The Musée des Arts Forains - Pavillon de Bercy: an unusual and enchanting museum in Paris

For a dose of magic and fantasy in your daily life, head for the 12th arrondissement: right next to Bercy Village lies a fantastic museum, a timeless place that transports us into the playful world of the fairground. Welcome to the Musée des Arts Forains - Pavillon de Bercy, a private, immersive and totally exceptional museum!

This unusual museum is open by reservation and guided tour all year round. Here you'll find an extraordinary collection of show props and decorations, antique merry-go-rounds, fairground and funfair games, automata and numerous curios dating from the 19th and 20th centuries. These surprising and fabulous exhibits are presented in a variety of spaces, all of which bring stars to our eyes.

The Musée des Arts Forains is a show museum, where you can touch and play with the works! It's not just for children. As your guide will explain: in previous centuries, merry-go-rounds and funfairs were reserved for adults! Visitors of all ages enjoy these monumental, centuries-old but perfectly preserved pieces. This guided tour allows us to learn not only about the world of fairgrounds, but also about the societies of the time. Did you know, for example, that French and German carousel horses are very different from one another?

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Room after room, we plunge into different universes, each more enchanting and fantastic than the last. You'll discover the Paris of the Belle Époque, then move on to Serenissima Venice, before discovering the Théâtre du Merveilleux and its chimeras. Take time to stroll through the museum's garden, which hides a host of playful characters and set elements.

Each area has its own universe, its own treasures. Admire a 140-year-old mermaid, a bicycle merry-go-round powered by visitors' legs, epic horse races, dozens of animals of all sizes and colors... Keep your eyes peeled for a gnome in a boot, and an opera-singing Harlequin...

For over an hour, you can lose yourself in these extravagant and marvelous collections, and have fun on the rides you can try out during your visit.

Visits to the Musée des Arts Forains are by reservation only. The tour lasts an average of 1.5 hours, and costs 18 euros full price, and 12 euros for children under 11. Twice a year, on Heritage Days and during the festive season, the museum offers a special program.

To get there, take line 14 and get off at Cour Saint-Emilion station. By bus, take lines 24, 109 and 111 to the Terroirs de France stop.

A museum to discover, whatever your age! The Musée des Arts Forains has many secrets to reveal, so come and see for yourself!

Festival du Merveilleux 2024 at the Musée des Arts Forains
A plunge into wonder at the Musée des Arts Forains... From December 27, 2024 to January 5, 2025, the Musée des Arts Forains invites you to another edition of its Festival du Merveilleux. For ten days or so, the temple of the funfair will be hosting a host of enchanting events for (grown-up) children during the Christmas and New Year vacations. We took a sneak preview... [Read more]