It is not the season that sets prices, it is the Palais
In Cannes, the price of a room does not depend first on the season. It depends on what is happening at the Palais des Festivals that week. The building hosts more than fifty professional events a year, and half a dozen of them are enough to fill the town: when 20,000 delegates arrive on the same Monday, the question is no longer what a hotel costs, but whether there is one left.
The order of magnitude is documented. A survey published in September 2026 by the analyst Stephen Follows, covering 224 hotels in and around Cannes, puts an ordinary night with no conference at around 100 to 140 euros, and the same night during the Film Festival at around 390 to 500 euros, an average multiplier of 3.8. The Cannes hoteliers' barometer (MKG) for its part shows festival Mays at roughly three times an ordinary spring month.
Our position. If you are coming on holiday, the conference calendar is the first thing to look at, before the weather. It explains why your room costs three times more on a Tuesday in March than on a Saturday in April, and it also points to the weeks when Cannes is surprisingly affordable.
The calendar, event by event
N° 01
March
MIPIM: the most expensive week of the year
The world property fair took place from 9 to 13 March 2026, with 20,000 delegates from 90 countries according to the organiser. The 2027 edition is listed from 15 to 19 March by the Palais des Festivals (to be confirmed). It draws executives and investors, housed at company expense, over four tight nights. In the September 2026 survey, MIPIM is the only event with prices above those of the Film Festival, with very few hotels still on sale. Outside those dates, March is a quiet and cheap month in Cannes: everything hangs on the week you pick.
N° 02
May
The 2026 edition ran from 12 to 23 May. The 80th edition is announced for 11 to 22 May 2027. The Festival says it welcomes between 35,000 and 40,000 festival-goers each year, and it is the longest event on the calendar: twelve nights instead of four. The survey cited above sees the median room go from 160 euros two days before to 472 euros on opening night, then fall back to 194 euros three days after the closing ceremony. Within 500 metres of the Palais, about one hotel in thirteen was still selling festival week, against nearly one in two beyond two kilometres. Our article on the Festival for visitors details what you can see without a badge.
N° 03
June
Cannes Lions: advertising takes over the beaches
The international festival of creativity took place from 22 to 26 June 2026, and the 2027 edition is announced for 21 to 25 June. The trade press spoke of around 15,000 delegates for 2026 (a forecast figure). For a visitor, its particularity has less to do with the Palais than with the seafront: during that week a large share of the beaches and terraces on La Croisette is rented by brands and agencies. So you arrive at the very start of summer, at top price, to find private beaches closed to the public.
N° 04
September
Cannes Yachting Festival: the harbours, not the Palais
The boat show took place from 8 to 13 September 2026, at the Old Port and Port Canto, and is announced for 7 to 12 September 2027. The organisers expected around 56,000 visitors, more than 680 exhibitors and more than 700 boats. Unlike the conferences, it is a show open to the public, with a ticket. It occupies the two harbours at either end of La Croisette and weighs on the first half of September, which would otherwise be one of the best times to come.
N° 05
Late September and October
TFWA then MIPCOM: autumn is not low season
The duty free show (TFWA World Exhibition) took place in late September 2026, running until 1 October. Its 2025 edition drew 7,999 visitors, a record. TFWA has confirmed Cannes as host town from 2027 for at least three years, in autumn, with no dates published so far. Next comes MIPCOM, the audiovisual content market, from 12 to 15 October 2026, then from 18 to 21 October 2027 according to the organiser. Between the two there are slack weeks: those are the ones to aim for.
N° 06
November and December
MAPIC and ILTM: two short peaks in a quiet season
MAPIC (retail property) is scheduled for 3 and 4 November 2026. ILTM, the luxury travel show, runs from 30 November to 3 December 2026 according to the organiser. The 2027 dates of both had not been confirmed as of 10 October 2026. These are shorter events, which mostly put pressure on the top end of La Croisette. Apart from them, November and December are the months when Cannes is at its most accessible.
N° 07
The workaround
The same survey compared neighbouring towns during the Film Festival, hotel by hotel. In Mandelieu-la-Napoule, eight minutes away by train, the price did not move (multiplier 1.0). In Antibes, eleven minutes away, it was 1.2. In Nice, 38 minutes away, 1.3. In Mougins, 1.6. The rise is therefore a very local phenomenon, concentrated around the Palais. If your dates are imposed, this is the most effective workaround. Our guide to where to stay in Cannes compares the districts outside those weeks.
What we avoid
What we avoid: booking a weekend in Cannes without having opened the Palais des Festivals calendar. It is free, it is public, and it takes two minutes. Most nasty price surprises come from a stay that landed by chance on a trade show week.
What we also avoid: waiting for a last-minute drop during a major conference. In those weeks rooms are not discounted, they disappear. In the September 2026 survey, only about one hotel in eight was still taking a booking for the Festival's opening night, eight months ahead.
Finally, we do not confuse a full town with a closed town. A conference fills the hotels, the taxis and the evening tables around the Palais. It does not fill Le Suquet at ten in the morning, the Lérins Islands or the public beaches. Coming for the day during a trade show remains perfectly possible.
The weeks to aim for
The weeks to aim for. April outside school holidays, late May after the Festival closes, the second half of September between the Yachting Festival and TFWA, the gaps in October and most of November. These are periods when the town runs normally and prices return to their ordinary level. Our article on the best time to visit Cannes crosses this calendar with the weather.
A word of caution on dates. Every date given here was checked on 10 October 2026 with the organisers or the Palais des Festivals. The 2027 editions of TFWA, MAPIC and ILTM had not been published, and those that have can still shift by a day or two. Check the event's website before locking in a non-refundable ticket.
Cannes trade shows and hotel prices, common questions
When are hotels in Cannes most expensive?
During MIPIM (mid-March) and the Cannes Film Festival (mid-May), then during Cannes Lions (late June). A September 2026 survey of 224 hotels puts an ordinary night at around 100 to 140 euros and a Festival night at around 390 to 500 euros, an average multiplier of 3.8.
What are the dates of the main Cannes trade shows in 2027?
As checked on 10 October 2026: MIPIM 15 to 19 March, Cannes Film Festival 11 to 22 May, Cannes Lions 21 to 25 June, Cannes Yachting Festival 7 to 12 September, MIPCOM 18 to 21 October. The dates of TFWA, MAPIC and ILTM were still to be confirmed.
Can you visit Cannes during a conference?
Yes. Conferences saturate accommodation and the surroundings of the Palais des Festivals, not the whole town. Le Suquet, the Forville market, the Lérins Islands and the public beaches remain accessible. The difficulty lies in the room and in evening restaurants, not in the visit.
Where should you sleep if Cannes is full?
In a neighbouring town linked by train. During the Film Festival, the 2026 survey found no increase in Mandelieu-la-Napoule (eight minutes by train) and limited increases in Antibes (multiplier 1.2, eleven minutes) and Nice (1.3, 38 minutes).
What is the cheapest time to come to Cannes?
The weeks with no event at the Palais, particularly in November, in January and in the gaps of April and October. In Cannes, a quiet mid-season week often costs less than a trade show week in the depths of winter.
IT Digital entrepreneur · Cannes local
2026-10-10 · 8 min read
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