IT's a place where you can find Canadians doing business with Russians, an event where Danish property people are rubbing shoulders with London lawyers on yachts, and it's a place where cities and countries from all over the world gather to do business.
This was MIPIM 2013. It's the biggest property event of its kind in the world – and Nottingham was there alongside Leicester, Derby, Birmingham and Manchester.
MIPIM in Cannes has been held every year since the sixties. It's the world's leading property market, bringing together investors, developers, architects, public authorities and property associations.
Nottingham and Derby shared a stand this year as part of the Local Enterprise Partnership. Working collaboratively is the way forward, says Jon Collins, city council leader, who was in Cannes.
"MIPIM is about making contacts with developers and investors who have previously not been involved in Nottingham," he said.
"We will be following up these contacts over the next few weeks and months. It was really good to see the core cities working collaboratively, placing themselves as an economic powerhouse. Collectively, they upped their game this year.
"It was good to see a joint presentation of HS2 with Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham. We will be following this up this week at Core Cities Cabinet."
So, what was everyone else doing at MIPIM? Manchester's exhibition space was a sleek affair with a new message every day. Manchester did an excellent job of showcasing its opportunities and expertise – and used Professor Brian Cox to help it spread the Manchester message, while the likes of Birmingham used a large space and a series of presentations over the course of MIPIM.
There was another celebrity. Mayor of London Boris Johnson was at MIPIM on Tuesday to greet cyclists from the Cycle To Cannes bike ride.
The Russians did the bling, of course. Their stand was not only large, with a series of city models with tiny moving cars, but they made their presence felt on the yachts down by the quayside.
More than 15,000 people attended MIPIM this year to meet, greet and do business with, not only people in other cities – but other countries too. Down by the quayside, there was a series of yachts taken by law firms and overseas cities where property people were entertained night and day.
It's true what they say about MIPIM: those vital business contacts you have tried so hard to get in touch with back in the UK are not only here in MIPIM for you to talk to, but you can meet them, sit down and talk – and do business.
The Nottingham team has returned home – exhausted after nearly a week of events, networking and presentations, but they have vital contacts and leads to follow up.
Nottingham will be back in MIPIM next year. What will the next 12 months hold? More investment, more development for Nottingham – and a chance to develop some of the enquiries and contacts made at MIPIM 2013.