Cité des sciences et de l'industrie

Over het museum

The Cité des sciences et de l’industrie occupies the site of the former La Villette slaughterhouses, abandoned in 1974. In 1980 the project was entrusted to the architect Adrien Fainsilber, who kept part of the unfinished concrete structure and gave it large volumes of glass and steel. The institution was founded in 1985, and the museum was inaugurated on March 13, 1986 by President François Mitterrand.

The museum added several spaces. The Argonaute submarine has been open to visitors outside the building since 1991, and the Cité des enfants was created in 1992. This area has been redesigned and renovated, and the section for 2- to 6-year-olds reopened after a major renovation. In 2009 the Cité merged with the Palais de la découverte to form Universcience, a public institution devoted to scientific culture.

Today the Cité presents permanent exhibitions on themes such as space missions, the climate emergency, robots, the brain, mathematics, sound and video games, as well as temporary exhibitions. It also has a planetarium, a library, the Cité des métiers, the Cité de la santé, a conference centre and, nearby, La Géode. The museum received around 2.3 million visitors in 2023.

Hoogtepunten

• The Cité des enfants, with areas for 2- to 6-year-olds and 5- to 10-year-olds
• The planetarium
• The Argonaute submarine, accessible by reservation
• Permanent exhibitions on space, climate, robots, the brain and mathematics
• e-LAB, a space devoted to video games
• The Cité des bébés for children up to 23 months

Vaste collectie

• La Cité des enfants – Two permanent exhibition areas for 2- to 6-year-olds and 5- to 10-year-olds, where children experiment and play; the 5- to 10-year-old area has five worlds, including water games and a funfair.

Opgericht

1986

Beheerder

Universcience

Directie

Claudie Haigneré

Bezoekers per jaar

ca. 2.333.716 (2023)

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

Online booking is strongly recommended: tickets are time-slotted, with an entry every 30 minutes. Holders of the Paris Museum Pass have access to the exhibitions, the planetarium and the Argonaute, subject to availability, and collect their voucher at the ticket desk. Admission is also free, upon proof, for Pass subscribers, job seekers, recipients of minimum social benefits, refugees and asylum seekers, journalists and ICOM members.

Toegankelijkheid

• Rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift
• Aangepast toilet: geen informatie
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats: geen informatie
• Hulphonden welkom: geen informatie
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

Most of the offer is accessible, except the Argonaute submarine, which is too narrow and is reached by stairs. From the tram platform and the bus stops at Porte de la Villette, a ramp has a gradient of less than 4%. Wheelchairs for children and adults and pushchairs can be borrowed from the cloakroom against ID. The e-LAB area may be temporarily inaccessible due to lift works. A dedicated service answers accessibility questions.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
• Doe- en voelstations
• Kinderwagenvriendelijk
• Speeltuin / speelhoek

The Cité des enfants (2- to 6- and 5- to 10-year-olds), the Cité des bébés (0 to 23 months), workshops, science courses for 6- to 16-year-olds, activities during school holidays and planetarium shows. Cité des enfants sessions last 1 hour 30 minutes; online booking is strongly recommended. Pushchairs can be borrowed from the cloakroom.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

By car: Périphérique Nord, Porte de la Villette exit. There is a bike park with a charging point on the forecourt; the nearest Vélib’ station is no. 19009, at 28 bis avenue Corentin-Cariou. Visitors who leave their helmet at the cloakroom are offered a sustainable mobility rate.

Service & horeca

• Café
• Restaurant
• Museumwinkel
• Garderobe

Café-restaurant in the entrance hall, open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:45, and Biosphère, a fast-food area on the second floor reserved for holders of an Expositions ticket. Bookshop open from 11:00 to 18:00 from Tuesday to Saturday and until 19:00 on Sundays. Cloakroom on level 0; bags larger than 50 x 30 x 20 cm and electric batteries are not accepted.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

• Ruimtes te huur
• Zakelijke evenementen

Tot 2.300 personen.

The Centre des Congrès de la Villette (2,200 m²) includes two auditoriums seating 900 and 400, exhibition foyers and eight meeting rooms; the planetarium, the auditorium and the hall can also host events.

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