5 good reasons to visit the unusual Musée des Arts Forains in Paris

The Musée des Arts Forains, a museum off the beaten track in Paris

Also known as the "Pavillons de Bercy", the Parisian Museum of Fairground Arts is an unusual and unique place, where a passionate man, Jean-Paul Favand, has been gathering a unique collection of 19th and 20th century entertainment objects... for more than twenty years!

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From the "Venetian salons", where the Rialto bridge has been reconstructed, faithful to the one that can be seen in Venice, to the Theatre of the Marvellous, a sort of giant cabinet of curiosities where a tree trunk in the shape of a booted leg rubs shoulders with a hot-air balloon with an elephant-shaped gondola, the visitor wanders around for an hour and a half in an unusual place.

An interactive museum-show for young and old

Far from being frozen in time, the Musée des Arts Forains is a living museum, which offers visitors the opportunity to ride on century-old merry-go-rounds or play with old fairground attractions. Are you more interested in a waiter's race or a shooting range where you can try your hand at a rifle?

Or would you prefer to experience one of the oldest rides in the world, a velocipede ride dating from the second half of the 19th century? To enjoy it, you will have to pedal, because this ride works only with your legs, without electricity! If the start is rather slow, the ride quickly increases in speed, reaching 30 kilometres per hour: strong sensations guaranteed!

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Not to mention the immersive sound installations, which allow you to listen to horses galloping around a room, or to see characters come to life to the sound of Shostakovich's Waltz Number 2.

The historical setting of the Musée des Arts Forains

Good to know: the Pavillons de Bercy are not just anywhere! They stand in the place of former wine cellars, the Chais Lheureux, warehouses that were built in 1896. If the district is now an economic hub, it was once teeming with wine merchants and buyers, the Bercy warehouses being, at the end of the 19th century, considered the largest wine market in the world.

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Today, the Pavillons de Bercy are spread over 1.5 hectares and are composed of six buildings, covering a total of more than 8,000 square metres. Two private streets (with almost 13,000 paving stones), a piazza and 17 hundred-year-old plane trees complete the decor.

In addition to the entertainment and attractions, be sure to take a look at the architecture of the buildings, which have been restored to their original state: they bear witness to the industrial architecture of the late 19th century, with its millstone walls, arched brick openings and large metal structures inside. The latter were designed by L'Heureux, a pupil of the architect Victor Baltard, himself a pupil of Gustave Eiffel. This important past obviously played a role in the inscription of the Chais Lheureux on the supplementary inventory of Historic Monuments in the 1980s.

A confidential museum that only opens its doors for guided tours

Please note: this private museum is only accessible by reservation, during paid guided tours (18 euros for an adult), mainly on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays and every day during the school holidays. The tour slots are open for booking 3 weeks in advance. Far from the crowded tourist attractions in Paris, the Musée des Arts Forains is a particularly confidential place.

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Exceptionally, the place opens its doors at a reduced price every year during the European Heritage Days.

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Why attend the Festival du Merveilleux at the end of the year?

Since 2009, the Musée des Arts Forains has been opening its doors continuously for the "Festival du Merveilleux" for ten days, during which all kinds of shows are performed.

During the festive season, you can enter freely (but always with a reservation) this fascinating place, where about sixty artists - acrobats, storytellers, balancing acts, magicians, musicians, jugglers, aerial dancers and puppeteers - work their magic: this year, a whirling dervish as well as a Mongolian singer will be present.

Mechanical music, a ballet of automatons and other optical illusions will punctuate the days, while the private street of the museum is adorned with Christmas lights, for a magical moment out of time.

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