you with a form to fill out in these cases, to give to customs officials at the airport. In other situations, however, tourists have to pay special taxes. While staying in France, visitors usually have to pay a tourism tax or a flat-rate tourism tax which is fixed by the local authority and ranges between 0,15 and 1,07 € per person per day, depending on the quality and the standard of the accommodation. The tax will be added to your hotel bill by the owner of the accommodation.
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Telephone
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To call Cannes from abroad you first have to put the country code for France +33 and then 493 for Cannes. Public telephone boxes are widely available in France, but it is a good idea to buy a France Telecom telécarte at Métro or RER stations, post offices or newsagents rather than relying on cash. These phone cards are available in 50-unit and 120-unit versions. Many phone boxes don''t take coins, but some now accept credit cards.
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Internet
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Like most of the cities Cannes has a couple of internet cafes whose addresses are below:
Dre@m Cyber-Café: 6 rue commandant vidal; +33 04 93 38 26 79
Ashe: 44 bd Carnot
Webstation: 26 Rue Hoche,; +33 04 93 68 72 37
People who want to use their own devices can use the WiFi HotSpots in the city which are offered by some hotels ( InterHotel Orangers 06400 Cannes 1 rue des Orangers; Hotel de F 06400 Cannes 85 rue d Antibes; Noga Hilton Cannes 06400 Cannes 50 Boulevard de La Croisette; InterHotel Orangers 06400 Cannes 1 rue des Orangers ). But also many cafes offer an wireless access to the internet.
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Emergency numbers
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Police 17
Sea Police 93 68 91 92
Fire 18
Doctors 93 99 12 12
Ambulance 93 38 39 38
Hospital 93 69 91 33
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Opening times
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Shops are generally open from 9 or 9.30 am to 12.30 am and from 2 pm to 7 pm from Monday to Saturday. Most of the groceries, apart from supermarkets, do not open until 3 pm. Banks are open on weekdays from 9 to 12 am and from 2 to 5 pm as well as Saturdays from 12 am to 2 pm. The working hours for offices are 8.30 or 9 am – 12 or 12.30 am and from 2 – 6 pm on weekdays and for some offices 9 – 12 am on Saturdays.
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Public holidays
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On the following days, most shops, banks and museums will be closed, and public transport is likely to be more limited.
1st January, New Year’s Day
Easter Sunday and Monday
30th April, Great Prayer Day
8th May, VE Day
14th July, Bastille Day
15th August, Feast of the Assumption
1st November, All Saints’ Day
11th November, Armistice Day
25th December, Christmas
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Safety
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Pick pocketing is the main problem during festival time in the high season. Travelling around strange areas can be quite risky. Also be alert when driving around in the city. It is better to have travel insurance just in case.
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