While Cannes may be best known for its annual star-studded film festival , hordes of overseas buyers are flocking to the sun-soaked city on the French Riviera . The Côte d’Azur’s first member’s club is located in Cannes, plus a buzzy new development right on the world-famous Croisette is about to launch. Formally known as Le Relais de la Reine, the nine-unit apartment building is set back from the promenade, flanked by Armani/Caffè on one side and the Celine boutique on the other.
The property was originally designed by renowned architect Laurent Vianay in 1858 and operated as Cannes’s first hotel-guesthouse under the name Hotel Gonnet. When it was purchased in 1863 by François Daumas, the resort was renamed “Hotel Gonnet et de la Reine,” after the British monarch Queen Victoria. The hotel was expanded in 1883 and remained in the Daumas family until 1988, when it was demolished.
Five years later, the luxury apartment building known as Le Relais de la Reine rose in its place, and today, the Art Deco-style building is ready to reemerge after undergoing an extensive remodel. “Cannes is one of the major city markets in the Côte d’Azur, alongside Nice and Monaco, and remains attractive to those looking for a more urban Riviera experience,” according to Sylvain Boichut, director of Savills Cannes. “Many American buyers are drawn to this market by the lifestyle on offer as well as the comparatively strong dollar.
They want modern properties with a high-le.