Stars In Your Eyes

From secret beaches to celebrity boules or supping on cocktails, Heidi Fuller-love takes a whirlwind tour of the places where the stars flee from the paparazzi during Cannes’ hottest festival

- Heidi Fuller

Founded back in 1946, the Cannes Festival is France’s most prestigious film event. Past editions of this exclusive, invitation-only affair, which previews new films and documentaries from around the world, have been attended by movie stars ranging from Brigitte Bardot to Brad Pitt. A popular venue for film producers to launch their new films, these days the festival, set on the famous Croisette seafront promenade in May, attracts global glitterati, who come as much for the after-parties as the film premieres.

You may not be able to gatecrash one of those exclusive parties, but if you know where to go there are still many ways to see Cannes with the stars.

Follow me on a whirlwind 24hour tour of the A-list hotspots where celebrities ranging from Tom Cruise to Juliette Binoche love to chill during the world’s most famous film festival.

10 am

It’s just about impossible to get a room at the Hotel du Cap-EdenRoc on the Cap d’Antibes (hoteldu-cap-eden-roc.com) during the globe’s most glittering film event: celebrities who’ve stayed here during the festival include Uma Thurman, Steven Spielberg and the entire gang from Ocean’s Thirteen.

On a friend’s advice, however, I booked (way in advance) for a champagne brunch in the dining room of this legendary hotel which was the inspiration for Gauss's hotel in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel Tender is the Night.