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At Christmas, visit the Museum of Fairground Arts to enjoy a Festival of Marvels

At Christmas, visit the Museum of Fairground Arts to enjoy a Festival of Marvels

Paris is the place to be during the Christmas season as it’s full of festive activities. Take advantage of the opportunity to visit the unusual and innovative Musée des Arts Forains (Museum of Fairground Arts) in Paris and enjoy the museum’s Festival du Merveilleux (Festival of Marvels), which offers ten days brimming with entertainment.

 

The Museum of Fairground Arts; a journey into the past

Located in the Bercy district, the Museum of Fairground Arts, which has been classified as a ‘living heritage company’ since 2009, was created with the aim of preserving the art, artefacts and curiosities of the traditional fairgrounds of the 19th and 20th centuries in the form of a living museum where the superbly renovated and maintained attractions can be used by visitors. The attractions formerly used by the Belle-Epoque funfair shows are not on display in the sterile manner of a traditional museum, but instead are brought to life with 21st century technology so that visitors can touch, play with and even ride them!

When you step inside this extraordinary and enchanting place, you’ll discover temporary and permanent exhibitions gathering an incredible collection of fairground and funhouse artefacts, about fifteen rides, various games and a number of fairground shops and other restored attractions. Your itinerary takes you on a magical and unforgettable journey through several other parts of the museum, too, including the Venetian Lounges, the Magic Mirror, the Green Theatre and the Theatre of Marvels.

Visits are by reservation only throughout most of the year. Book a tour with actor guides and take your family or friends to see one of the world’s largest collections of fairground arts, artefacts and curiosities.

 

The Festival du Merveilleux; 10 days of magical entertainment

At the end of each year since 2009, the Musée des Arts Forains has opened its doors for the entire period of the Festival du Merveilleux, for which no advance booking is required. Ten days of shows and enchantment are offered to the public during the end of year celebrations. Come along and you’ll savour every magical moment! The museum becomes the venue for an incredible programme of Christmas entertainment for all, offering a return to a golden age of innocent fun.

The Festival du Merveilleux brings just about all the disciplines of live performance together in one place. Storytellers, magicians, jugglers, aerial silk dancers, acrobats, tightrope walkers, musicians and puppeteers will transport you into a dream world of wonder and spectacle.

At the same time, the latest in digital technology will immerse you in images and sound. It’s a kaleidoscope of 3D fantasy, incredible ballets of automatons, baffling optical illusions, light shows and mechanical orchestras playing without musicians. An unforgettable show inviting you to escape for a few hours into an absolutely fantastic universe.

 

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For more information :

Musée des Arts Forains
Festival du Merveilleux


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