Festival du Merveilleux 2026

Did you know that at the Pavillons de Bercy, time stands still the day after Christmas?

It’s a phenomenon unique to the Pavillons de Bercy, one that has been observed for the past 15 years. Our experts in museum-heritage meteorology have given this strange phenomenon a name: the Festival du Merveilleux. Our Parisian museum and live entertainment venue, renowned for its interactive guided tours throughout the year and the rental of its spaces for event, transforms for 10 days at the end of each year into a whirlwind of lights, performances, snow-covered Christmas trees, cotton candy and smiles.

A Festival for Everyone

Whether you’re coming with family, friends, on your own, with neighbours, colleagues or even on a first date, this is the perfect place for any occasion! Imagine a magical blend of live performances, a Christmas market, a museum, an enchanted garden and a Belle Époque funfair.

A Colourful Line-up of Entertainment

Wander around, surrounded by performances, music and the tempting aromas of hot chocolate (or mulled wine), and create your own programme as you go, discovering the shows along the way.

Look up: an aerial dance performance awaits you. Turn your head: an accordion player draws you into their musical world. Come closer: a strip of perforated paper enters a barrel organ and emerges as a melody, soon picked up and sung along to by visitors. Turn around and hop aboard a century-old carousel. As you wander down the pathways, let yourself be surprised by the humour of a short performance or the tenderness of a puppet show. And why not learn to dance together?

Every year brings a host of new performances. Some artists return, faithful to their annual rendezvous. Others make just one appearance, for a single edition, leaving a little sparkle in the eyes of visitors.

While you wait for this year’s programme, take a look here to get a feel for last year’s festival!

An Interactive Experience

To make your discovery of our museum truly complete, a selection of our flagship attractions and vintage fairground rides will be brought to life. Two attraction tickets are included with every paid admission ticket, allowing you to try two activities of your choice. The remaining 19th-century heritage attractions will be taking a well-deserved rest, but you can still enjoy a selection of experiences, including: the traditional wooden horse carousel, the velocipede carousel, the gondola carousel, Japanese billiards, Dutch billiards, elastic-table games and the famous horse, boat and café-waiter races! Please note that these attractions were mainly designed for adults in the 19th century and are therefore mostly adult-sized.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

From 26 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 (open on 1 January)
10 am to 6 pm (last admission at 5:30 pm). We recommend allowing at least 2-3 hours for your visit.

On-site information

No guided tours – explore the museum at your own pace.
All performances are included in the admission ticket throughout the day.
Two attraction tickets included with every paid admission ticket.
No luggage storage or cloakroom facilities available. No dedicated buggy parking.
For safety reasons, only small backpacks and handbags are permitted.
Scooters are not allowed. Animals are not permitted, except assistance dogs.
Very limited seating is available on site.

Tarifs 2026

Admission tickets

We strongly recommend purchasing your tickets in advance through our online ticket office.

If we reach our visitor capacity on the day, we cannot guarantee admission for visitors without tickets. As with any festival, visitor numbers can be high, so we recommend visiting in the morning to avoid the crowds. Timed entry slots are available to help manage visitor flow at the festival entrance. Please note that these are entry times only, not separate sessions.
Important: Tickets are non-exchangeable and non-refundable. Please check your chosen date and time carefully before purchasing.

Published on 12.11.26