Renovation of our rooftops

The museum was established in 1996 in former wine cellars in Bercy. These buildings, dating back to the early 20th century, were designed by Louis Ernest Lheureux, an architect contemporary of Gustave Eiffel. Built in burrstone, they stand out by their interior girders supporting the roof, as used during the Industrial Revolution. Witnesses of a bygone heritage, these buildings have been registered as Monuments Historiques (French national heritage sites) since the 90s. We are especially proud to reside within their walls and to continue to make the joyous spirit of Bercy live on, as it once was when the wine flowed among the stones.

However, maintaining such buildings brings some challenges. Formerly created as wine cellars, they now hold the world’s biggest collection of performing arts and European fairgrounds related objects. Thousands of centuries-old objects don’t have the same storage requirements as wine bottles. When we arrived, the rooftops were in satisfactory condition, and didn’t need any fixing. Nowadays, they have poor heating and waterproofing performances.

Therefore, we had to act. After a thorough conversation with the French buildings’ architects and obtaining a building permit, renovation work started in June. This project aims to fix the roofs of four of our buildings, as well as two pathways. These upgrades are part of our sustainable development process, as one of our goals is to reduce our environmental impact.

We are thankful to receive financial help from the Région Île-de-France and from the DRAC Île-de-France for this renovation project concerning rooftops of Monuments Historiques (French national heritage sites).

Published on 25.08.26