An ideal Christmas outing with the family; the Festival du Merveilleux
Published on 15 December 2019, dans Events
Are you staying with your family at the Grand Hotel Saint-Michel during the Christmas holidays? If so, we know of a festive family outing that will enchant you. Take a stroll along the Seine, towards the Quai de Bercy, and you’ll come to the doors of the Musée des Arts Forains (Museum of Fairground Arts). There you will find the Festival du Merveilleux and be swept away in its magic.
The Festival du Merveilleux; ten days of ongoing spectacle
Inside the Pavillons de Bercy, funfair artefact collector Jean-Paul Favand has brought together a whole world of performing artistes. Every festive season since 2009, his Festival du Merveilleux has presented storytellers, musicians, magicians, acrobats, aerial dancers, puppeteers, tightrope walkers, jugglers and more, each act following on from the one before in a continuous delightful spectacle lasting ten days. It all goes hand in hand with the use of 3D technology, optical illusions and automata shows in a fantastic profusion. It’s an outing to delight both young and old. The show spills over into a private street adorned with Christmas lights.
The grand pageantry of the Pavillons de Bercy
The talented festival performers present their acts to the audience in the charming setting of the Pavillons de Bercy. For the rest of the year, the Musée des Arts Forains is accessible only by reservation. But during the Festival du Merveilleux you can wander at will, try out the rides and play the games. Step inside the Magic Mirror, a circular ballroom of bevelled mirrors and mahogany straight out of the 1920s, visit a recreated 18th century Venetian palace where you can enjoy an opera performed by automata, and discover the countless curiosities of the Théâtre du Merveilleux, where a vintage funfair has been recreated! In the heart of Paris, the Pavillons de Bercy reveal their secrets for your pleasure.
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Crédit photo : Tableau Place de la Concorde en automobile en 1900 Festival du merveilleux au Musée des Arts Forains © Nathalie Baetens
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