What to Eat at Marché Forville, the Oldest Market in Cannes
Cannes is known for its glitzy beach clubs, glamorous La Croisette and star-studded film festival, but there’s more to the coastal French town than designer shops, red carpets and fancy restaurants. One of the best activities during a trip to Cannes, especially in the summer, is visiting the historic market that dominates the city’s food scene. Located at the foot of Le Suquet, or old town, Marché Forville dates back to the late 1800s; it is the oldest and largest market in the city. It’s an ideal place to sample classic European delicacies and stock up on local fruits, vegetables and herbs if you plan to cook during your trip. It’s not just for tourists, either; there are always a fair number of locals milling about and gathering ingredients for their weekly meals. Even chefs will peruse the vendors looking for local fish and tranches of cheese to stock their daily menus.
Since most visitors are heading out to restaurants and cafes while traveling rather than cooking food at home, the best tactic for visitors at the market is to focus on the prepared foods—and there are a lot of them. Some of these are best eaten on the spot, hot and fresh, for quick lunches and indulgent midday snacks; others can be ferried back to your apartment or hotel room for consumption at a later date. Another perk of visiting the market is the litany of restaurants and shops that have cropped up along the edges and on the outskirts, doubling down on the location in a bid to access the heavy foot traffic.
These ancillary spots—plus a secondary satellite market relocated closer to the old port during a renovation phase at the original structure—make for a delightful corridor of food shopping. But if you’re a rookie, the sheer number of options can be overwhelming. My strategy for shopping the market has improved thanks to plenty of trial and error over the course of repeat trips the past few years. Whether it’s your first time in Cannes or you’re a frequent visitor just looking for a little direction on your next visit, these are the can’t-miss stops for the best things to eat at Marché Forville.
