The Cannes Film Locations Guide: Côte d'Azur

Walk east of the Palais des Festivals along the Croisette — five minutes on foot to the Carlton's private beach. Cannes had been a winter health resort for sixty years before the film; To Catch a Thief was the moment Hollywood made it a summer place. The Carlton's private beach is unchanged.

The fourteenth-century waterfront fortress used by Baz Luhrmann for select establishing shots and reference plates. The château is open to the public; the gardens reach the sea.

Restaurants on three sides, easy to combine with lunch. The Friday vegetable market and the first-Sunday antique market both happen here. The square is one of the cleanest examples on the coast of a village playing itself rather than pretending to be somewhere else.

The villa Hitchcock used for the picnic and the closing kiss is privately held. The Baou, however, is visible from anywhere in the village. Park in the village; walk the lower paths for the sea view that opens behind Cary Grant in the picnic shot.

The fountain Robert De Niro's car narrowly avoids is at the centre of the square. The fish market runs every morning except Mondays — go in the morning if you want to see the square in the rhythm Frankenheimer would have known.

The motorbike chase between Bond and Fatima Blush ends at the Porte Darse, two minutes' walk along the same quay. The colored facades along Quai de l'Amiral Courbet are largely unchanged.

The villa is open to the public; the nine themed gardens are the reason to be here whether you remember the film or not. The musical fountains run on the half-hour. The pink villa, the Sèvres collection, and the rose garden all appear in the film.

The bar terrace is one of the great late-afternoon views on the coast. The pool deck is the original Belmond setting; the cliffside elevator down to the saltwater pool is the same one used in the film.

Now a Lenôtre patisserie and conference hall — the terrace overlooking the marina is the exact frame Michael Caine and Anton Rogers occupy. Walk the seafront promenade between Villefranche and Beaulieu — thirty minutes — and arrive in time for coffee on the terrace.

The Jardin Exotique at the top of the village has the view that opens the location. Park at the Jardin Exotique lot — do not attempt to drive into the medieval village. Walk down. Èze in midday is overrun by tour coaches; go before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m.

The Brosnan baccarat scene was filmed on the exterior steps; interior shots were studio. Iron Man 2 shot on Place du Casino the Monday after the actual Grand Prix; the Whiplash attack itself was on the racing circuit, with the F1 footage stitched together from the Historic Grand Prix two weeks earlier. Park at the Casino lot. Dress code applies in the gaming rooms after 14:00.

The Bar des Amis where the climactic fistfight begins was on the parallel Quai Frédéric Mistral. Walk both quays back-to-back. Go in the morning, before the day boats arrive from Cannes — by 11 a.m. the waterfront is unrecognisable from the film.

The estate is part of our Côtes de Provence wine route; a tasting visit and a short walk through the cellar reach the rooms used on screen. Combine with a half-day on the wine route itself.