Plage Goeland

Goeland is the first private beach you reach walking east from the Palais des Festivals, which makes it the most convenient address on the Croisette during the film festival and the least pretentious one for the rest of the year. It has been run as a family concern since 1981 and the tone reflects that: rows of loungers on the graded sand, an unhurried service, and no attempt to be a club. The water is the same sheltered, gently shelving stretch of the Golfe de la Napoule that the whole Croisette shares, with the Lerins islands in view. There is a lifeguard on the beach and a misting system to take the edge off the worst of the afternoon heat, which is a small detail but a genuinely useful one in August. The kitchen works right through the day, from breakfast to lunch, aperitif and tapas, and adds dinner service in July and August. Small dogs are allowed on the sand, which rules out very few other Croisette beaches but is worth knowing. The real reason to choose Goeland over its more polished neighbours is position and price bracket rather than glamour: you can walk to it from the old port, the festival halls or a conference in five minutes, drop your bag and be in the water before anyone notices you have gone.