Buying in FranceGlitz, glamour and star quality - the Cannes Film Festival has it and so do luxury properties looking over the bay

Stars and stargazers were out in force as the Cannes Film Festival - still glamorous after 60 years - opened yesterday. But the Riviera resort has year-round star quality, with mansions fit for an oligarch and villas fit for Hollywood A-listers hidden in the hills above the Bay of Cannes.

Take the 420sq m (4,520sq ft) villa at the entrance to Cannes that's on the market for €4.25 million - that's its pool pictured above right.

The air-conditioned villa has five bedrooms, a double reception room, diningroom, open-plan kitchen, areas for entertaining, two conservatories - and panoramic views over the sea and Cap d'Antibes from its heated swimming pool. It is for sale through agent Cluttons.

For super-luxury, try La Tropicale, the mansion pictured on the far right: the house with large gardens is just above the Bay of Cannes. Built in the 19th century, it has the rich architectural style of its period with columns and marble floors.

Its price is in the range of €20 to €28 million, according to agent Aylesford-L'Immobiliere Bellevue. Tropicale's staff quarters alone has six en suite bedrooms, two lounges, two kitchens and a laundry room.

Accommodation for the owners includes four reception rooms, four livingrooms and seven bedrooms, each with bath and dressingroom. There are three kitchens, two kitchenettes, wine cellars and a laundry room. Leisure facilities include a games room, gym, sauna, Jacuzzi and two swimming pools.

The same agent also has Le Palais Venetien, a palace on the Cannes hillside "a few minutes away from the Croisette, the boutiques, the Palais des Festivals and the Casino" with views over the bay to the Lérins islands.

Built by an English lord in 1835, this is priced between €22 million and €28 million: accommodation includes a large two-storey hall lit by a glass roof; three huge reception rooms; four guest rooms with bathrooms and a livingroom; two lifts and a staircase leading to an upper floor with a large private drawingroom, office and two large bedrooms; a children's suite with three/four bedrooms. As well as that there is a large indoor swimming pool, Turkish bath and sauna and a 13-car garage, and extensive gardens.

There are lowish budget movies at the film festival, just as there are more modestly-priced properties in Cannes: but if it you're looking for superstars, you'll find them here.

Aylesford-L'Immobiliere Bellevue, www.bellevueimmo.com

Cluttons, cluttonsfrance.com