Major New Openings in 2016

ALSACE Musée Unterlinden Colmar (Alsace) Re-opening: December 12, 2015 www.musee-unterlinden.com Musée Unterlinden Press Release Alsace will welcome back the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar – home to the remarkable Isenheim Altarpiece. A full re-imagining of this museum, the second most-visited regional fine art museum in France, is now underway. Both the former convent and the municipal baths are being redesigned to better present the collections of 12th- to 18th-century art and host special events. A new building is also being constructed to house galleries of modern and contemporary art. Musée Unterlinden Press Release
AQUITAINE La Cité du Vin à Bordeaux Bordeaux (Aquitaine) Opening: June 2nd, 2016 www.laciteduvin.com The Wine Museum & Cultural Center now called La Cité du Vin, the first large cultural center based on the theme of wine in Bordeaux, will open its doors in 2016. Halfway between a museum and a theme park, La Cité will offer visitors immersive and multi-sensory technologies to explore a huge permanent exhibit about great wine cultures throughout the ages. Its opening will coincide with the lively Bordeaux Wine Festival scheduled for June 23 to 26, 2016. Cité du vin: read more Lascaux IV Facsimile and the International Cave Art Center Montignac-Lascaux (Aquitaine) Opening: Summer 2016 www.projet-lascaux.com Located at the foot of Lascaux Hill, the International Center for Cave Art (Centre International d'Art Pariétal) will house a complete copy of the famous Lascaux cave and place a heavy emphasis on bringing it to life through virtual-reality technology. There will also be exhibits about Cro-Magnon civilization and cave art from around the world. Lascaux IV : read more Looking ahead Reopening of the Museum of Natural History Bordeaux (Aquitaine) Reopening: 2017 Created in 1971, this museum is, with more than 1 million of specimens, one of the most important in France.
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Opening of the Bordeaux’s Musée de la Mer et de la Marine Bordeaux (Aquitaine) End of 2017 – beginning of 2018 www.museedelamerbordeaux.fr This marine and seafaring museum, housed in a novel structure by Norbert Fradin, will draw visitors into an exciting and interactive experience of the sea in all its rich complexity. BURGUNDY International Gastronomy Exhibition Center Dijon (Burgundy) Opening: 2018 www.citedelagastronomie-dijon.fr As one of a foursome of cities hosting Gastronomy Exhibition Centers, Dijon will be the reference on the culture of the vine and wine. Located on the site of the ideally-located 18th-century former general hospital, the International Gastronomy Exhibition Centre in Dijon will notably include a wine sommelier school, a wine exhibition area and food and an eco-friendly neighborhood. Read more GUADELOUPE Opening of the Memorial ACTe in Pointe à Pitre Pointe à Pitre (Guadeloupe) Opening: May 10, 2015 Guadeloupe inaugurated recently the Memorial ACTe, located in the island’s capital Pointe-à-Pitre. With its decidedly contemporary architecture, Memorial ACTe is the world’s largest memorial and cultural center dedicated to the memory and history of slavery, and the struggle for freedom and equality. On his July visit to the Guadeloupe Islands, American civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson said “This is the most phenomenal museum of its kind in the whole world.” Read more Read more ILE-DE-FRANCE Rodin Museum (Musée Rodin) Paris (Ile-de-France) Reopened: November 12, 2015 www.musee-rodin.fr After a complete restoration over the past three years, the magnificent Hôtel Biron, home of the Rodin Museum in Paris since 1919, will reopen its doors to the public on 12 November 2015, the 175th birthday of the famous French sculptor. The renovation has allowed the museum to completely rethink its exhibition space, and to show the work of Rodin and some of his contemporaries – including his pupil and lover Camille Claudel – in a new light. Read more Man Museum (Musée de l’Homme) Paris (Ile-de-France) Just Reopened: October 17, 2015 www.museedelhomme.fr Located at place du Trocadéro, in the heart of Paris, the building erected in 1938 by Paul Rivet did not lost anything of its original vocation: those of a museum-laboratory. After six years of renovation and 92€ million invested, the museum was entirely renovated. The new Musée de l’Homme is a museum dedicated to all aspects of humankind, a museum of science and human societies and a museum devoted to sharing knowledge. Read more The New Perfume Museum (Le Musée du Parfum) Paris (Ile-de-France) Opened: September 12, 2015 Nestled in the heart of Paris, close to the Opéra Garnier, this historic location is full of the spirit and character that Fragonard wanted to preserve. In years gone by it was a theatre, a velodrome and the home of a British furniture retailer, Maple & Co. The museum reveals the secrets to the perfume trade, as well as a magnificent collection of precious objects tracing the history of perfume from antiquity to the present day. Immersed in the atmosphere of a late nineteenth century perfume factory, visitors will discover the world of fragrance through a set design that combines ancient artfatcs, archies and videos of modern production. Read more Louis Vuitton Foundation Asnieres-sur-Seine (Ile-de-France) Opened: July 4, 2015 Since Louis Vuitton first settled in Asnières, the house that carries his name has expanded to incredible places and designed exciting creations. The exceptional savoir-faire of the Asnières artisans is such that, even today, key pieces are created here: rigid trunks, designs in rare or exotic leathers, special orders. The Asnières atelier is the House’s true hub and puts its soul into the creation of every special order. Read more Clemenceau Museum (Musée Clémenceau) Paris (Ile-de-France) Reopened: May 5, 2015 After five months of restoration of the study and entrance hallway of Georges Clemenceau's apartment, the Clemenceau Museum has reopened on May 5th, 2015. Georges Clemenceau lived for thirty five years until his death on November 24th, 1929 in this in this four room apartment opening onto a garden with a view on the Eiffel Tower. Clemenceau's curiosity for the life of the mind and for the arts is revealed to us through his books, his travel souvenirs and his collection of curios. The first floor is dedicated to his life and work: portraits, books, newspapers and manuscripts, as well as the famous coat and the gaiters he wore while visiting the frontlines of the First World War. Read more La Philharmonie de Paris Paris (Ile-de-France) Opened: January 14, 2015 www.philharmoniedeparis.fr The Paris Orchestra found a new home on January 14, 2015 with the opening of the Philharmonie de Paris designed by Jean Nouvel in the Parc de la Villette. Located in Paris’s 19th district it joined La Villette’s City of Music and City of Science and Industry. LOIRE VALLEY A New Centre de Création Contemporaine Olivier Debré Tours (Loire Valley) Opening: Spring 2016 www.ccc-art.com
The CCC is a recognized art center that presents and produces international artists. After its inauguration in a new building, it will continue its work in a structure able to accommodate monumental installations and with two large spaces set aside for artistic events and experimentation. Histopad in 12 Languages Château de Chambord (Loire Valley) Launching: June 2015 www.chambord.org The Château de Chambord will come to life like never before through Histopads – tablet computers that offer digital-3D, interactive, reality-augmented reconstructions of the castle. Histopads allow visitors to personalize their visits according to their interests. They can visualize details that no longer exist or are inaccessible. A virtual map lets them know what rooms they have already visited. Games and additional information about the history of the castle are also available and allow visitors to get to the heart of the construction and evolution of the Chambord castle and its domain. LORRAINE Rebirth of the Verdun Memorial Verdun (Lorraine) Opening: February 2016 www.memorial-verdun.fr The Verdun Memorial preserves one small piece of the blood-stained earth from World War I. Displays – large-format projected archival images, background sounds, video, artillery sound effects and more – immerse visitors in an experience of the French-German battlefield. There are also explanations of how the region was transformed and then reconstructed. The World War One Centennial Program Continues in France in 2016 The Museum at Baccarat Baccarat (Lorraine) Opening: October 6th, 2015 www.baccarat.fr Baccarat inaugurated its newly restored museum in the “Château”, located in the heart of the production site. In addition to seducing world’s leaders and crowned heads, Baccarat’s designs immortalize both the elegance and the excellence of its expertise. The story of a glittering destiny and an incomparable heritage is told in the new Baccarat museum, a treasure of light that holds over two centuries of passion and perfection. MIDI-PYRENEES New Aeronautical Museum Blagnac - Toulouse Métropole (Midi-Pyrénées) Opening: January 2015 musee-aeroscopia.fr Midi-Pyrenees saw the launch of Aeroscopia, an aeronautics, technology and science center that is more than just a museum. Designed as a historical review and contemporary exploration of aeronautics, it is also an educational facility, delivering a program of exhibitions, events and festivals. Its massive display space showcases the four icons of French aeronautics – the Caravelle, Concorde, Super Guppy and Airbus A300B – along with more than 30 historical aircraft. Budding pilots inspired by Aeroscopia can then move right nearby to AviaSim, where two publicly accessible flight simulators recreate the exact experience of piloting an Airbus A320. Midi-Pyrenee's Airoscopia Aeronautics Museum Surpasses All Expectations Musée Dom Robert Soreze (Midi-Pyrénées) Opened: Spring 2015 The Modern Aubusson Tapestry Museum is located at the Sorèze Abbey School which dates from the 18th century. It is one hour from Toulouse, a Great Tourist Site in Midi-Pyrénées. Having opened in spring 2015, this museum shows works of the artist Dom Robert (1907-1997), a Benedictine monk living in the Abbaye d’En Calcat. He is celebrated for having helped revive the Aubusson Tapestry Manufacture. Read more NORMANDY The Mont-Saint-Michel becomes an island once more Mont-Saint-Michel (Normandy) www.projetmontsaintmichel.com Stretching back even deeper into history, the 1,050-year-old Mont-St-Michel Abbey in Normandy has been restored to its island status at the highest tides. A major decade-long national ecological project tackled the problem of rising sand levels, which posed a threat to the monument. The area's new and improved water flow will safeguard Mont-Saint-Michel bay as a maritime area and protect the ecosystem of this varied and precious place. To mark the occasion, the Tour de France will begin on July 2, 2016, from the Mont-St-Michel. Panorama XXL: Amazonia Exhibition Rouen (Normandy) September 26 to May 22 , 2016 www.panoramaxxl.com There's a new cultural hot spot in Normandy: Panorama XXL. A circular exhibition center, it includes a rotunda 115 feet high and 115 feet in diameter built right on Rouen's river. This rotunda is large enough to accommodate the monumental 360° frescoes by world-famous German artist Yadegar Asisi, as well as other panoramic art. What's depicted includes great moments in history and exceptional landscapes. The art is executed using a wide variety of techniques, such as painting, drawing and digital photography. Joan of Arc Historical Museum Rouen (Normandy) Opening: March, 21st, 2015 www.rouentourisme.com Jeanne d'Arc and Rouen are intimately connected, and soon the city's Archbishop's Palace will house a historical museum in her name. There will be two principal themes: to remember the history of this emblematic and timeless figure, and to tell the story of this history through innovative and immersive multimedia scenography created by Clémence Farrel. PICARDIE Franco-American Museum of Blérancourt Blérancourt (Picardie) Reopening: fall 2016 museefrancoamericain.fr The Franco-American Museum of Blérancourt, will reopen in the fall of 2016 after an ambitious expansion that includes a new wing and reorganization to showcase its comprehensive collection of art and documents dedicated to the Franco-American relationship. The museum was founded by Anne Morgan, the remarkable daughter of U.S. industrialist, philanthropist and art collector J.P. Morgan. She transformed the Château de Blérancourt, her WWI and post-war headquarters in Picardy, into the Franco-American Museum. After she donated it in 1931 to the French Government, it was declared a national museum. Read more RHONE-ALPS Looking ahead Cité de la Gastronomie – Hotel Dieu Lyon (Rhône-Alps) Opening: end of 2017 www.grand-hotel-dieu.com/cite-de-la-gastronomie The UNESCO World Heritage city of Lyon, home to the likes of three-star Michelin chef Paul Bocuse, will be opening a true temple of gastronomy. Late in the year, Lyon's Grand Hotel-Dieu, which was a hospital until early 2000, will swing wide its doors to the Cité de la Gastronomie, a space devoted to the flavors, styles, art and pleasures of cooking. Exhibitions, research and education will bring to life a devotion to culinary tradition and invention. In the same complex will be the city’s first InterContinental hotel. Reminder Pont d'Arc Cave Vallon-Pont d'Arc (Rhone-Alps) Opened: April 2015 www.cavernedupontdarc.fr The Pont d'Arc Cave is Europe's largest faithful replica of a prehistoric site, in this case the nearby Chauvet Cave, which contains the world's oldest known cave paintings – some 1,000 renderings dating back 36,000 years (predating the renowned Lascaux caves by 21,000 years). Opened in April this year after 30 months of work within a vast wooded area covering 72 acres, the Pont d’Arc Cave features a discovery center and the Chauvet cave replica, which has a walkway with 10 learning stations. Read more Confluences Museum (Musée des Confluences) Lyon (Rhône-Alps) Opened: December 20, 2014 Musee des Confluences Within the Quartier de la Confluence urban development and reclamation project, which transformed the traditionally industrial tip of the city’s southern peninsula into green space, Lyon will open the Musée des Confluences. Dedicated to science, art and society, the museum will feature eight rooms (four permanent exhibition areas and four temporary exhibition areas) with different circulating exhibitions covering topics such as genetic modification, exchange and innovation, origins of life, biodiversity, global warming, geopolitics and social behavior.