EN Les Folies - La Villette
© Copyright
Elie Delpit

26 Folies across La Villette!

In the spirit of the whimsical constructions in the eighteenth century parks and gardens, 26 folies scatter through La Villette's landscape with their bright red appearance.

Folie Information and Ticket Office (L9)

Teams at the Information and Ticket Office Folie are there to welcome you and provide you with information:

  • On site, Tuesday to Sunday, from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
  • By phone, every day from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at 01 40 03 75 75.

Music Centre Folie (N9)

Located on the esplanade of the Fountain of the Lions of Nubia, the Paris Philharmonic is a major reference point in the music world. Designed in 1995 by Christian de Portzamparc, the former Music Centre is a veritable crossroads of cultural exchange and diversity.

Theatre Folie (L8)

The Paris-Villette Theatre has been in residence since 1986 in a neoclassical pavilion that once served as a leather exchange. This theatre is funded by the City of Paris.

Folie Janvier (N8)

Located at the southern entrance of the Parc de la Villette, the January Pavilion is a neoclassical building that formerly housed a post office and a police station. It was named for the director of the livestock exchange and slaughterhouse that operated on the site of La Villette until 1974. It now houses the park’s administrative offices.

Philharmonic Folie (P8)

The musical Folie is located at the epicentre of musical creation, directly across from the Paris Philharmonic!

Little Villette Folie (L7)

Located between the Grande Halle and the Jardins Passagers, this Folie houses a honey factory and workshop.

Kermès – Folie café (P7)

Kermès is happy to welcome you with its unique, simple, delicious, and affordable menu. A modern, inclusive canteen for everyone, featuring local and seasonal produce.

The Trabendo (R7)

The Trabendo is a concert hall on a human scale. It was taken over in 2012 by Tsugi, the magazine specialising in electronic music. Its programming features new talents from the worlds of indie rock, electro, rap, and world music.

Winds and Dunes‘ Folie (L6)

This Folie houses a garden that contains a secure playground for infants (0-2 years old) and for older children (up to the age of 13).

Folie des Fêtes (N6)

This Folie, which is in front of the Hall de la Chanson, is home to Ateliers Villette and the cultural mediation facilities. Not to mention the urban furnishings designed by Starck as you enter the building.

Folie belvedere (P6) 

At the intersection of the circular and triangular meadows, the Belvedere Folie is instantly recognisable due to its ramp and spiral staircase. The ramp delights skaters while other visitors take it to get a better view of Buried Bicycle, a work by the artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen.

Zénith Ticket Office Folie (R6)

This Folie at the entrance to the Zénith houses the ticket office for this concert hall.

Canals’ roundabout Folie (J5)

This Foli is located at the confluence of the Canal Saint-Denis and the Canal de l’Ourcq.

Villette Makerz – Folie of Wonders (L5)

At the junction of the La Villette Walkway and the edge of the Canal de l’Ourcq, the Folie of Wonders is the largest of the park’s follies at 600 m² on three levels. It houses VILLETTE MAKERZ by WoMa, a space dedicated to DIY learning and experimentation.

Adventure Folie (N5)

This digital Folie is a space for participative and collaborative digital artistic creation. It is a site for learning about, researching, experimenting with, and producing digital works. It is an open meeting place, frequented by artists (in residence or otherwise working there), the generally curious, actors from the park and elsewhere, all driven by the same gentle madness: that of combining arts, festivities, and conviviality to draw the outlines of World 2.0 together.

Little Folie (P5)

Located on the southern circle meadow, facing the Canal de l’Ourcq, this Folie welcomes visitors participating in the various workshops at Ateliers Villette. Cooking, discovering nature, heritage, culture, and learning circus arts and dance represent some of the many different programs offered to the public.

Angele’s Folie (R5)

The footbridge attached to this Folie connects the northern and southern parts of the park. It leads straight to the Cabaret Sauvage and to the Movie Barge.

Kiosk Folie (L4)

Across from the Science and Industry Museum, the Kiosk Folie now hosts the ticket office for the Espace Chapiteaux. 

Observatory Folie *DUUU RADIO (N4)

Located on the walkway of the circle facing the Geode, the Observatory Folie  offers a panoramic viewpoint over the park. It currently houses *DUUU, an artist radio station dedicated to contemporary creation.

The Argonaute (P4)

On October 10th, 1989, this retired French Navy submarine left the water and was placed next to one of Tschumi’s follies by the Geode.

Redeveloped as a museum, visitors explore this structure with audioguides, from the crew’s station to the torpedo launch tubes.

Folie of the world’s end (R4)

Next to the Jardin des Îles, this Folie is located on Tschumi’s cinematic promenade. It also sits close to the Cabaret Sauvage, the Equestrian Centre, and the Geode.

Folie of the canal lock (L3)

Situated across from the canal locks, this Folie leads to the footbridge that crosses the Canal Saint-Denis to Quai de la Gironde and Avenue Corentin Cariou. The Folie L3 was transformed into public restrooms in the spring of 2016 to meet user demand.

À la Folie (L2)

Two steps away from the Science and Industry Museum and facing the Villette Pavilion, the restaurant À la Folie Paris has a sprawling terrace and offers Mediterranean dishes and desserts for lunch that are 100% homemade. At 7:00 p.m., the ambiance turns electro and the restaurant becomes a bar. Workshops, yoga classes, activities for children, video games and pinball machines… there’s something here for everyone!

Sliver of Folie Tsugi Radio (L1)

This burst of a Folie houses Tsugi Radio. Tsugi Radio is the sound of the magazine Tsugi, broadcasting 24/7 and featuring the best electronica, hip-hop, and indie rock selected by the expert ears of Tsugi’s editorial team.

The clock Folie (N1)

Located at Porte de la Villette close to the Villette Pavilion, this Folie encases a clock dating back to the era of the livestock market that was once housed at La Villette. Built in 1877, it forms just one part of a monumental clock that was installed at the entrance to the slaughterhouse.

How about Micro-Folie?

Inspired by Tschumi’s Folies, La Villette launched the Micro-Folie project in 2017.
A Micro-Folie is a neighbourhood cultural facility provided by the Ministry of Culture, working in close collaboration with the Centre Pompidou, the Chateau de Versailles, the Paris Philharmonic, the Avignon Theatre Festival, the Arab World Institute, the Louvre Museum, the Musée Picasso Paris, the Musée d’Orsay, the Musée du Quai Branly Jacques Chirac, the Paris Opera, the Grand Palais Union of National Museums, Universcience, and Arte.