Palais des Festivals et des Congrès

According to Wikipedia, the first Palais des Festivals et des Congres was built in 1949 to host the Cannes Film Festival. It stood on the Promenade de la Croisette, on the site now occupied by a hotel, and hosted the 4th and 6th Eurovision Song Contests in 1959 and 1961. As the film festival grew and business conventions began, such as the MIPTV media market in 1965, the city decided in 1979 to build a larger Palais.

The new building, a six-storey modernist structure designed by Sir Hubert Bennett and Francois Druet, was constructed on the site of the municipal casino. It opened in December 1982, and in 1999 it was expanded with the Espace Riviera, a new space of 10,000 square metres. Since 1992 a mixed-economy company created from three non-profit organisations has overseen the Palais.

The Palais stands at the top of the Boulevard de la Croisette, east of the old port. It has an overall area of 35,000 square metres, primarily for exhibitions, plus numerous rooms and 18 auditoriums, the largest of which holds 2,300 people. Wikipedia describes the facilities as modern and high-tech, used for conferences throughout the year.

The Palais has also been a stage for broader moments in European broadcasting and culture. Eurovision's 1959 and 1961 contests were held in the first building, and the second Palais remains tied to Cannes' identity as a city of conferences, with trade shows such as MIPIM, MIPTV and Midem joining the film and advertising festivals through the year. Its modernist design replaced the municipal casino on the same site.

The city of Cannes itself began as a Ligurian settlement known as Aegitna, with a Roman outpost on Le Suquet hill, and in the 10th century was known as Canua. The monks of the Lerins Islands controlled the town until around 1530, when it became independent, so the modern congress centre sits within a long history of religious and maritime life.

The Cannes Film Festival was founded in 1946 after the city council had the idea of an international film festival shortly after World War II. It is usually held in May at the Palais des Festivals. The city also hosts other annual events such as MIPIM, MIPTV, MIDEM and Cannes Lions, and has grown into a centre for conferences.

Most of the building is accessible only during events, and access varies, so the exterior and the surrounding promenade are what most visitors see. Wikipedia notes that Le Suquet, the old town, gives a good view of the Croisette. The Vieux Port lies beside the Palais. A private tour with a driver can combine a stop at the Palais with the seafront, Le Suquet and boat connections to the Lerins Islands.