Description

Essentials about the Grand Palais in brief

The Grand Palais is an exhibition building built for the Universal Exposition in 1900 in Paris. It is one of the architectural masterpieces in the French capital. Together with the Petit Palais opposite and the neighboring Pont Alexandre III, the Grand Palais represents one of the most important architectural ensembles of the Belle Époche.

The architecture of the Grand Palais

The Grand Palais was built between 1897 and 1900 on the Avenue Nicolas II (now called Avenue Winston Churchill), which was also newly created and connects the Avenue des Champs-Élysées with the Hôtel des Invalides. Previously, the Palace of Industry, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1855, stood on this site. The building, articulated by Ionic columns and decorated with numerous figural representations, extends over a length of about 240 meters and is up to 44 meters high. The interior of the building, with more than 5,000 square meters of exhibition space, is a spacious engineering structure made of iron and glass on a cruciform floor plan. Incidentally, the glass roof of the palace, which is visible from afar, is the largest of its kind in Europe.

The use of the Grand Palais

In the course of its history, the Grand Palais served a wide variety of purposes. Even after the 1900 World’s Fair, numerous art exhibitions were held here. In addition, the Grand Palais was the venue for the Mondial de l’Automobile automobile exhibition for 60 years. The building was also used for book and antique fairs, agricultural equipment exhibitions, fashion events, concerts, circus guest performances and horse shows.

Today, the huge central nave is used for large events of all kinds. The most famous is probably the Chanel fashion show held twice a year as part of Paris Fashion Week. Furthermore, the Grand Palais houses the National Galleries for major international art exhibitions and the Palais de la Découverte science museum. In addition, there is also an auditorium, a cinema and other spaces for smaller scale events.

Website

grandpalais.fr

Opening hours

Admission fees

Access to the Grand Palais is free of charge. Visiting exhibitions and events at the Grand Palais is usually subject to a fee. For more information, see the website.

Address

Getting there

By public transport:

Métro lines 1 and 13: Stop Champs-Elysées – Clemenceau

Métro lines 1 and 9: Stop Franklin D. Roosevelt

RER line C: Stop Invalides

Bus lines 72 and 93: Stop Grand Palais

Bus lines 28, 93, N01 and N02: Stop Palais de la Decouverte

Bus lines 42, 73, 93, N11 and N24: Stop Champs-Elysées – Clemenceau

By car:

There are a number of parking garages in the immediate vicinity of the Grand Palais.