Mademoiselle Gray

Mademoiselle Gray is the private beach of the Hotel Barriere Le Gray d'Albion, on the Croisette sand in Cannes, and it is run as a lunch destination first and a sunbathing one second. The kitchen's angle is what distinguishes it from the row of hotel beaches around it: Mediterranean cooking pushed towards Lebanese flavours, built around a barbecue grill, with a mezze service that carries on through the afternoon well after the main lunch sitting has finished. That means you can arrive late, order small plates at five and still be fed properly, which is not true of most Croisette beaches. The beach itself is fine sand with the flat, sheltered water typical of the bay, laid out with parasols and deckchairs and staffed by beach attendants, and there is a pontoon for anyone who prefers to swim from a platform rather than wade. Restaurant service splits into a midday sitting and a full evening one. The club is explicit that bed numbers are limited and cannot be held without a booking, so turning up on spec in July is a poor plan. No dress code, dog policy or minimum spend is published.