Why Californie
We did not want to be on the Croisette. Too much noise, too many tourists taking selfies in front of the Carlton. We wanted to live in Cannes like the locals do.
The Californie neighborhood sits on the eastern hills of the city. Quiet streets lined with pines and bougainvillea, Belle Epoque villas behind wrought-iron gates, and that late-afternoon light that settles over the bay and makes you want to do nothing at all.
The apartment is on the third floor of a typical Cannes building. We renovated everything: new kitchen, redone bathroom, air conditioning (because in August in Cannes, it is non-negotiable), and fiber wifi for those who need to work between swims.
It is small - 26 square metres, we are not going to pretend otherwise - but every metre is thought through. A real double bed in the bedroom, a sofa bed in the living room, a kitchen where you can actually cook, and the quiet of a residential street where you sleep with the windows open in spring.