CULTURAL SITES, EVENTS & EXHIBITIONS
COLLECTION PINAULT PARIS – BOURSE DE COMMERCE
New museum
French billionaire and notable art collector François Pinault is taking over a new hot Parisian spot to display his art collection. Located at the heart of Paris, the Bourse de Commerce (Stock Exchange) is the new exhibition space for the Pinault Collection. The historic building has been fully restored and transformed into a museum by famous Japanese architect Tadao Ando, including an auditorium and 3,000 square metres of contemporary art display space. French chef Michel Bras will take up residence and open a restaurant at the museum.
www.boursedecommerce.fr/en/
FONDATION PERNOD RICARD
New cultural site, Paris, Île-de-France , 6 February 2021
A new venue, a new ambition, new artistic encounters: the Pernod Ricard Foundation will be as committed as ever to supporting the young contemporary French arts scene and to making it as widely accessible as possible. This new multidisciplinary venue – whose development was entrusted to the firm NeM / Niney & Marca Architectes – is located at 1 Cours Paul Ricard, at the forefront of the new global headquarters of the eponymous Group, in the Saint-Lazare district at the heart of Paris. It boasts a main exhibition space of 300 square metres, as well as a 130-seat auditorium and a modular lobby that can accommodate performances or one-off installations. Café Mirette will provide a warm and welcoming meeting place for all art lovers. The space will open onto a large terrace, the Paul Ricard courtyard, accessible to all.
https://www.fondation-pernod-ricard.com/en
LES FRANCISCAINES
New cultural site in a former convent , Deauville, Normandy , March 2021
As its name suggests, this beautiful building was once home to the Franciscan order. It was sold to Deauville in 2012 and has since been entirely restored to house a museum, auditorium and media library, arranged across five zones – including one for children – all thematically linked to Deauville and its history. The museum will also exhibit works by André Hambourg, who donated over 500 paintings to the town, and other contemporary pieces.
https://en.indeauville.fr/Franciscan-project
HOTEL DE LA MARINE
New museum , Paris, Île-de-France , 13 April 2021(postponed from 2020)
For the first time in over two centuries, the Hôtel de la Marine in Paris will open its doors to the public in April 2021. Accompanied by their ‘Confidant’ – a handset for 3D visuel / audio effects – visitors are taken on an immersive tour of the sumptuous apartments complete with furnishings and the state rooms that provided access to the loggia overlooking Place de la Concorde. Various visit options are available, including one specially designed for families. Lastly, the exhibition gallery in the Hôtel de la Marine will be home to temporary exhibitions, masterpieces from the Al Thani Collection and a programme of cultural events. Since its completion by architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel in 1774, the Hôtel de la Marine has been owned by the Crown and houses the management and storage of the Court’s furniture and works of art.
www.hotel-de-la-marine.paris
THE SAINT-ETIENNE INTERNATIONAL DESIGN BIENNAL
Design festival , Saint-Étienne, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes , 28 April – 22 August 2021
The city of Saint-Étienne is famous for its design and football. The Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Étienne in France began in 1998, is held every two years and has been successfully held for 11 sessions to date. One of the world’s most important design exhibitions, it is an academic, forward-facing industrial design exhibition that aims to present outstanding works in the design field, while providing a high-level promotional display platform for talented artists and designers. They are invited to gather for forums, interviews, symposia and artistic creation under the theme of industrial design, in order to promote the ideal connection between art and industry. The Biennale is equally renowned for the American National Design Triennial, Milan Design Week and the London Design Festival.
https://www.biennale-design.com/saint-etienne/2021/ (French only)
DINOPLAGNE, A SITE CONTAINING DINOSAUR FOOTPRINTS DISCOVERED IN 2009 La Plagne, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes , April 2021 (postponed from 2020)
What does three minutes in the life of a dinosaur represent? At Dinoplagne, traces of giants from times gone by will give you a striking insight into their world. This paleontological site has the longest trail of dinosaur footprints in the world, fossilised 145 million years ago – and will finally open to the public after being discovered by geologists and biologists from Oyonnax in 2009. Official website not yet available
JEFF KOONS EXHIBITION AT MUCEM, MARSEILLE
Marseille, Région Sud , 5 May – 18 October 2021
Curated in close collaboration with the artists, ‘Jeff Koons MuCEM: Works from the Pinault Collection’ will present some of his most famous works in Marseille. It will explore the relationship between these works and everyday objects, photographs and documents from the MuCEM’s immense collection, in the field of popular arts. Thanks to a loan of 20 works from the Pinault Collection, it is a real dive into the artist’s work, punctuated by his iconic works, sculptures (such as Balloon Dog, 1994-2000 and Lobster, 2007-2012) and paintings (including Backyard, 2002 and Dutch Couple, 2007).
www.mucem.org/en
THE MARCEL PROUST MUSEUM
Cabourg, Normandy , Spring 2021 (postponed from 2020)
Commemorating 100 years since Marcel Proust won the coveted Prix Goncourt literary prize, the Villa du Temps Retrouvé (Marcel Proust Museum) will open in 2021 in Cabourg, Proust’s favourite holiday retreat and the inspiration for his famous novel, A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu [In Search of Lost Time]. The museum will showcase the Belle-Epoque period at the end of the 19th century and explore the history of the Cote Fleurie through Proust’s eyes.
www.cabourg-tourisme.fr/en
FRANCE’S FIRST UNDERWATER MUSEUM
Marseille, Région Sud , Spring 2021
A group of art lovers in the city conceived the Musée Subaquatique de Marseille, or ‘Marseille Underwater Museum’, a series of sculptures submerged in the Anse des Catalans bay that can only be reached by diving. The project was inspired by the MUSA Museum off Cancun, Mexico, created in 2009 by British artist Jason deCaires Taylor, which now attracts divers from around the world. The plan is to launch the museum with 45 art pieces, 15 of which will be by Taylor himself.
www.musee-subaquatique.com/fr/ (French only)
THE GEHRY TOWER AT FONDATION LUMA
Arles, PACA , Spring 2021 (postponed from 2020)
Designer Frank Gehry’s vertiginous, twisting tower at LUMA Arles is taking shape on its 16-acre site in Provence. The tower will support a variety of functions and spaces including research facilities, workshops and seminar rooms, as well as artists’ studios. While it used only to open during summer, the Fondation LUMA itself is now open all year round.
www.luma-arles.org/en
NATURE IS BIKE: FRANCE’S FIRST EVER GRAVEL BIKE FESTIVAL
Angers, Pays de la Loire , 26-27 June 2021 (postponed from 2020)
France’s first festival dedicated to gravel bikes will take place over two days next summer in the historic riverside town of Angers. Conceived as both a sporting event and a reconnection with nature, the festival will feature two challenges – a 64km night ride and a 100km daytime course – plus a family ramble, a ‘Gravel Expo’ trade fair and a programme of environment-focused activities. Angers is a major cycling centre, sitting at the crossroads of three major routes that are enjoyed by almost 200,000 cyclists every year.
www.natureisbike.com/en
THE BRITISH NORMANDY MEMORIAL
New memorial , Ver-sur-Mer, Normandy , June 2021 (postponed from 2020)
Designed by Liam O’Connor, award-winning architect behind the Bomber Command Memorial in London, this new site will be the first memorial to honour the 22,000 soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who died fighting under British command on D-Day and in the Battle of Normandy. It will stand just outside the village of Ver-sur-Mer, overlooking Gold Beach.
www.normandymemorialtrust.org/the-memorial/
THE ARC DE TRIOMPHE, WRAPPED
Art display , Paris, Île-de-France , 18 September – 3 October 2021 (postponed from 2020)
In partnership with the Pompidou Centre, the Centre des Monuments Nationaux (CMN) will be creating a temporary exhibition entitled ‘The Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped’. The work will be visible for 14 days and conceived by Christo, who famously ‘wrapped’ the Pont-Neuf in Paris, the Reichstag in Berlin and the Gates of Central Park in New York. As the artist sadly passed away in 2020, the display will be entirely funded by the sale of his preparatory studies, drawings and collages of the project, as well as scale models, works from the 1950s and 1960s and original lithographs on other subjects.
www.paris-arc-de-triomphe.fr/en/News/The-Arc-de-Triomphe-Wrapped
CHANEL METIERS D’ART WORKSHOP
New cultural site , Porte d’Aubervilliers, Paris, Île-de-France , Date to be confirmed (postponed from 2020)
This 25,550-square-metre building in the northern Parisian suburb of Porte d’Aubervilliers was conceived by Rudy Ricciotti, and will house the majority of the 26 speciality ateliers that Chanel oversees, including milliner Maison Michel, cashmere specialist Barrie, feather maker Lemarié and embroiderers Maison Lesage. A total of 600 artisans will take up residence in a striking structure covered in a concrete shell evoking threads. Through the project, Chanel hopes to contribute to the influence of Paris as the capital of fashion.
Official website not yet available
A TEMPORARY GRAND PALAIS ON THE CHAMPS DE MARS
Temporary pop-up cultural site , Paris, Île-de-France , 2021-2024
The Grand Palais is temporarily relocating to the Champ de Mars, at the base of the Eiffel Tower, at the beginning of 2021 and will remain there until Autumn 2024. The new temporary 10,000-square-metre structure was designed by the Wilmotte & Associés architecture firm. The ‘Grand Palais Ephémère’ (Temporary Grand Palais) will host the events of the Grand Palais during the transformation of the original Parisian institution, which closed its doors in summer 2020 to carry out a large-scale renovation ahead of becoming a host venue for the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2024.
www.grandpalais.fr/en/constructing-temporary-grand-palais
ANNIVERSARIES
60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE JAZZ A JUAN FESTIVAL
Juan-les-Pins, PACA , 9-25 July 2021 (postponed from 2020)
Antibes-Juan-les-Pins’ iconic jazz festival was due to celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2020, and will now be organising its celebrations for 2021. Listening to jazz in the Pinède Gould pine grove overlooking the Mediterranean is a unique experience and has given the festival world renown. Next year’s special edition will go on longer than usual to celebrate the anniversary, with a line-up including Gregory Porter, Herbie Hancock and Diana Ross.
www.jazzajuan.com/en-us/home.aspx
50TH YEAR OF THE FESTIVAL INTERCELTIQUE DE LORIENT
Lorient, Brittany , 6-15 August 2021 (postponed from 2020)
Each summer around 700,000 people from all over the world invade the Celtic town of Lorient for the Festival Interceltique. From Galicia to Scotland, the best of Celtic music can be found here and enjoyed in a buzzy social atmosphere. No less than 200 events and shows and 5,000 performers around the city will be celebrating this 50th anniversary.
www.festival-interceltique.bzh
30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NAUSICAA SEA LIFE CENTRE
Boulogne-sur-Mer, Hauts-de-France , 2021
After a major extension which opened in May 2019, Nausicaá became the largest aquarium in Europe and is located in Boulogne-sur-Mer, just a swim across the Channel. The major attraction in Hauts-de-France will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2021 with a calendar of activities and events. In addition to being the perfect family holiday destination, the sea life centre’s role is also to educate and encourage the general public to protect marine life for the future and to assess the impact of resources and how they can help with marine conservation.
www.nausicaa.co.uk
200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF WRITER GUSTAVE FLAUBERT
Normandy , 2021
2021 marks the bicentenary year of the birth of Gustave Flaubert, one of France’s most famous and influential writers who is perhaps best-known in the English-speaking world for his debut novel, Madame Bovary. Flaubert’s attachment to Normandy – in particular the city of Rouen, where he was born and did much of his writing – makes him an important figure in this region’s history. Until December, Normandy will host a varied programme of events to celebrate the bicentenary of Flaubert, including exhibitions, shows, tourist trails, dramatised walking tours and educational activities.
Official website not yet available
FOOD & SHOPPING
DEPARTMENT STORE LA SAMARITAINE REOPENS
Paris, Île-de-France , February – date to be confirmed (postponed from 2020)
After closing for safety reasons in 2005, La Samaritaine is finally unveiling the results of its large-scale renovation project conceived by the LVMH Group. Several facilities will be grouped together within the buildings, surrounded by a pedestrian area, spread over two blocks between the Quai du Louvre and Rue de Rivoli: a department store, a five-star Cheval Blanc hotel with 72 rooms (see ‘New Hotels’ section), housing units, offices and a children’s nursery.
www.lvmh.com/houses/other-activities/samaritaine
THE BORDEAUX WINE FESTIVAL
Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine , 17-20 June 2021 (postponed from 2020)
A city synonymous with wine, Bordeaux holds a four-day wine festival every two years. At this event, 80 appellations from Bordeaux and Nouvelle-Aquitaine are made available for visitors’ tasting pleasure. The two-kilometre-long festival stretches from the banks of the River Garonne to the 18th-century buildings at the heart of the city. Each evening, a spectacular light show will be projected on the façade of the Palais de la Bourse.
www.bordeaux-wine-festival.com
THE PARIS FOOD FORUM
Paris, Île-de-France , June 2021 (postponed from 2020)
On the initiative of Emmanuel Macron, the Paris Food Forum will be held in the capital next June. The forum is an international symposium on the future of gastronomy and the place of food in our everyday lives. Catering and nutrition experts from all five continents will come together to find common solutions to the global challenges in this field, with a special emphasis placed on environmental, health and social issues. With over 500 stakeholders and 100 keynote speakers, a state dinner with President Emmanuel Macron, a large farmers’ market and a series of events will be organised on the initiative of the various ministries. These include the exhibition of a monumental work by Indian artist Subodh Gupta in the Tuileries Garden and an exhibition of food cultures at the Palace of Versailles.
Official website not yet available
FOOD SOCIETY, EUROPE’S LARGEST FOOD HALL
Paris, Île-de-France , 2021 – date to be confirmed
In the Montparnasse district of Paris, Ateliers Gaité will feature over 100 shops and services spanning three floors, plus restaurants and a gourmet food stand, a fully refurbished Pullman hotel with almost 1,000 rooms, offices and housing, and a renovated public library. Above all, it will be home to Food Society, Europe’s largest food hall measuring 5,000 square metres.
Official website not yet available
NEW HOTELS
AIRELLES CHATEAU DE VERSAILLES, LE GRAND CONTROLE
Versailles, Paris-Île-de-France , Five-star expected , February – date to be confirmed (postponed from 2020)
The LOV Group is opening another hotel as part of the Airelles Collection brand, this time in Versailles near Paris. The luxury 23-room hotel at 12 Rue de l’Indépendance Américaine is housed in the 17th-century ‘Grand Contrôle, ‘Petit Contrôle’ and ‘Premières Cent Marches’ pavilions, with a view of the palace orangery and across the Pièce d’Eau des Suisses lake, as well as a restaurant by Alain Ducasse. The Airelles Collection owns Hotel Les Airelles in Courchevel and La Bastide de Gordes in Provence, as well as the Airelles Val d’Isère Mademoiselle which opened in December 2019.
https://airelles.com/en/airelles-collection-properties/
DOMAINES DE FONTENILLE
Paris-Île-de-France , Five-star expected , Spring 2021
Less than an hour from the capital, by a river at the heart of one of the most beautiful parks in the Paris region, this 18th-century aristocratic residence has been transformed into a 30-room hotel with fine-dining restaurant, bistro and spa. It’s set to be an exceptional place for relaxation, surrounded by romantic gardens and classical architecture.
www.lesdomainesdefontenille.com/en
FRANCE’S FIRST ALOFT HOTEL
Dijon, Burgundy-Franche-Comté , Four-star expected , Spring 2021
A new hotel under the Aloft brand will open its doors on Place Grangier in the Hôtel des Postes in Dijon. Formerly a commercial premises now transformed into accommodation and/or an artist’s studio, the space will offer 93 bright and fully open loft spaces, plus various services for hotel guests and local customers.
https://aloft-hotels.marriott.com/
REOPENING OF HOTEL DU PALAIS BIARRITZ
Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine , Spring 2021
Hotel du Palais, the only ‘Palace’ on the Atlantic Coast, has undergone a renovation to enhance the majesty and elegance of this exceptional establishment, while conserving the spirit of its prestigious 19th-century design and architecture. This former imperial residence of Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie de Montijo was built in 1854 and ranks among the world’s most beautiful hotels, earning it the ‘Palace de France’ label. The five-star seafront hotel in Biarritz will reopen the doors to its 57 suites and 82 rooms in spring 2021, alongside a 26,900-square-foot spa, a large outdoor pool and a panoramic restaurant headed by chef Aurélien Largeau.
www.hotel-du-palais.com
THE FIRST SOHO HOUSE HOTEL IN FRANCE
Paris, Île-de-France , Summer 2021 (postponed from 2020)
In the former red light district of Pigalle, the 35-bedroom Soho House Paris is taking shape behind a handsome and historic Parisian facade, in what was once the home of French poet Jean Cocteau. The design is set to recall Paris’ bohemian heyday of the early 20th century, with low-level lighting and rich textures. The building houses a charming courtyard, a sumptuous cinema for late-night screenings, club lounges and restaurants, and upstairs, no two bedrooms are alike. There are also rumours of a Soho Farmhouse-style project in the pipeline, expected to open on the Les Bordes estate in the Loire Valley.
www.sohohouse.com
MOB HOUSE PARIS LES PUCES
Saint-Ouen, Paris-Île-de-France, Date to be confirmed
Following the opening of the MOB HOTEL Paris les Puces in 2017, the first MOB HOUSE conceived by Cyril Aouizerate and decorated by Philippe Starck is set to open at Les Puces in Saint-Ouen, northern Paris. The MOB HOUSE will be the first hotel to offer professionals an environment adapted to their needs and stimulating their creativity. Designed by Philippe Starck, the interiors are set to be cosy and full of curiosities and surprises. This will be a unique, innovative place, hinging its success on inviting guests for ‘bleasure’ (both business and pleasure).
Official website not yet available
THE BVLGARI HOTEL PARIS
Paris, Île-de-France , Five-star expected , Date to be confirmed (postponed from 2020)
Next year anticipates the opening of the first Bulgari hotel in Paris at 30 Avenue George-V, with 76 rooms and suites, spa with 25-metre pool, bar, restaurant and Parisian courtyard. Set on an exquisite corner of the Triangle d’Or, the hotel has been designed by Italian architectural firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and renowned Parisian architects Valode & Pistre. It will combine classic Haussmannian style with a contemporary rationalistic façade.
www.bulgarihotels.com/en_US/paris
CHEVAL BLANC AT LA SAMARITAINE
Paris, Île-de-France , Five-star expected , Date to be confirmed (postponed from 2020)
Japanese architects Sejima and Nishizawo have transformed former iconic department store La Samaritaine into a luxury hotel, the Cheval Blanc. It will boast 72 rooms and suites with far-reaching views of the Seine, cultural spaces, a restaurant, garden terrace and shops. At the centre of the site is an Art Nouveau building crowned with an impressive glass roof, which was completed by Frantz Jourdain in the early 1900s. LVMH eventually plans to open a Cheval Blanc hotel, spa and Louis Vuitton café in London’s Mayfair.
www.chevalblanc.com/en/maison/paris/
MAISON HELER BY STARCK
Curio Collection by Hilton , Metz, Grand-Est , Date to be confirmed (postponed from 2020)
Presented at MIPIM (International Property Market) in Cannes on 15 March 2018, the first hotel designed entirely from scratch by French creator Philippe Starck is scheduled to open its doors in 2020 near the Centre Pompidou-Metz. The building will be one of the 50 remarkable hotels in the ‘Curio by Hilton’ collection. It will have 119 rooms and suites spread over 14 floors – topped by the famous replica of the Salomon Villa on Avenue Foch – as well as a restaurant and cosy bar-salon.
https://maison-heler.com/
-ENDS-
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