By car
As with Antibes, Monaco and other towns on the French Riviera, access by road at popular times can be slow and frustrating. The coast roads are generally packed, and there are few ways to descend from inland. Locals do have some tricks, like the one described below, but they are complex and do not always work. Using the train to get in is probably better. You can park in Mougins or Mouans Sartoux and take the train to Cannes.
The obvious way to Cannes from the A8 Cannes/Grasse exit is often extremely slow; you end up descending the Boulevard Carnot, which has an endless stream of traffic lights. The simplest way to avoid this congestion is to bear right immediately after you have left the A8 at the first traffic light. Then, once you are off the main road, get into the right hand lane and stay there as the road turns into a normal two-way road.
After a sharp bend there is a traffic light. Continue straight on at the light. At the next major intersection about 1km further, turn left following signs to Cannes.
You are now on the N85; you should stay on it, and not follow misleading signs to other bits of Cannes until you are at the bottom a T junction with a French Telecom building on your left. Probably the easiest thing to do at this point is to turn left at this T junction and almost immediately left again. Then go into the first parking garage you can Parking Fontville.
Another way down to the coast this works for both Cannes and Juan les Pins/Antibes is to go to Vallauris and descend to the coast on the D135 and then turn right for Cannes or left for Antibes when you get to the N7.
