Département: Alpes-Maritimes
The exclusive resort of Cannes marks the western end of the Côte d'Azur in its real sense. It enjoys a sheltered situation on the wide Golfe de la Napoule, with the island group of the Isles de Lérins offshore.
Because of its exceptionally mild climate, averaging 9.8°C / 50
°F in winter, its rich subtropical vegetation and its fine beach, Cannes is a tourist center at all times of the year.
Evidence of an early setlement on Mont Chevalier is given by finds of the Celto-Ligurian Age. In the second century B.C. the Romans are said to have erected the Castrum Marsellinum here, and in the 11th century a watch-tower was built, around which an unwalled town later developed. In the 14th century the town became part of Provence and in 1481 formed part of France. It only became a famous resort after having been discovered to be a healthy place by the Englishman Lord Brougham (1778-1868) who had fled from Nice to Cannes to avoid a raging cholera epidemic. In 1838 the harbor was laid out, and 30 years later a beginning was made with a promenade along the shore.
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