Musée de la bande dessinée

About the museum

The museum’s collection comes from the Musée des beaux-arts d’Angoulême. From 1974 onward, that museum hosted exhibitions linked to the first comics festivals, and several artists gave it pages as a thank-you. These gifts formed the first collection of original comic art in France, shown permanently from 1983 in the Galerie Saint-Ogan on the top floor of the museum.

In 1984 the Centre national de la bande dessinée et de l’image was founded; it opened in 1989 in former breweries converted by the architect Roland Castro. It then received around 600 pages and drawings from the Musée des beaux-arts and was tasked with preserving, showing and expanding the collection. Having become the Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l’image, a public cultural institution, the museum moved in June 2009 to the Chais Magelis, which offer larger and better-suited spaces.

Today the collection includes more than 18,000 original pages. The Cité is preparing a complete overhaul of its permanent display, with opening announced for late 2027. Until then, the exhibition “Trésors des collections” presents a selection of major works, staged with humor in a way that recalls a vault room.

Highlights

• Collection of more than 18,000 original pages
• Panorama of two centuries of comics, from heritage to contemporary creation
• Exhibition “Trésors des collections” staged like a vault room
• Reading points with comics to browse in the galleries
• Former Magelis wine warehouses on the banks of the Charente

Operated by

Cité internationale de la bande dessinée et de l’image (établissement public de coopération culturelle financé par le département de la Charente, le ministère de la Culture, la ville d’Angoulême et la région Nouvelle-Aquitaine)

Visitors per year

approx. 70,496

Admission & discounts

Free admission: First Sunday of the month, except in July and August.

Also free for recipients of minimum social benefits, comic artists, holders of the ICOM/ICOMOS card, Cité subscribers, members of AMBD, press card holders, tour guides and holders of the carte culture, with proof. Tickets bought online do not give priority entry and are neither exchangeable nor refundable.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

All areas are wheelchair-accessible. The reception desk is raised and reached by a few steps or by the elevator; the visit then continues on a single level. A wheelchair is lent at reception, folding seats are available free of charge at the entrance, and armchairs and benches are placed in the galleries.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Stroller-friendly

Admission is free for under-18s. The Cité offers workshops, courses, storytelling sessions, school-holiday activities and a children’s cinema. Strollers can be left at the cloakroom, and elevators serve families with strollers.

Getting there & parking

Bicycle parking on the museum forecourt (quai de la Charente). A pedestrian footbridge links the museum to the Vaisseau Mœbius.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers
• Wi-Fi

Free Wi-Fi throughout (network “CiteBD”, access code available at reception). Specialist bookshop. Drink and snack vending machines in the hall. Food trucks gather on the forecourt on weekdays and Saturdays.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit