This is both the elegant and flower-filled promenade of La Croisette, and the Star Alley, and the Palais des Festivals, and the fairy tale of the city… Once, the cholera epidemic of 1834 in Nice drastically changed the fate of the provincial and quiet Cannes. From a poor stepdaughter, like in the fairy tale of Cinderella, the city became a beautiful princess. This “miracle” happened in a matter of moments (in historical terms). Grateful residents of Cannes erected a monument to the main culprit of this event, Lord Brookham, which was able to attract English and European aristocracy to the city.
From the hill of “Suquet” at a height of 60 meters, a breathtaking panorama of the city opens up: a small and cozy bay, adorned on the right by the Esterel mountain range, opposite – the Lérins Islands… Everyone who even accidentally stopped in this unknown (once, but not now) place fell in love forever with the wonderful picture of southern nature. Each hotel-palace on the Boulevard de la Croisette is known for its history. Thus, key events in Nabokov’s private life took place at the Majestic. This hotel is also connected to the mysterious death of Savva Morozov… A story of love, worthy of Dostoevsky’s pen, was gifted by the Carlton hotel… Literally every street in the center of Cannes tells of amazing events. The famous beauty, the great Russian princess Anastasia Mikhailovna, granddaughter of Emperor Nicholas I, experienced both a tragic event here – her husband’s suicide and the happy days of her eldest daughter Alexandrina’s wedding to the future Danish king Christian X. There are dates in the cultural history of the city that are remembered for a long time. On the night of January 1, 1892, the servant François was awakened by an unusual noise. His master attempted to cut his throat, and by the next evening it became clear that the public’s favorite and famous French writer Guy de Maupassant had gone mad. From here, Cannes, he would be taken to a psychiatric hospital on the right bank of the Seine… The history of the “Palme d’Or” and film festivals begins in 1939. So many names! And what names! The Star Alley near the Palais des Festivals only slightly lifts the curtain on the greatest mystery of the 20th century – cinema…
