Montée des Marches: Everything You Need to Know About Cannes' Red Carpet Steps

What You Are Actually Looking At

The Montée des Marches, literally 'the climb of the steps', is the ceremonial staircase at the entrance of the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès on La Croisette. Twenty-four steps rise from street level to the main entrance of the building, and during the Cannes Film Festival each May, those steps are covered in 60 metres of deep-crimson carpet that has become one of the most reproduced images in global popular culture. The steps became a formalised component of the Festival's ceremony in 1984, and the carpet tradition has been refined ever since: until 2021 it was replaced three times daily, but now it is refreshed once per day for environmental reasons.

Outside of festival season, the carpet is often removed. What remains is a broad, pale concrete staircase framed by the imposing horizontal bulk of the Palais, which was inaugurated in 1983 and is not, by any objective architectural measure, a beautiful building. That honesty matters here: if you are picturing a classical European palace, reset your expectations. The Palais is a large, functional congress centre. But the steps in front of it carry the weight of decades of ceremony, and standing on them, you feel that history even on a quiet Tuesday in October.

The Experience at Different Times of Day

Early morning, before 8 a.m., is when the steps are most usefully quiet. The light from the east catches the pale stone facade and the sea glints in the background if you position yourself correctly. There are almost no other visitors at this hour, which makes it the best window for clean photographs without strangers in the frame. The cleaning crews have usually finished, so the surrounding pavement is fresh.

By mid-morning, tour groups and cruise-ship passengers begin arriving. The steps become a rotating photo stage: couples posing with arms outstretched, groups recreating imaginary red-carpet walks, children running up and down. The atmosphere is cheerful and relaxed rather than solemn. There is often a faint smell of sunscreen and coffee drifting from the café terraces on the nearby boulevard.

At midday in summer, the stone heats up noticeably underfoot and the sun hits the facade directly, washing out the contrast in photographs. The crowd thins slightly as visitors retreat to lunch. This is the least photogenic window of the day. Late afternoon, from around 4 p.m. onward, brings warmer, lower-angle light and a second surge of visitors as the promenade comes to life. In the golden hour before sunset, the steps photograph well and the energy around the Palais is at its most cinematic.

History and Cultural Weight

The Cannes Film Festival was founded in 1946, though earlier plans were disrupted by the Second World War and the first edition was eventually held in September 1946. For its first decades, the ceremony evolved without a fixed, formalised red-carpet ascent. It was in 1984, when the current Palais des Festivals was already two years old, that the Montée des Marches was formalised as a ceremonial element of the Festival. Since then, every major film premiere at Cannes has sent its cast and crew up those 24 steps in front of photographers and crowds gathered on either side.

The steps sit at the western end of Boulevard de la Croisette, which places them in the symbolic heart of the city's identity as a global film capital. The Palais itself hosts not only the Festival but year-round congresses, trade fairs, and events, which means the steps are in near-constant use as a backdrop, an entrance, and a landmark.

The red carpet used during the Festival is a logistical operation in its own right. Each roll weighs hundreds of kilograms and the daily replacement (now once per day rather than three times) reflects a genuine operational commitment to maintaining the carpet's immaculate appearance for evening ceremonies. The specific shade of red is controlled: it is not a generic crimson but a consistent, deep tone that has been photographed millions of times and is immediately recognisable worldwide.

Practical Walkthrough: How a Visit Actually Goes

You approach the Palais from La Croisette, walking along the seafront boulevard. The building announces itself bluntly: a wide, low structure with a tower section at the western end. The steps face directly onto the esplanade in front, with barriers and signage around them depending on what events are running inside. On a normal day, the steps are open and unguarded. You walk up freely, turn around at the top, and look out over the esplanade toward the sea. The view is pleasant rather than spectacular, but the orientation gives you a clear sense of the Festival geography.

The Palais des Festivals itself offers guided tours on certain dates, which take visitors inside the main auditorium and backstage areas. These tours are time-sensitive and ticketed separately; check the official Palais des Festivals website for current availability before planning around them.

Accessibility is confirmed: the Palais des Festivals is accessible to disabled visitors, and the surrounding esplanade is flat and smooth. The steps themselves are, by definition, a staircase, so visitors with mobility limitations may prefer to photograph from the base or the esplanade level rather than climbing.

During the Cannes Film Festival

If you are visiting Cannes specifically for the Film Festival, the Montée des Marches takes on a completely different character. The steps are lined with press photographers and television cameras. Crowds gather behind barriers on both sides of the carpet. For a deeper understanding of what to expect during that period, the Cannes Film Festival guide covers access, accreditation, and how to watch the arrivals as a member of the public.

Even without a festival pass, you can position yourself on the esplanade side and watch the arrivals from a distance. The experience is loud, compressed, and genuinely electric if cinema matters to you. The security perimeter means you will be at least 20 to 30 metres from the carpet itself, but the scale of the ceremony is visible and the atmosphere is unlike anything else in Cannes during the rest of the year.

One practical note for Festival period visits: the surrounding streets, particularly the western end of La Croisette and the roads near the Palais, are subject to road closures and access restrictions in the hours before and during evening screenings. Arriving on foot from the east along the seafront is the most reliable approach.

What the Steps Cannot Deliver

This is a staircase and a facade. Outside of festival season, there is no interior access through the main ceremonial entrance, no exhibition about the history of the carpet, and no dedicated visitor centre attached to the steps themselves. Visitors who arrive expecting an immersive film-history museum will be disappointed. The experience is symbolic: it works if you bring context and imagination, and it falls flat if you do not.

Visitors looking for more substantial cultural depth while in the area should consider Musée des Explorations du Monde inside the Palais, or walk ten minutes north to explore Le Suquet, the old town with genuine medieval character and panoramic views over the bay.

The immediate surroundings of the Palais are also worth noting honestly: the esplanade area can feel slightly corporate outside of events, with parked security vehicles, temporary barriers, and little greenery. It is a civic plaza designed for function, not for lingering. Most visitors spend around 15 to 30 minutes, take their photographs, and move on. That is a completely reasonable approach.

Getting There and Getting Around

Gare de Cannes, the main railway station, is roughly a 10-minute walk from the Palais des Festivals. From Nice, TER regional trains cover the route in approximately 30 to 40 minutes. From Nice Côte d'Azur Airport, regional bus line 81 (Lignes d’Azur/ZOU!) connects the airport area to Cannes in around 45 to 60 minutes. Palmbus city routes serve La Croisette and the central area.

The Montée des Marches is a natural starting point for a walk along La Croisette. From the steps, you can walk east along the seafront boulevard past the grand hotels, beach entrances, and boutiques for as far as your legs allow. The Cannes walking tour uses the Palais steps as its logical anchor point before heading into the rest of the city.