On the occasion of the European Heritage Days, the Bourse de Commerce opens its doors free of charge to the public, from 11am to 7pm, on reservation, to learn all about the historic architecture of the place.
The ticket office will be open from 1 September
With your family, alone or with friends, walk through the building and discover the iron dome – one of the first in France – the Salle des Machines, the double revolution staircase or the concrete cylinder of Tadao Ando… Our mediator-lecturers are available in the museum rooms to reveal the history of the building and present you its various architectural elements, dating from the 16th century to the present day.
In the auditorium, watch the projections unveiling the backstage of the exceptional site of the Bourse de Commerce.
With the free, no-download online App, listen to the «People of the Stock Exchange» sound trail for a listening immersion through the five centuries of history of this iconic building in the Halles district of Paris.
A visit booklet to observe the building, at the height of children and while having fun, is available free of charge at the Museum Lounge or as an online download.
Theme 2022: Sustainable Heritage
The Exchange of Commerce, witness of four centuries of history of architecture, was restored and transformed into a museum of contemporary art by the Japanese architect Tadao Ando, the agency NeM/ Niney and Marca Architectes and the agency Pierre-Antoine Gatier.
This very unusual monument, one of the only ones with a circular plan in Paris, combines a monumental Renaissance column, the remains of an 18th century wheat market, covered by a spectacular metal dome from 1812. Rebuilt for the 1889 World Fair, the building became the «Bourse de Commerce». As for his Venetian museums, François Pinault chose to present his collection of contemporary art in the heart of the city, almost at its epicentre, in an existing monument, brilliantly reconfigured. The architect of this museum mutation, Tadao Ando, drew on the building’s circularity by inscribing a circle in the circle, a cylinder at the heart of the Rotunda: It was to regenerate the historic monument, to honour the memory of the city inscribed in its walls, and inside, to place another structure.” While scrupulously following the historic landmarks of the building, Tadao Ando has designed a project that reconciles radicality and simplicity in a single gesture. He managed the tour de force to create a new world inside this building. A world respectful of the past, celebrating the present and embracing the future.” says Pinault.
After an exemplary restoration that has preserved all the heritage beauties of the building, from the monumental panorama painted under the dome to the forgotten industrial heritage (the cold machine room of the old halls of Paris), the Bourse de Commerce is now entirely focused on contemporary creation and the art of our time.