As a multicultural city, Paris hosts major artistic exhibitions throughout the year that give it its status as an international arts capital. There are many ways to organize an event based around these exceptional cultural occasions, in settings that evoke art in all its forms.
Museums and nearby venues
Offering one of the best panoramic views of Paris, from level 6 of the Centre Pompidou, the Georges restaurant has amazing architecture that respects the building’s structure whilst encasing the interior in fluid aluminium
contours. Available for privatization on request, the site can host up to 250 people for a seated event, and its
terrace has space for up to 300 people for cocktail receptions. The Centre Pompidou also offers other spaces
for privatization: the Museum welcomes up to 200 people, the Mezzanine (level 1) up to 250, the Forum (level 0) up to 2,000, the Brancusi Workshop up to 100 and the Triangle Piazza (street level) up to 80.
The Musée Jacquemart-André, in the 8th arrondissement, offers its Salon de Thé as a privatized space for breakfasts.
With its tapestries from Brussels, its ceiling painted by Tiepolo, and its terrace for fair-weather days, it has a
capacity for 70 people. The museum also offers various rooms for privatization, for cocktail receptions for up to 500 people or evening meals for up to 300 in an exceptional setting. Close by, the Pomze restaurant, whose unusual concept is inspired by the potato in all of its forms, was created by Daniel and Emmanuel Dayan, with the help of the tree farmers group Vergers d’Anjou. Particularly original, the site is dedicated to a bar with cider on tap and, of course, pure apple juice. There is a restaurant upstairs, housed in a former apartment and a cosy room at basement level, with whitewashed walls. Close to the place Saint Augustin, it offers 3 rooms for privatization for 8 to 25 people for breakfasts, lunches or evening meals, as well as a large upstairs area which is suitable for up to 40 seated guests, available for privatization on request.
Close to the Musée de l’Orangerie, in the 1st arrondissement, the Angelina tea room, created in 1903 by the Austrian confectioner Rumpelmayer, offers its rooms for private hire on request. These feature superb belle époque decor by Jean-Édouard Niermans and were previously frequented by the likes of Marcel Proust and Coco Chanel. Still facing the Tuileries gardens, the Le First boudoir restaurant of the Westin Paris-Vendôme hotel, with its elegant Jacques Garcia decor, is available for privatization on request and offers a menu full of light, surprising flavours based on seasonal produce. Close by, the Hôtel d’Évreux, located on the Place Vendôme, is a 17th-century architectural gem. This former mansion house, within which some rooms have been classed as Historical Monuments, offers a sumptuous setting for all prestigious events and can host 80 to 300 guests.
In the Madeleine district, the Pinacothèque de Paris, a new Parisian cultural site, can host prestigious events
in one of its two privatized rooms including breakfasts, cocktail buffet dinners or dinners. Close by, the
Renaissance Paris Vendôme hotel offers its 30 m2 Bar Chinois for more intimate gatherings, whilst the Café
Fauchon, located on the first floor of the famous fine food store, can be privatized on request for anything from breakfasts to evening meals, as well as cocktail dinners.
Close to the Eiffel Tower, the restaurant at the Musée du Quai-Branly, Les Ombres, and the Café Branly can host private meetings, breakfasts and evening meals in an exceptional setting. Proximity to Paris’s most visited
monument is another attraction: within the tower itself, the 58 Tour Eiffel is located on the first floor and can
be privatized for lunches or evening meals, for an impressive experience above the Paris rooftops. With
boarding from the foot of the Eiffel Tower, the Bateaux Parisiens organize lunch and dinner cruises, offering an
original way to discover the major Parisian monuments, while sailing along the Seine, but also dinners on the
quayside, at the Bistro, moored at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
The Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, in the Palais de Chaillot, can host receptions and offers visits to
temporary collections and exhibitions. Set out over 23,000 square metres, it offers a wide variety of spaces and atmospheres, including the Suite ELLE Décoration: the former apartment of the architect of the palais in 1937; today, a new ephemeral interior decor is created each year by celebrated fashion designers and interior designers.
Until October 2011, the decoration is by Jean Paul Gaultier. The Musée de la Marine, located in the palais de
Chaillot, can host up to 40 people for a sit-down meal and up to 1,000 for cocktail receptions, in its galleries.
Close by, the famous Chez Francis brasserie can privatize one – or several – of its rooms, for lunches or evening meals with a typical Parisian menu and ambiance.
On the same site as the museum, the Carrousel du Louvre offers 4 elegant and functional rooms, amongst which is one of the most impressive amphitheatres in Paris, with a capacity for 2,200 people; an out-of-the-ordinary setting, in a uniquely historical and cultural environment. Set in one of the wings of the Louvre, boasting a clever mixture of classic panelling and contemporary decor, the Café Marly can privatize some of its rooms or, on fair-weather days, its terrace opening onto the pyramid. Close by, the Hôtel du Louvre offers 8 rooms for privatization, and its Brasserie du Louvre can also be privatized for lunches or evening meals, offering a menu of typical French cuisine. Still in the 1st arrondissement, the Salons du Louvre, a vast 700 m2
space with an ambiance inspired by New York lofts, offers an integrated catering space and can host up to 500 guests for cocktails or 250 for seated meals. Another unusual location, Le Laboratoire is a place for experimental creation and innovation, where artists and scientists collaborate. With an area of 1,300 square metres, set in the heart of Paris, its exhibition room can host up to 300 people.
Close to the Champs-Élysées roundabout, it is possible to privatize spaces in the unique setting of the Petit
Palais. The Petit Palais, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris privatizes several of its galleries, each
recently renovated with a sumptuous decor, but also its wonderful interior garden, as well as its auditorium. The Jardin du Petit Palais Café offers a cosy and contemporary decor, opening onto a charming interior garden and terrace. Its garden level, mezzanine and peristyle can be privatized for breakfasts, cocktails and lunches. Close to the Petit Palais, the Pavillon Ledoyen has been a centre for Parisian gastronomy since its creation in 1791. It offers around ten rooms for privatization, from 36 to 116 m2 , with a maximum standing capacity for 430 people.
For an exceptional event, the Grand Palais offers its 13,500 m2 Nave; crowned with the biggest glass roof in
Europe, fully restored, the Nave is also the last example of the trend for glass exhibition palaces. Other spaces available for privatization include the “arts” staircase or the “honour” balcony and, by the end of 2011, the Grand Palais will offer new spaces for privatization. The gastronomic restaurant Lasserre offers private rooms with elegant decor, lit by natural daylight thanks to the large windows, which overlook the Palais de la Découverte.
They have a capacity for 8 to 54 guests for lunch or dinner. The Pavillon Élysées Lenôtre, created in 1900
opposite the Grand Palais for the Universal Exhibition, is one of the outstanding venues for private receptions
in the capital. It offers two rooms, 15 and 121 m2, as well as full privatization of the site, on request. Le Berkeley, restaurant, a stone’s throw from the Champs-Élysées roundabout offers a refined and gourmet menu in a historical setting. Opened in 1920, it hosted the cream of Parisian society throughout the 50s, from the Duchess of Windsor to Greta Garbo. Its two private rooms, redecorated like the rest of the establishment by Pierre-Yves Rochon, boast a capacity for 12 and 27 guests for exceptional breakfasts, lunches or evening meals.
