Festival du Merveilleux 2023, a sporting Christmas at the Musée des Arts Forains

During the Christmas vacations, the party never ends! The Musée des Arts Forains de Bercy may have something to do with it: from December 27, 2023 to January 7, 2024, this magical place opens its doors to us for a festival not to be missed. Here's your chance to discover this unusual museum, designed by Jean-Paul Favand, a private collector who has decided to share with us his fantastic world of merry-go-rounds and fairground arts.

For the festive season, the museum organizes its famous Festival du Merveilleux. For more than a week, the museum will be open to visitors, without appointment, and will be transformed in the colors of Christmas. This magical place, decorated and illuminated, promises great shows and a crazy atmosphere, with the music of the time .

The theme of this year's festival is sport, with a special program highlighting the sporting feats, tests of strength and skill, fights and strongmen that once enlivened fairs and funfairs.

Free shows and entertainment are organized throughout the day. On the program: aerial enchantment, tap dancers, musicians, puppets, mechanical music, a ballet of automatons and optical illusions. Enthralling for young and old alike!

Even better: for every admission ticket, visitors receive two attraction tickets: now's the time to have fun and try out one of the museum's many century-old rides! The institution points out that "it will of course be possible to buy attraction tickets on site, but we recommend that you take advantage of the shows. "

And don't miss the illuminated garden, where you can experience the enchantment of a festive village, far from the hustle and bustle of the modern world outside.

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In addition to the entertainment and illuminations created especially for the festive season, you'll be delighted by the extraordinary decor and attractions of this unique museum in Paris. Take part in a daydream and stroll through these fantastic, childlike worlds! Feeling peckish? Let yourself be tempted by the famous onion soup served by the food trucks on hand.

The museum is divided into five grandiose areas dedicated to the art of entertainment:

• La Fête foraine
  This large 1,800 m² area is home to magnificent attractions, vintage rides and games dating back to the 1900s. The velocipede and wooden horse rides are open to us, to our great delight.
  
  
• Le Théâtre du merveilleux
  Discover the palace of illusion and dreams with a video show that mixes the real and the virtual for an unusual experience.
  
  
• Les Salons Vénitiens
  Discover 800 m² of rides, fairground attractions and automaton shows. The ride is set to operatic arias, plunging you into a timeless, baroque Venetian world.
  
  
• Le Théâtre de Verdure
  This large, extraordinary, modular garden is populated by amazing creatures and elements, giving us the impression of plunging into the most fanciful tales of our childhood.
  
  
• The Magic Mirror
  Enter this former ballroom from the Roaring Twenties, where live shows using reflections and optical effects make our heads spin!

The Festival du Merveilleux offers one of the rare opportunities to visit the Musée des Arts Forains without a reservation. Take advantage of this chance to discover unusual Paris. Please note that ticket sales will open on November 6, 2023.