Musee des Arts Forains - The Wonderful World of Antique Fairgrounds in Paris

The Musee des Arts Forains is the Jean Paul Favand’s incredible collection of antique county fair rides, objects, building façades, statues and photographs. A beautiful way to experience Paris in Winter.

History

Favand’s collection was housed in two other locations before finding it’s final home in the Pavillon de Bercy, at 53 Avenue des Terroirs in the 12th arrondissement. The collection was first displayed in Gentilly (outside of Paris in the Val de Marne) and then moved to the 15th arrondissement before moving to the Pavillon de Bercy in 1996.

I had been wanting to discover this incredible space for quite some time but it is rarely open to the public.

Take a peek inside in this video of the Musee des Arts Forains

Location

The space in the Pavillon de Bercy was originally Les Chais à Vin L’Heureux (a gigantic space where wine was produced). The entire space is 11400 m2! It’s absolutely huge. When you walk in to this incredible space, you are immediately struck by how big it is and how many incredible objects, statues and rides are everywhere!

Opening Hours

Like I said earlier, the Musee des Arts Forains is rarely open to the public. It opens just twice a year : for the journées des patrimoine (in September) and again for a week at the end of December to the beginning of January for Le Festival du Merveilleux (the dates vary slightly each year). Outside of these dates, it is possible to rent out the entire museum for private parties and weddings. Wouldn’t this be an incredible space to have a wedding or special birthday party? It would definitely be memorable!

Le Festival du Merveilleux

This year, Le Festival du Merveilleux was held from December 26th through January 6th. (The museum is open every year at the end of December and early January for a little over a week. Make sure to check the website for the exact dates if you plan to visit.)

In honor of Le Festival du Merveilleux, the inner (outdoor) courtyard becomes a magical Christmas wonderland filled with delicious food, hot mulled wine and hot chocolate.

We got some vin chaud and it was yummy.

What you can expect to see

The Musee des Arts Forains is filled with antique treasures on display, including Belle Epoque merry-go-rounds, old fairgrounds games and activities, costumes, an entire space dedicated to prohibition in the 1920s, a Venetian room and more!

If you love history, and particularly the Belle Epoque (1900-1920s) like we do, then this is the museum for you!

Outdoor food market

The magical Christmas atmosphere during the Festival du Merveilleux includes hot wine and hot chocolate served from cauldrons!

The food was being served out of food trucks and there were some delicious options, including fish and chips from the famous Cabane de Cape Cod, a crêpes and waffle food truck and a raclette and potatoes food truck.

We were tempted by the crêpes, so we got 2 cheese crêpes to enjoy with our hot wine, followed by a chestnut creme waffle and a chocolate and whipped cream waffle.

The Prohibition Tent

One of the best parts of the visit, in my opinion, was the Prohibition Tent. This space has actually been recreated using an authentic pop-up tent, booth, stage and bar set-up.

The entire space is filled with beautiful decorative objects. Wouldn’t this be an amazing place to plan a special birthday party of other event? They do rent out the space for private events and Hugo has actually been to two private parties here hosted by his company.