Events in Cannes on September 26 and 27, 2026: What to Do This Weekend

The weekend of Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, 2026, brings a particularly rich mix of sport, art, cinema, culture and local traditions to Cannes. The major Régates Royales sailing event reaches its final day on Saturday, September 26, while several of the city’s main seasonal exhibitions continue in museums and exhibition venues. The weekend also offers Provençal markets, live music, cinema and initiatives focusing on sustainability.

For those planning a stay on the French Riviera, Cannes therefore offers plenty of opportunities to create an itinerary combining the sea, the Croisette, the old town, contemporary art and local life.

Saturday, September 26: the final day of the Régates Royales

The sea will be the main attraction on Saturday, September 26, 2026. The Régates Royales de Cannes, now in their 48th edition, come to an end on Saturday after a week of competition in the Bay of Cannes. Organised by the Yacht Club de Cannes, the event brings together more than 150 classic boats and some of the world’s most famous vintage yachts, including vessels associated with renowned designers such as William Fife III, Nathanael Herreshoff and William Gardner.

Date: Saturday, September 26, 2026
Location: Bay of Cannes, with event activities centred around the harbour area
Time: regatta times should be checked with the organisers, as the official city calendar does not indicate a single public opening time
Admission: the races can be watched from the coast; information about the event is available from the Yacht Club de Cannes.

The Vieux-Port, particularly the area around the Pantiero, is one of the most atmospheric places from which to experience the event. The harbour regularly hosts major nautical events, including the Régates Royales.

Art and history: exhibitions to see in Cannes

The weekend is also a great opportunity to explore Cannes’ cultural scene. On Sainte-Marguerite Island, the exhibition “A Tribute to André Malraux – The Imaginary Museum Revisited” continues until October 31 at the Musée du Masque de Fer et du Fort Royal. Held to mark the 50th anniversary of Malraux’s death, the exhibition explores the role of museums in the digital age and revisits his famous concept of the “Imaginary Museum”.

Dates: June 6 to October 31, 2026
During this weekend: Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27
Location: Musée du Masque de Fer et du Fort Royal, Île Sainte-Marguerite
Opening hours: 10:00 am–5:45 pm
Admission: €6.50 full price, €3.50 reduced.

The visit can easily be combined with a trip around Sainte-Marguerite Island, turning a cultural outing into a Mediterranean excursion.

On the Croisette, the La Malmaison Contemporary Art Centre presents “Mirages of the World – The Paintings of Hervé Di Rosa”, an exhibition spanning more than four decades of the French artist’s career. Painting, sculpture, drawing, ceramics and tapestries come together in a colourful artistic universe influenced by comics, popular culture, Art Brut and the arts of different cultures around the world.

Dates: July 17 to November 8, 2026
During this weekend: Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27
Location: La Malmaison Contemporary Art Centre, 47 boulevard de la Croisette
Opening hours in September: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 am–1:00 pm and 2:00 pm–6:00 pm
Admission: €6.50 full price, €3.50 reduced.

In the historic Suquet district, visitors can also discover “Felicità” by Marion Charlet, presented at Suquet des Artistes, on rue Saint-Dizier. The artist creates landscapes suspended between architecture, nature and memory, using intense colours and scenes in which vegetation appears to reclaim built environments.

Dates: July 4, 2026 to January 10, 2027
During this weekend: Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27
Location: Suquet des Artistes, 7 rue Saint-Dizier
Opening hours: 10:00 am–1:00 pm and 2:00 pm–6:00 pm
Admission: €4.50 full price; €2.50 reduced; free for certain categories.

Another exhibition worth visiting that weekend is “Gilbert Portanier, Les Céramiques en Liberté 1926–2023”, at the Espace Miramar. Closing on Sunday, September 27, the exhibition marks the centenary of the artist’s birth and brings together around thirty works highlighting his exploration of ceramics, painting and sculpture.

Dates: September 8–27, 2026
During this weekend: Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27
Location: Espace Miramar, 35 rue Pasteur
Opening hours: 10:00 am–1:00 pm and 2:00 pm–6:00 pm
Admission: free.

Saturday, September 26: literature and cinema

Cannes’ cultural programme continues on Saturday with several events at the Médiathèque Noailles, on avenue Jean de Noailles.

At 10:00 am, the library hosts the “Écrire Cannes” writing competition awards ceremony, celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2026. The theme is “Cannes durable: imaginons la ville de demain!” (“Sustainable Cannes: let’s imagine the city of tomorrow!”), and excerpts from the participants’ stories will be read during the event. Admission is free.

At 3:00 pm, also at the Médiathèque Noailles, “Journal de voyage avec André Malraux, à la recherche des arts du monde entier” explores Malraux’s relationship with art. The programme includes the 1973 documentary “Le musée imaginaire d’André Malraux”, based on an interview conducted by Jean-Marie Drot. The event lasts approximately 90 minutes, is free of charge and advance booking is recommended.

Cinema enthusiasts can also attend the German Film Festival, organised by Ciné Croisette. On Saturday, September 26 at 10:30 am, Les Arcades cinema, 77 rue Félix-Faure, screens Les 3 vies de Gundermann, directed by Andreas Dresen in 2023. The director is attending the festival, which continues on Sunday, September 27.

Saturday evening, at 7:30 pm, Cinéma Olympia, on rue de la Pompe, screens Knock by Guy Lefranc as part of the Play It Again! festival. The film, starring Louis Jouvet, offers another way to end the day with a classic of French cinema. Admission is €7, with a €6.50 cinema-lover rate.

Cannes markets: Saturday, September 26 among antiques, local produce and crafts

Those who prefer to discover Cannes through everyday local life can explore several markets during the weekend.

The Marché des Allées de la Liberté, at 1 Allée de la Liberté, brings several activities together in the same location. The antiques market takes place on Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, while the arts and crafts market is open from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. It can easily be combined with a walk towards the Vieux-Port and the old town.

The Marché Brocante des Allées de la Liberté, also at 1 Allée de la Liberté, takes place on Saturday, September 26 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. It is particularly appealing to visitors looking for vintage objects, antiques and unusual finds.

Another option is the Marché Gambetta, at Place Gambetta, open on Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27 from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm. The market is known for clothing and leather goods, as well as fruit and vegetables, seafood and flowers.

To the west of the city, in the La Bocca district, the Marché de La Bocca, at Place du Marché, is open on both Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27 from 7:30 am to 1:00 pm. Visitors will find food products, fruit and vegetables, flowers, locally caught fish and other goods, while Saturday also features a clothing market.

The Marché Saint Jin-Jin, on the other hand, is not held during the weekend: it takes place on Tuesday and Friday mornings. It will therefore not be open on Saturday, September 26 or Sunday, September 27.

Sunday, September 27: music at the Allées de la Liberté

Sunday morning offers a free musical event in the heart of Cannes. At 11:30 am, the Kiosque à musique at the Allées de la Liberté hosts “Les Moments Musicaux de Forville”.

The concert lasts approximately one hour and is performed by students from the Cannes Conservatory. The programme includes jazz, soul and bossa, creating a relaxed atmosphere for a Sunday stroll among the market stalls. Admission is free.

Sunday morning also offers the opportunity to take part in “Nettoyons la nature”, organised as part of the European Sustainable Development Week. The initiative takes place from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm in the basse vallée de la Siagne, along Chemin de la Plaine de Laval in Cannes La Bocca. Participants will collect litter in an initiative organised by the Méditerranée 2000 association. Participation is free, but registration is required.

Sunday, September 27: the German Film Festival continues

The German Film Festival continues on Sunday, September 27. At 10:30 am, Olympia cinema, 5 rue d’Antibes, screens Un été à Berlin, directed by Andreas Dresen in 2005. The film follows the everyday lives of two friends and the residents of their Berlin apartment building.

For cinema lovers, this makes it possible to build a weekend itinerary around German cinema, while also discovering the other exhibitions and cultural events taking place throughout Cannes.

A weekend in Cannes between the sea, culture and local life

The weekend of September 26 and 27, 2026 in Cannes offers a particularly varied programme. Saturday is dominated by the Régates Royales, with the conclusion of the major classic sailing event, but visitors can also combine the waterfront with exhibitions dedicated to Malraux, Hervé Di Rosa, Marion Charlet and Gilbert Portanier before exploring the city’s literary and cinematic programme.

Sunday has a more relaxed atmosphere, with the markets, the free concert at the Kiosque à musique, the continuation of the exhibitions and the second day of the German Film Festival. Those interested in environmental initiatives can instead spend the morning taking part in “Nettoyons la nature” in the Siagne valley.

The Palais des Festivals is also in its 2026/2027 season, which officially began on September 18 and continues until June 27, 2027. However, this general season listing does not correspond to a specific performance on September 26 or 27, so the programme of individual shows should be checked before purchasing tickets.

The same applies to the Orchestre national de Cannes 2026/2027 season. The orchestra is active during this period, but the concert scheduled for September 26, 2026, listed in the official programme, takes place in Mandelieu, at Église Notre-Dame du Liban, at 9:00 pm, rather than in Cannes.

For visitors arriving in Cannes for the weekend, the ideal approach is therefore to combine the Croisette and Vieux-Port, the Régates Royales, the city markets, the exhibitions and the cultural programme, while leaving time for a walk through Le Suquet and along the Mediterranean. In two days, Cannes offers a chance to experience both its international image and its more authentic everyday atmosphere.