The holidays are not only enjoyed in the mountains. The proof with this selection of activities in the Paris region.
1. At the Bois de Boulogne, in Charlotte's garden
Where do you really feel like going on vacation on the metro, spending a day getting lost in an enchanted garden and a palace that is no less so? At the Vuitton Foundation and its perspectives of a magic labyrinth that overlooks the Jardin d'Acclimatation. "The New World of Charlotte Perriand" - which won the "Parisian" Star - "Today in France" for the best exhibition in 2019 - ends at the end of the school holidays.
And yes, children can adore this fairy woman who disappeared in 1999 who invented doll houses on the water - we can visit one on the steps of the Foundation -, mountain huts that seem to come out of a novel by Jules Verne and even a ski resort, in Les Arcs, in Savoie. We will not make you believe that it is worth a descent very schuss, but the models, photos and films of its buildings sunk in the mountains to marry the landscape are dreaming.
The architect and designer has invented spaces and furniture for everyone. This exhibition is also like strolling through a department store, from a recomposed living room to a library, at the one that created above all an easy-to-live Ikea style. So much for the interior.
Exhibition "The New World of Charlotte Perriand" , until February 24 at the Louis Vuitton Foundation (which overlooks the garden). 16 euros, family pass at 32 euros.
Then, play the exteriors and the Second Empire garden which adjoins the Foundation. Take the Jardin d'Acclimatation, its attractions, rides, follies and, for the first time, its Escape Game for the little ones, at the Orangerie. "Mission Inside Game: the secret agents of the Garden" calls, as a team, on deduction work. Not too long: twenty to forty minutes, with two routes, one for the little ones, another for everyone. Whether it rains or sells, the game takes place in a heated space where it will be necessary to successfully open trunks and get your hands on new technology.
Newsletter Going out in the Paris region
Every Friday, the news of your outings seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
Mission Inside Game , at the Jardin d'Acclimatation (Paris XVI) during all school holidays. Price: 2 attraction tickets (5.20 euros each) or for a day, unlimited pass at 35 euros. From 4 years old.
2. The poet trait of Sempé in Rueil-Malmaison
He dreamed of taming the blue note like Duke Ellington or of stroking the ball like Johan Cruyff. Jean-Jacques Sempé, 87, eventually became one of the most famous and admired designers of his time, both popular and praised by the elites. Not bad… In Rueil-Malmaison (Hauts-de-Seine), an exhibition happily traces the extraordinary career of this extraordinary artist.
The thread unfolds here chronologically, in a sober staging, through nearly 300 original drawings and a few personal items, such as the notebooks of this slightly turbulent schoolboy - "le petit Nicolas", c'est lui! - childhood not really rosy.
From the somewhat awkward first steps to “Sud-Ouest dimanche” in 1951 to the many ones made for the prestigious American magazine “The New Yorker”, passing, of course, by “Le Petit Nicolas” with Goscinny, Sempé finds little to little its paw, its style, unique. A mixture of poetry, deep lightness and humor that makes you think as much as smile. And which leaves the diffuse feeling that we all have something of Sempé in us…
- Where: Grognard workshop, 6, avenue du Château-de-Malmaison. Rueil-Malmaison (Hauts-de-Seine).
- When: until March 30. Every day except Monday from 1.30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
- How much: 4 and 6 euros. Inquire: 01.47.14.11.63
3. What if we made a canvas for the family?
Forget all the blockbusters of the animation. Until March 3, the “Télérama” children's cinema festival offers a selection with little onions made up of 13 children's films released in 2019 and 2020 and three in preview for 3.50 euros per person. This fourth edition awaits aspiring moviegoers in arthouse cinemas in Ile-de-France. Among the feature films offered at Cin'hoche de Bagnolet, at the Cinémas du Palais de Créteil or at the Lucernaire in Paris, "Shaun the sheep: the Farm strikes back", "the Famous Invasion of bears in Sicily", "the Mystery penguins "or" Wonderland, the kingdom without rain "...
- Where: at arthouse cinemas.
- When: until March 3.
- How much: € 3.50 per session per person with the Pass to obtain in the magazine.
- Find out more: www.telerama.fr
4. Fantastic fantasy at the BNF in Paris
Even the National Library of France (BNF) is getting started! This is to say that fantasy, this branch of the imagination, a little too hastily reduced by its critics to "Conan the barbarian", "the Lord of the rings" and "Game of Thrones", constitutes today an important part of popular culture. The BNF therefore pays tribute to him, until March 12, via “Fantasy, back to basics”, an interactive exhibition which is also available on the Internet.
On site, in Paris (13th century), room A of the library allows you to consult or listen to books by authors such as John Tolkien (also in the spotlight at the BNF until Sunday) or George RR Martin, read comics, manga, watch movies or series like "Merlin", "Excalibur", "Endless History", or listen to records, bands inspired by fantasy or soundtracks from movies or video games. The event also displays a strong video version, with in particular the establishment of an online game, "the Kingdom of Istyald". A series of conferences, covering both the “World of Warcraft” games and King Arthur will retrace the history and literary sources of the genre.
- Where: BNF, room A, rue Emile-Durkheim in Paris (13th century).
- When: Until March 12. Every day except Monday, Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- How much: € 3.90, free between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. or with the BNF Lecture / Culture pass (€ 15 / year), or upon presentation of the ticket for the "Tolkien, trip to Middle Earth" exhibition complete this Sunday.
- Learn / play: Bnf.fr and Fantasy.bnf.fr
5. Paris: music makes its cinema at the Gaîté Lyrique
The international festival of films on music, the FAME, again takes possession of the Gaîté lyrique (Paris III) from February 14 to 16. This sixth edition offers, once again, an immersion in the world of artists who inspired the seventh art. The journeys of PJ Harvey, Aurora or Maud Geffray, the experiments of Félix Kubin, the beginnings of Madonna or the uniqueness of Sébastien Tellier ... Until Sunday, visitors will be able to attend screenings, meetings and performances.
FAME 2020 features twenty films, some of which are world exclusive. Children also have their FAME kids with "Le Criquet", six short films by Zdenek Miler, the father of "Little Mole". In the evening, in the modern foyer of the Gaîté Lyrique, it will be possible to attend free DJ sets.
- Where: Gaîté Lyrique, 3bis Rue Papin (Paris III).
- When: Friday from 2 p.m. to midnight, Saturday from 2 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. and Sunday from 11:15 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- How much: From 6 to 8 euros per film, 3 films at 18 euros, 6 films at 36 euros.
- Find out more : www.gaite-lyrique.net
6. A hook at the Wool Festival in Malakoff
Created in 2017 by a knitting pique, the Wool Festival takes place in Malakoff. Becoming thread in needle an unmissable event for amateurs of handmade, the event is held Saturday and Sunday in the village hall Jean Jaurès. For its fourth edition, the Meeting on the arts of thread in an urban environment welcomes around thirty stands - ten more than last year - craftsmen and breeders who came to present their work, alpacas from Italy or mohair from Loir-et- Expensive, ecologically dyed fibers, home accessories, felted wool sculpture and children's games, wool is certainly queen.
Two fashion shows are organized, Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m., and workshops for children - starting crochet, water felting, making Amigurumis, small figurines - like for experienced knitters or not - the brioche point, the Jacquart- are available all day.
- Where: Jean Jaurès village hall, 11 avenue Jules Ferry in Malakoff (Hauts-de-Seine).
- When: Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- How much: free
- Find out more : Fetedelalaine.net
7. At Trocadéro, we travel to the heart of the pyramid of Cheops
Imagine: the Giza plateau stretching out before you under an azure sky. Nothing like escaping the greyness of Paris than going for a jump… at the City of Architecture and Heritage, at the Trocadéro (Paris XVI). It offers an unprecedented journey to the heart of the pyramid of Cheops thanks to virtual reality. For forty-five minutes, take part in a mission of scientists in groups of six (from 12 years old) to discover its secrets.
Here, there is no question of "playing" but rather of visiting the monument in the company of a guide. In short, Egypt as if we were there, the plane ticket and the heat less. With, in conclusion, the impression of walking in the void above the monument with a breathtaking view to contemplate it.
- Where: City of architecture and heritage, 1, place du Trocadéro, in Paris (16th century)
- When: Sessions start every hour, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and until 7 p.m. on Thursdays.
- How : from 20 to 32 euros.
- Inquire: Compulsory reservation on Citedelarchitecture.fr
8. The Champs-Elysées unveiled in a Parisian exhibition
In the sun or in the rain, do you really have everything you want at the Champs-Elysées? Cars, noise and pollution, tourism, gardens without real life ... Three centuries after its creation, what fate is reserved for the most beautiful avenue in the world? And what future for it? These are the questions raised by the exhibition “Champs-Élysées, history & perspectives” at the Pavillon de l'Arsenal.
Drawings and films, unpublished photographs, engravings and specially created maps, we retrace the history of the axis imagined by Le Nôtre in 1664, baptized Champs-Elysées from 1709 and fitted out by Jacques-Ignace Hittorff and Adolphe Alphand in the 19th century century. Analyzing the current uses of an avenue where Parisians are only 5% to stroll, she imagines metamorphoses in which Parisians are invited to participate.
- Where: Pavillon de l'Arsenal, 21, boulevard Morland, in Paris (IVe).
- When: until May 10, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- How much: free.
- Find out more: Pavillon-arsenal.com
9. An empty dressing room without a hitch in Bastille
Fashion victim or just looking for a crush at a lower cost, the Violette Sauvage vide-dressings always attract the crowd. We go there for the quality of the stands kept by many fashion fondues who wear their clothes for a maximum of one month.
If most customers favor brands like Sandro, Maje or Comptoir des cotonniers, others come for an unmarked blouse, an H&M sweater or a Primark dress for 10 euros. We find both a jewelry brooch at 10 euros and a Gucci bag at 200 euros. The Claudie Pierlot jumpsuit at 380 euros in stores can be traded at 75 euros at Violette Sauvage.
Most ? you can try on the clothes in the cabin, pay by credit card and have a drink on site.
- Where: Maison-Rouge, 10 bd de la Bastille (12th century).
- When: Saturday February 15 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- How much: 2 euros.
- Find out more: Violettesauvage.fr
10. In Compiègne, fossils in your eyes!
What fauna inhabited the Compiègne region 57 million years ago? To find out, head to the Antoine Vivenel art and archeology museum, which inaugurates this Friday 14 February a new course in paleontology and prehistory. A hundred vertebrate fossils and pieces of amber are on display.
By opening boxes, visitors will see the shell of a turtle, fragments of jaws, the molding of a giant bird skull or the vertebrae of a reptile. In another space, a model reconstructs a reindeer hunters' camp around -12,500 years BC, and the museography presents 39 objects, stone tools - blades, scrapers, chisels, piercers - and bone - needle, spear .
- Where: Antoine-Vivenel museum, 2 bis, rue d'Austerlitz in Compiègne (Oise).
- When: Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2 to 6 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 2 to 6 p.m.
- How much: 3 and 4 euros, free for children under 26.
- Inquire: 03.44.20.26.04 or Musee-vivenel.fr