Le Marché de la Bocca & Chez Bruno Socca
Head 2 km west of the Croisette to the working-class Bocca district and you'll find a completely different Cannes: no designer boutiques, just neighbourhood bakeries, a lively covered market and the kind of no-frills Provençal lunch spots that haven't raised their prices for tourists. Chez Bruno, a standing counter on Place Cornut-Gentille, is the definitive address for socca in the city.
Socca, Pissaladière & Pan Bagnat
Socca is a thin, blistered pancake of chickpea flour, olive oil and water baked in a scorching wood oven — it should be slightly charred at the edges and eaten immediately with cracked black pepper. Bruno's version is legendary among Cannes regulars who make a weekly pilgrimage from the Croisette end of town.
While you're in the Bocca market, order a wedge of pissaladière (caramelised onion, anchovy and olive tart on bread dough) and a pan bagnat — the Niçois pressed sandwich of tuna, eggs, anchovies and vegetables soaked in olive oil. Both cost under €5 and constitute a perfect Riviera lunch.
The Bocca Neighbourhood
The covered Marché de la Bocca on Avenue Francis Tonner operates Tuesday through Sunday mornings and is far less touristy than Forville — prices reflect it. Fishmongers, butchers and a remarkable olive merchant selling 20 varieties share the hall with florists and a honey stall from a beekeeper in the Estérel hills.
After lunch, walk two blocks to the Plage de la Bocca, a long public beach with free sand sections that locals prefer to the private-beach-dominated Croisette. The water is the same Mediterranean blue, the sunbeds are free.
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