Paris Digest
Paris city guide since 1997
Fondation Louis Vuitton is a spectacular Franck Gehry monument and a great place to discover contemporary art in Paris. More than 1 400,000 people visited the Fondation in 2017, establishing it as one of the top exhibition venues in the City of Lights. Set in the lovely Jardin d'acclimatation, a part of Bois de Boulogne, it is easily reachable by metro. Paris monuments.
Created and financed by the LVMH Group (Louis Vuitton, Dior, Guerlain, Moet & Chandon, Hennessy), the Fondation Louis Vuitton encourages and promotes artistic creation both in France and internationally. In 2006, the Fondation Louis Vuitton commissioned a spectacular cultural center and exhibition venue inaugurated in 2014. It is located in Jardin Acclimatation, a lovely amusement park in Bois de Boulogne, west of the city. The building of Fondation Louis Vuitton was designed by architect Franck Gehry, a Pritzker prize winner living in Los Angeles. Franck Gehry is most of all known in Europe for the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum. He has also designed the Cinematheque Francaise in Bercy. His words:
"I dream of designing a magnificent vessel for Paris that symbolizes France's profound cultural vocation"
"To produce his sketches, Frank Gehry took his inspiration from the lightness of late 19th-century glass and garden architecture. He then produced numerous models in wood, plastic and aluminium, playing with the lines and shapes, investing his future building with a sense of movement.
The choice of materials became self-evident: an envelope of glass would cover the body of the building, an assembly of blocks referred to as the "iceberg", and would give it volume and vitality."
Locate Fondation Louis Vuitton on Paris map
Fondation Louis Vuitton opening hours are variable. Check official opening hours web site. To avoid the queue, buy your ticket in advance, enter freely Jardin d'acclimatation with your ticket through the gate to the right of the Fondation's main entrance and enter the Fondation through the backdoor.
Ticket price: 16 euros
Students and people under 26: 10 euros
Ticket purchase
Paris metro: station Les Sablons on line 1
Private Louis Vuitton fully electric shuttle (picture) departs every 15' from Champs Elysees. Check offical web site.
