A convention centre you walk around
The Palais des Festivals is the most photographed building in Cannes and one of the least visited. The reason is simple: it is a convention centre. It hosts more than fifty professional events a year, and most of what happens there takes place behind a badge check. The visitor walks around it.
That walk is still worth making, provided you know what is open. Three things are: the 24 steps, freely accessible for most of the year, the Chemin des Étoiles and its handprints at the foot of the building, and a guided tour of the interior, offered a few days a year for 6 euros.
Our view. The Palais is seen in half an hour and does not deserve a day built around it. But those thirty minutes are free, they are five minutes from the station, and they are far better if you come on a day when nothing is going on there. Here the calendar matters more than the time of day.
The Palais, point by point
N° 01
The steps
24 steps, freely accessible outside conferences and festivals
The staircase leading up to the Grand Auditorium Louis Lumière has 24 steps. The tourist office describes it as freely accessible, open every day all year round, outside conference and festival periods: you walk up, you take your turn posing when the way is clear, and it costs nothing. Two reservations. During the Cannes Film Festival you can see the steps but not climb them. And the red carpet is not guaranteed: the tourist office says it covers the steps all year, other guides report that it is sometimes removed out of season. If a photo on red is your goal, call the tourist office before you come.
N° 02
Chemin des Étoiles
The handprints, on the Esplanade Georges Pompidou
At the foot of the Palais, the ground is set with casts of the hands of film personalities, fixed in stainless steel and accompanied by signatures. The tourist office gives a figure of 140 (another of its pages says 150), plus nearly 400 signatures. The trail starts in front of the tourist office, runs along the building and continues onto the Esplanade Georges Pompidou and into the neighbouring gardens. The town cites, among others, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Catherine Deneuve and Sandrine Bonnaire side by side, Jodie Foster, Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, Spike Lee, Akira Kurosawa and Julie Andrews. In front of the entrance are those of Andrzej Zulawski, Johnny Hallyday and Dennis Hopper. It is free, outdoors, and accessible day and night.
N° 03
Guided tour
6 euros, a few dates a year, booking required
The tourist office runs guided tours of the interior, on dates it describes itself as random, because they depend on the activity of the Palais. In summer 2026 they were scheduled between 8 July and 19 August: departure from the tourist office at 3 pm for the tour in French, at 3.30 pm for the tour in English. Price recorded: 6 euros full rate, 3 euros for holders of a French disability card. Booking is made in advance, online (booking.cannes-destination.com) or on +33 4 92 99 84 22. An identity document is required, suitcases and bulky bags are refused, and the route involves many stairs. The list of rooms visited is not published: ask when you book.
N° 04
Without accreditation
Actually getting in: a show, a public fair, the casino
There are three ways in without a professional badge. The first is the Palais's own season of shows (concerts, dance, comedy), sold through a box office like any other venue: it is the simplest way to sit in the Grand Auditorium, which has around 2,300 seats. The second lies in the few events open to the public, such as the Festival International des Jeux in late February (26 to 28 February in 2027, to be confirmed). The third is the Casino Barrière Le Croisette, housed in the building, with the usual entry conditions of a casino. The tourist office itself is inside the Palais, at 1 boulevard de la Croisette.
N° 05
The building
The present Palais opened in December 1982, on the site of the former municipal casino, to plans by the architects Hubert Bennett and François Druet. Its mass of pale concrete earned it the nickname of the bunker, and it has never quite shaken the name off. It replaced a first palais, further along La Croisette, on the site of what is now the JW Marriott. It should be looked at for what it is: a working tool set between the Old Port and the beach, more interesting for what it keeps alive than for its façade. Our article on La Croisette places it within the line of the seafront.
N° 06
During the Festival
In May the steps are closed to the public and covered with a 60-metre carpet, which the Festival now replaces once a day (three times until 2021). You watch them from the barriers on the boulevard, with the crowd you would expect. Screenings at the Palais are by invitation, and the next edition is announced for 11 to 22 May 2027. What the public can actually do during those twelve days is another subject, covered in our article on the Festival for visitors.
What we avoid
What we avoid: coming specially for the steps during a conference week. MIPIM in March, Cannes Lions in June, MIPCOM in October and a few others take the forecourt out of play: barriers, tents, badge checks. You leave with a photo of a tarpaulin. The Palais calendar is public, and thirty seconds are enough to check.
What we also avoid: expecting the handprints to be a museum. It is paving, with no labels and no apparent order. The pleasure lies in hunting for a name you know, not in following a route. Ten minutes are enough, and that is just fine.
Finally, we do not pay for a private tour to see the Palais from the inside without checking what is really included. The only official tour of the interior we were able to verify is the tourist office's, at 6 euros. Everything else is limited, until proven otherwise, to the outside of the building.
Which day, what time
The right day. A day with no event, clear of set-up and dismantling: that is when the steps are free. The safest gaps fall in April outside holidays, late May after the Festival, the second half of September and November, but only the Palais calendar is authoritative. Our article on the best time to visit Cannes gives the broad outline of the year.
The right time. Early morning, before the groups arrive, is the slot when you are most likely to have the steps to yourself. At the end of the day the queue for the photo grows, but the neighbouring Old Port and Le Suquet take on their best light. Stainless steel shines: the handprints read better in raking light than at midday.
Palais des Festivals, common questions
Can you walk up the steps of the Palais des Festivals?
Yes, for most of the year. The tourist office describes the 24 steps as freely accessible, open every day, outside conference and festival periods. During the Cannes Film Festival in May they are visible but closed to the public.
Where is the Chemin des Étoiles in Cannes?
At the foot of the Palais des Festivals. The handprints start in front of the tourist office, run along the building and continue onto the Esplanade Georges Pompidou and into the neighbouring gardens. Access is open and free all year round.
Can you visit the Palais des Festivals?
Yes, but only a few days a year. The tourist office offers guided tours on dates that depend on the activity of the Palais. In summer 2026 they cost 6 euros and had to be booked in advance, with an identity document to show on the day.
Is the red carpet in place all year round?
Sources differ. The tourist office says the carpet covers the steps all year, other guides report that it may be removed out of season or during certain events. If it matters to you, call the tourist office before you come.
How long should you allow for the Palais des Festivals?
Half an hour for the steps and the handprints, without a guided tour. The Palais is about five minutes on foot from the station and at the start of La Croisette, so it combines easily with the Old Port, Le Suquet or the promenade.
IT Digital entrepreneur · Cannes local
2026-10-10 · 7 min read
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