Mark,
We drove down there (1350 km) as I live in the Netherlands.
However there is public transport from Nice (airport and central station) to a number of places, or you can rent a car. If you don't mind French driving and the costs, renting a car is IMO the best option. I believe, top of my head, you should be able to rent for around 280 Euro a week (Europecar) incl something like a 1000 miles. For Mougin which is as you said is "just" above Cannes (still about a 15 minute drive I think), bus, taxi or car are probably the only means to get there, but with public transport that may take a little more time. I have no experience with that in France.
We stayed in Lanapoule (about 6 km east of Cannes), which is close to the coast and hosts a nice 2 star Michelin restaurant, but for us it was a honeymoon ... so I guess that may be different (actually, I believe Mougin also has a Michelin star restaurant, so if you feel hungry
)
Lanapoule has a small railway station so I guess you may be able to get there from Nice central railway station. No doubt there are shuttle services from all the main Cannes hotels or you take a train/shuttle to Nice, and a taxi to Lanapoule Mougin or wherever nearby Cannes to save money.
There are virtually no good camera shops in Cannes or Nice. The only one I know, selling L glass from stock, authorised Nikon dealer etc. is in Nice (Arta Foto I believe, Rue de France).
The area itself is beautiful. You can explore many small places like St Paul de Vence, Biot, larger ones like Grasse, or towns like Antibes, Cannes or indeed the old town of Nice. Alternatively you can just tour part of the route Napoleon (see some of the pictures for what it looks like), but you would need a car. If you like getting up early, doing some shooting on the French flower, fish or vegie markets should give you some great pictures.
Distances are relatively small (compared to US) but driving from Cannes (or say Mougin) to Nice will still take you about 45 minutes.
I know the area reasonably well (apart from public transport) so let me know if you need to know more.
Best regards,
Simon
Very nice pics. I will be in Mougins next week shooting a wedding.
It is ovelooking Cannes on the mountain. Was there a bus or
shuttle from the airport in Nice to wherever it was that you were
lodging? Any other tips about that area would be greatly
appreciated. There will be two major holidays while we are there,
Bastille Day, and then a local religious holiday for the little
town of Mougins.
--
Mark Currier
--
Simon
my homepage:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~sand/ 
