Mediterranean · France
Cannes
The Croisette in May — Film Festival, Lions, MIPIM, Yachting.
Best time
Outside festival weeks: April, the second half of June (after Lions), the first half of September (before Yachting Festival), October. For the festivals themselves: book a year ahead.
Yacht charter
Via owner-direct partners
Jet gateway
LFMD · Cannes Mandelieu
annes is a Côte d'Azur working city that, four times a year, fills with the global creative-industry machine: MIPIM in March (commercial real estate), the Film Festival in May, Cannes Lions in June (advertising), and the Cannes Yachting Festival in September. Each turns the Croisette and the two harbours — the Vieux Port and Port Pierre Canto — into the most expensive square mile in France. Outside those weeks the city reads quietly local: morning market on the Marché Forville, late-afternoon coffees at Le Suquet, families on the public sand at La Croisette.
Film Festival fortnight (mid-to-late May) is the city's defining week. Hotel rates run six to ten times annual averages, every suite at the Carlton, Martinez and Majestic is committed eighteen months in advance, and the Croisette beach pavilions become the working offices of the streaming platforms and studios. Premiere access at the Palais des Festivals runs through the official festival accreditation system; everything else — yacht-side dinners, beach-club parties — runs through the city's complex of broker captains and PR agencies.
Cannes Mandelieu (LFMD) is the close jet airport, six minutes from the Croisette but limited by a short runway (1,640m) to the medium-and-below jet categories. Nice Côte d'Azur (LFMN) is forty-five minutes east and handles every type. Helicopter from Nice to the Croisette heliport is twelve minutes.
Who it's for
The members who come back.
Festival accreditation holders, advertising and media-industry visitors during Lions, commercial real-estate principals at MIPIM, broker buyers at the Yachting Festival, and corporate-hospitality directors hosting institutional clients on the Croisette.
- Film Festival accreditation holders
- Cannes Lions delegates
- MIPIM real-estate principals
- Yacht Festival buyers
- Corporate hospitality at scale
The four services
What the office runs in Cannes.
Honest about what we own and what we coordinate. Direct fleet where we have boats; vetted owner-direct partners everywhere else.
Charter & berthing
Yachts
Sourced via vetted owner-direct partner programmes. Festival-week berthing in the Vieux Port and Port Pierre Canto is allocated 12–18 months in advance via broker captains who hold the recurring contracts. Outside festivals, day and week charter is sourced from the same partner network.
Stays ashore
Villas & Residences
Villas on the hills above the Croisette (Super-Cannes, Californie quarter), the Cap d'Antibes residences ten minutes east, and the Mougins inland properties. Partner curation only — Aurelius holds no direct leases on the French Riviera residential market.
Jet & helicopter
Private Aviation
Festival weeks see slot saturation at both airports; Mandelieu enforces hourly arrival caps from 08:00 onwards. We file slot requests four weeks ahead for festival flights.
Tables & introductions
Concierge
Carlton, Martinez and Majestic suite holds; Croisette beach-pavilion access during the Film Festival and Lions; restaurant reservations at La Palme d'Or, JW Grill, La Petite Maison, Mantel. Festival accreditation cannot be arranged via concierge — that remains an official process.
Jet airports
Where the office files the slot.
Cannes Mandelieu
LFMD8 km west of the Croisette, 12 minutes by chauffeur. Runway 1,640m — accepts up to Citation XLS+, Challenger 350, Hawker 4000. Larger types route via Nice. Operating hours 07:00–22:00; evening curfew strictly enforced.
Nice Côte d'Azur
LFMNPrimary regional gateway, 27 km east of Cannes. Accepts every aircraft type. The 12-minute Nice–Cannes helicopter via Heli Securité is the festival-week onward connection.
At Cannes
Specifics the office knows.
The hotel that opens allocations in March, the airport with the short runway, the harbour that fills by 09:00.
- 01
The Croisette beach pavilions
Each Croisette hotel runs a private beach pavilion across the promenade. Carlton Beach (the most photographed), Martinez Beach, Majestic Barrière. During Film Festival these become the working offices of Netflix, A24, Amazon Studios; lunch tables run from 12:30 to 16:00 with a list-only door. We hold direct-relationship table access for guests of partner yachts.
- 02
Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc at Cap d'Antibes
Twenty minutes east of the Croisette by car, ten by helicopter. The Côte d'Azur's defining hotel since 1870; the Eden-Roc cabanas at the saltwater pool are the festival pre-dinner room. Allocations open in October for the following May; the office holds standing relationships.
- 03
The Yachting Festival in September
The Cannes Yachting Festival runs the second week of September — six hundred boats across the two harbours, sail at the Vieux Port and motor at Port Pierre Canto. For prospective buyers, this is the European motor-yacht show. The office arranges broker-side visits in August to ensure scheduling is productive.
- 04
La Palme d'Or at the Martinez
Two-Michelin-star dining room inside the Hotel Martinez. The Christian Sinicropi cuisine and the Croisette-facing dining room together form the principal celebratory dinner room of the festival weeks. Two-month reservation lead time outside festivals; six months for May or June.
- 05
Lions week — June
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, third week of June. Twelve thousand delegates from the advertising and media industries fill the Palais and the Croisette beach pavilions for five days. Hotel suites command rates close to Film Festival levels; the working pattern for senior visitors is a partner yacht moored at Port Pierre Canto with the Croisette ten minutes away on foot.
Short answer
If you are reading this briefly.
Cannes' year is defined by four weeks: MIPIM (commercial real estate, mid-March), the Cannes Film Festival (mid-to-late May), Cannes Lions (advertising, third week of June), and the Cannes Yachting Festival (second week of September). During festival weeks the Croisette hotels — Carlton, Martinez, Majestic Barrière — are committed 12–18 months in advance, and berthing in the Vieux Port and Port Pierre Canto is allocated through broker-captain contracts. Air access is split: Cannes Mandelieu (LFMD, 1,640m runway) accepts up to Challenger 350 / Citation XLS+, while larger jets fly into Nice Côte d'Azur (LFMN). Aurelius Society sources yachts via owner-direct partners — no direct fleet in Cannes. The Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc at Cap d'Antibes is the regional defining hotel.
Questions we hear
Cannes — answered.
When is the Cannes Film Festival?+
Always mid-May; the dates rotate annually but the festival opens on a Tuesday and closes the following Saturday evening (11 days). The Palais des Festivals on the Croisette is the central venue. Premiere access is by official accreditation and ticket allocation — neither can be obtained via concierge.
How do we get a Vieux Port berth during the festival?+
Via a broker captain on a recurring contract with the Vieux Port harbour captain. The slots are committed twelve to eighteen months in advance. The office holds standing relationships with three of the captains who hold the harbour-side row contracts and can secure them subject to availability.
Where do we stay on the Croisette?+
The Carlton (Regent-owned, fully renovated 2023), the Martinez (Hyatt Unbound, the festival principal), and the Majestic Barrière. All three are committed eighteen months ahead for May; for any other week, two to three months. Suites face the sea; courtyard rooms are €1,500/night cheaper and the festival pattern is to be out anyway.
Can we land at Mandelieu in a Challenger 350?+
Yes — Mandelieu's 1,640m runway accepts the Challenger 350, Praetor 600, Citation XLS+ and most super-light/midsize jets. Anything heavier (Falcon 7X, G550, Global series) routes via Nice. Slot allocation for Mandelieu tightens in May, June and September; we file four weeks ahead.
What's the difference between MIPIM and the Yachting Festival?+
MIPIM is the second week of March — global commercial real estate, 26,000 delegates, the city's first big week of the year. The Yachting Festival is the second week of September — six hundred boats in the harbour, motor yacht trade. They're entirely different audiences; the hotel and berth allocations don't overlap.
Can we visit Cap d'Antibes from Cannes?+
Yes — twenty minutes by car, fifteen by tender from Port Pierre Canto, or ten by helicopter. The Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc is the principal table; the cap also holds the Villa Eilenroc (private events) and the Eden-Roc public-access cabana pool.
Connected pages
Aircraft, routes, and occasions.
Aircraft for Cannes
Member routes
- Zurich → Cannes (Mandelieu)1h 10min · Year-round (peak May–Sep)
- Geneva → Saint-Tropez (La Môle)50min · Summer (May–Sep)
Occasions
- A Corporate RetreatTwo days, one night, six to twelve people, one decision. Held at anchor with the engines off.
- An Investor Dinner at SeaFour to eight investors, three hours, one anchorage. The compression that closes rounds.
- An Engagement Party at SeaA short evening with the closest twenty — a string trio on the bow as the boat clears the harbour, sundown at Es Vedrà, a single toast.
Cannes — begin an enquiry
Tell us the dates.
We'll shape the week.
The office answers on WhatsApp, on email, or by call. Most members start with a single message — the right week, the rough plan, the questions to answer.
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