The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès is where cinema comes to be judged.

Every May, the world's most famous red carpet rolls out here as directors, actors and critics converge on Cannes for the International Film Festival. An event that brings 200,000 visitors and over 200 million euros to the city each year.

Its origins trace back to Venice in 1938, when Nazi pressure forced the jury of the Venice Film Festival to change its winners hours before the ceremony. Outraged, the French government resolved to create a festival free from political interference. Cannes won the bid, and though the first planned festival was cancelled by the outbreak of World War II, the 1946 edition was a triumph.

Outside, the Walk of Fame preserves over 150 celebrity handprints, from Meryl Streep to Paul McCartney. VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours trace the festival's unlikely political origins and follow the red carpet story of Grace Kelly, who met Prince Rainier III of Monaco here in 1955 and married him the following year.