Cannois cocktail aficionados and American expats, rejoice: you no longer have to travel to Paris, Venice or New York to get your fix

The countdown is on: Starting in June 2020, Harry’s Bar – Europe’s oldest cocktail bar and inventor of such iconic creations as the Bloody Mary or the Blue Lagoon, will open a new establishment in Port Canto, the heart of the Cannes marina. Franz-Arthur MacElhone, great-grandson of the bar’s founder Harry MacElhone, chose Cannes to perpetuate the unique atmosphere of the illustrious watering hole, synonymous with Cuban cocktails.

“Cannes, a global village, has a DNA very comparable to that of Harry’s Bar,” the fourth generation bar owner and Cannes resident states. “International in name and human in size, this city is without a doubt the perfect place to develop a sunny and Cuban-style version of our know-how.“ Mayor David Lisnard is excited as well. That the iconic Harry’s Bar – which inevitably conjures up memories of Ernest Hemingway, Coco Chanel or Humphrey Bogart – decides to link its history to Cannes is great news, he said, certain that this will reinforce the spirit of renewal in his town.

The 127m2 bar + 150m2 terrace establishment in the Port Canto area opens in June. Harry’s Bar is the first of two new world-renowned brands to be set up in Port Canto, alongside other existing shops specializing in water sports as well as a famous restaurant and nightclub. It represents another milestone in the mayor’s great projects in the town’s overall embellishment and reinvigoration of its waterfront.

All photos © Prospect Design