Convention centres

Convention centres in France

France's major convention and exhibition venues, with the closest MICE and business hotels so your delegates stay within walking distance or a few minutes away.

Paris & Île-de-France

Les Salles du Carrousel (Carrousel du Louvre)

Les Salles du Carrousel, operated by Viparis beneath the Carrousel du Louvre, offer about 6,635 m² of modular indoor space in the heart of Paris, a few steps from the Louvre museum and the Tuileries Garden. The venue hosts fashion shows, galas, conventions and product launches. Viparis lists reception formats from 500 to 4,000 guests, with retractable tiered seating from 500 to 2,200 places. Principal rooms include the Le Nôtre room (1,900 m², seating up to 1,600), the Delorme and Gabriel rooms, and a 1,300 m² foyer with a 4.8 m ceiling; room surfaces differ slightly between listings. Its position is its strength: a prestigious central address for European and international corporate events, with the metro station opening directly into the complex.

Max. capacity 2,200 pax

Paris & Île-de-France

CNIT Forest

CNIT Forest occupies the landmark CNIT building at La Défense, reopened by Viparis after renovation as a conference and event venue. The 'Forest' name refers to its underground canopy-like structure at the heart of Europe's largest business district. The Paris La Défense destination lists about 20,000 m² of modular space over four levels, two auditoriums seating 740 to 1,175, and a series of meeting and conference rooms; figures for room count and reception capacity differ between sources, so confirm the configuration of your layout with Viparis. Its value is proximity: a central, well-connected venue for corporate conventions, product launches and shareholder events, with headquarters and business hotels within walking distance.

Max. capacity 1,175 pax · 2 hotels

Paris & Île-de-France

Palais des Congrès de Paris

The Palais des Congrès de Paris, operated by Viparis, stands at Porte Maillot on the western edge of the 17th arrondissement. It is the capital's reference venue for corporate conventions, general assemblies and international congresses, with several auditoriums, a large exhibition level and a direct link to the hotels and transport hub of Porte Maillot. The Grand Amphithéâtre seats 3,723 in full configuration and 1,813 in half-capacity mode, with a stage of about 1,200 m². The Blue Amphitheatre seats 826. Level 1 offers 9,140 m² of exhibition space across four halls, and Level 2 a further 5,140 m² in one hall, alongside conference rooms ranging from 95 to 1,128 seats on Level 1 and from 120 to 380 seats on Level 2. For an international delegation, the practical advantage is the single-site format: plenary, breakout rooms, catering and exhibition under one roof, with Paris hotels and the Champs-Élysées within reach by metro or on foot. Dates are heavily booked in autumn and spring; early reservation is advised.

Max. capacity 3,723 pax · 2 hotels

Paris & Île-de-France

Palais des Congrès de Versailles

The Palais des Congrès de Versailles stands in the town centre, close to the Château de Versailles. Renovated and fitted with new technology in 2020, it combines a large auditorium with modular rooms for conferences, congresses and corporate events with a heritage setting. Paris tourism lists over 3,200 m² of privatisable space, with a main amphitheatre (Richelieu) of 1,008 seats and modular rooms for 20 to 1,500 guests. The building also has sub-committee rooms, the Lulli studio for connected events and the Mazarin rotunda for exhibitions, cocktails and dinners. Total surface varies by source (3,200 to 3,700 m²). The appeal is the setting: a congress in a dedicated centre, with the possibility of evening programmes in privatised royal venues of Versailles, organised through a DMC.

Max. capacity 1,008 pax

Paris & Île-de-France

Paris Expo Porte de Versailles

Paris Expo Porte de Versailles is the largest exhibition complex in the French capital, operated by Viparis in the south-west of Paris. It hosts the major trade fairs of the calendar and, since the reconfiguration of Pavilion 7, the Paris Convention Centre. The Paris Convention Centre occupies the third floor of Pavilion 7, with a plenary hall of 5,200 seats and 22 meeting rooms according to Viparis, directly connected to exhibition space on the lower levels. This allows a congress to combine plenary sessions, a trade exhibition and catering within one building, for events of several thousand delegates. Total exhibition area is quoted differently across Viparis publications as the site evolves (pavilion count and surface change with the ongoing redevelopment); we recommend confirming the exact figures for your dates with Viparis.

Max. capacity 5,200 pax · 3 hotels

Paris & Île-de-France

Paris Nord Villepinte

Paris Nord Villepinte is Viparis's largest exhibition site, set on 115 hectares in the Roissy hub, a few minutes from Charles de Gaulle airport. It is the natural choice for large-footprint events: industrial and trade fairs, product launches and conventions needing generous floor space and logistics. Official Viparis and Paris tourism sources give about 246,000 m² of exhibition space in a series of connected halls, the largest of which, Hall 5A, covers some 48,420 m². The surface figure varies slightly by source (246,000 to 250,000 m²) as the halls are modular. The site suits events where the airport connection matters more than a central location: international delegations arrive and leave without crossing Paris, and the surrounding business hotels are organised around the airport.

Villepinte (Seine-Saint-Denis) · 1 hotels

French Riviera

Grimaldi Forum Monaco

The Grimaldi Forum is Monaco's convention and cultural centre, on the Larvotto waterfront. It combines a main auditorium with exhibition halls and a sea-view terrace, in a principality where hotels, restaurants and the Casino quarter lie within a few kilometres. The Salle des Princes seats 1,800 according to the venue's convention brochure. The Espace Ravel is an adjoining exhibition hall (about 4,000 m² in press reports). An extension was inaugurated in January 2025, adding about 6,000 m² of indoor space and 2,000 m² of outdoor space, including the Galerie Diaghilev; surfaces vary by publication, so confirm the figures for your layout. The venue suits incentive and convention programmes combined with Monaco's evening offer: gala dinners, concerts and receptions on the sea front.

Max. capacity 1,800 pax · 3 hotels

French Riviera

Nice Acropolis

Notice: Nice Acropolis, the city's historic convention centre opened in the 1980s, is no longer available. Public sources report that the building has been demolished (2025), and the City of Nice has announced a replacement convention centre at the Port Lympia. We keep this record for reference; please check the status of the new facility and its dates with the City of Nice or the Nice Côte d'Azur convention bureau before planning. The former Acropolis was known for the Apollon auditorium (reported at 2,500 seats in older sources) and a large exhibition level. No figures are given here because the building no longer operates and the new venue's specifications are not confirmed. For events in Nice in the meantime, other options exist across the Riviera, notably the Palais des Festivals in Cannes and the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, each about 30 to 45 minutes away.

Centre / Promenade du Paillon · 2 hotels

French Riviera

Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes

The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès is Cannes's principal convention venue, home to the Cannes Film Festival and a calendar of professional events including MIPIM and MIPCOM. Its seafront position on the Croisette places congress delegates a few steps from the old port, hotels and the beach. The Palais lists auditoriums from 147 to 2,309 seats. The Grand Auditorium Louis Lumière seats 2,309 on two levels, and the Debussy theatre, the Bazin and Buñuel rooms and the Croisette theatre cover mid-size plenaries. Total floor and exhibition surface figures differ across sources and are not stated here; confirm them with the Palais for your layout. For corporate programmes, the Palais combines a world-recognised address with the infrastructure of the French Riviera: gala dinners in the building or in nearby Riviera estates, and a hotel stock suited to premium delegations.

Max. capacity 2,309 pax · 8 hotels

Provence & Marseille

Centre de Congrès d'Aix-en-Provence

The Centre de Congrès d'Aix-en-Provence is a compact, central congress facility on boulevard Carnot, a short walk from the old town. Its scale suits conferences, scientific meetings and corporate seminars rather than large trade shows. The tourism listings give a main auditorium of 503 seats, about 600 m² of modular space and a series of meeting rooms (Picasso, Forbin, Milhaud and Sainte-Victoire among them), with about 600 public parking spaces nearby. Individual room areas come from third-party listings and should be confirmed. Aix works well for programmes combining a working day with Provençal settings: market-town dinners, vineyard visits and privatised bastides in the surrounding countryside.

Max. capacity 503 pax

Provence & Marseille

Marseille Chanot

Marseille Chanot is the city's convention and exhibition complex, on a 17-hectare site near the Prado and the Vélodrome. Since 1 January 2025 it has been operated by Marseille Events, a GL events subsidiary, under a public service delegation. The tourism office describes about 60,000 m² of modular space arranged in several 'palais', among them the Palais des Congrès, Grand Palais, Palais de la Méditerranée, Palais Phocéen (14,000 m²) and Palais des Événements, the plenary hall, quoted at up to 3,200 seats. Hall areas differ between sources; confirm the layout for your dates with Marseille Events. The site suits large conventions combined with exhibition space, with 1,800 parking spaces on site and the waterfront and Old Port reachable by metro.

Max. capacity 3,200 pax

Provence & Marseille

Palais du Pharo

The Palais du Pharo is a 19th-century imperial palace overlooking the Old Port and the Fort Saint-Jean, converted into a congress venue combining a historic building and a contemporary extension. It is among the few Marseille venues combining a conference programme with a sea-view setting. The Marseille tourism office quotes about 7,000 m² of seminar and congress space, with an auditorium of 900 seats and an exhibition hall of 1,800 m². Room counts and detailed capacities are not given in the sources consulted; confirm the configuration with the venue. It is well suited to executive conventions, seminars and receptions where the setting matters as much as the plenary room, with the Old Port and MuCEM within a short drive.

Max. capacity 900 pax · 1 hotels

Lyon

Eurexpo Lyon

Eurexpo Lyon, operated by GL events, is the largest exhibition park in France outside Paris, with about 140,000 m² of exhibition space in seven modular, connected halls (from 3,208 to 14,824 m² each). The Paul Bocuse space (about 10,000 m²) includes a 2,400-seat auditorium that extends to 4,200 seats. The site includes 26 meeting rooms in five spaces, for 50 to 600 people. A new hall of more than 7,000 m² is being built beside Hall 4, scheduled for delivery in autumn 2026 according to the local business press; other sources give a later date, so confirm availability. Eurexpo is relevant for conventions combined with industrial exhibitions and large product events, with the airport connection and generous logistics; conventions seeking a city-centre atmosphere will prefer the Centre de Congrès.

Max. capacity 4,200 pax

Lyon

Centre de Congrès de Lyon

The Centre de Congrès de Lyon is the city's principal congress venue, in the Renzo Piano-designed Cité Internationale next to the Parc de la Tête d'Or. Extended in 2006, it combines auditoriums, an exhibition level and a large bank of meeting rooms in one building. Sources list three amphitheatres of 300, 900 and 3,000 seats (the largest modular, from 900 to about 3,220 depending on source), 35 meeting rooms and an exhibition level of about 8,400 m² on one floor, within roughly 24,000 m² of modular space. Overall capacity is quoted at about 19,000 persons. The centre suits international congresses that benefit from Lyon's gastronomic reputation: evening programmes in traditional bouchons, Beaujolais estates or the Old Lyon quarter can be organised around the working days.

Max. capacity 3,000 pax · 2 hotels

Bordeaux

Palais des Congrès de Bordeaux

The Palais des Congrès de Bordeaux sits at Bordeaux Lac, in the north of the city, beside the exhibition park and the Matmut Atlantique stadium district. It is the city's principal congress venue and shares the Bordeaux Lac site with the Parc des Expositions. The official listing gives three auditoriums, of 196, 353 and a largest hall accommodating 600 to 1,293 people, ten fully equipped break-out rooms and a flexible multipurpose hall of about 3,000 m². The total surface is quoted between 10,000 and 12,000 m² depending on source; confirm for your layout. Bordeaux combines the working day with an offer of wine estates in Saint-Émilion, the Médoc and Pessac-Léognan for dinners and visits, and the UNESCO-listed city centre.

Max. capacity 1,293 pax · 2 hotels

Bordeaux

Parc des Expositions de Bordeaux

The Parc des Expositions de Bordeaux covers a 30-hectare site at Bordeaux Lac, next to the Palais des Congrès. The official congress bureau describes about 84,000 m² of covered surface in three halls; a forum source gives a slightly lower figure, so the official one is used here. The Palais 2 l'Atlantique (P2A), the recent hall of the complex, offers about 15,170 m² of usable surface and can seat up to 6,000 people, which sets the maximum capacity for conventions and large gala events. Other halls are for trade fairs and exhibitions. Combined with the neighbouring Palais des Congrès, the site allows plenary, exhibition and large dinners across one campus, a format suited to association congresses and large corporate events.

Max. capacity 6,000 pax · 1 hotels

Biarritz & Basque Country

Le Bellevue – Centre de Congrès de Biarritz

Le Bellevue is the congress centre of Biarritz, in the heart of the resort overlooking the Grande Plage. It was built for medium-sized conferences and seminars, and its location puts delegates a few minutes on foot from hotels, the seafront and the town centre. The official convention bureau gives ten modular meeting rooms (about 3,000 m² in total) and an auditorium of 489 seats; other listings give 477. La Rotonde (700 m², 7 m ceiling) can extend to 900 places with the adjoining Salle Atlantique (500 m²), the Vague rooms (350 m², divisible into five commission rooms) and a 450 m² reception gallery complete the offer. Biarritz suits conferences of up to about 500 participants, with receptions up to about 1,200, and evenings in the Basque Country: Pays basque dinners, surf-related activities and gastronomy.

Max. capacity 489 pax

Normandy

Centre International de Deauville (CID)

The Centre International de Deauville (CID) is the congress centre of the Normandy resort, in the centre of town close to the seafront. It is a short-haul option from Paris for conferences, seminars and corporate events combined with the resort's hotels and casino. The 2024 CID brochure gives a Michel d'Ornano auditorium that can be set to 523, 847 or 1,497 seats, and a Lexington auditorium of 223 seats. It lists 7,250 m² for auditoriums and halls and 2,500 m² of terraces; earlier brochures quote over 7,000 m² of modular exhibition area and simultaneous capacity for up to 7,000 people. Figures vary between editions; confirm for your date. Deauville works well for two-day seminars within two hours of Paris, with the Normandy coast, horse-racing events and Honfleur nearby for programmes.

Max. capacity 1,497 pax · 3 hotels

Strasbourg & Alsace

Palais de la Musique et des Congrès de Strasbourg

The Palais de la Musique et des Congrès (PMC) is Strasbourg's main congress and concert venue, at Wacken beside the European Parliament district. Designed by Dietrich Untertrifaller and opened in 2008, it combines concert halls and conference rooms in one complex. The Erasme hall seats 1,870 to 1,876 depending on the listing in the venue's own brochure; the Schweitzer hall seats about 1,200 and the Cassin hall about 500 to 570. The building has several exhibition spaces. Different sources give different overall surfaces (44,500 to 50,000 m²), so no total figure is stated here. Strasbourg adds Alsace to the programme: Petite France evenings, wine route tastings and visits to the European institutions can be organised around the congress days.

Max. capacity 1,876 pax · 2 hotels

Champagne

Centre des Congrès de Reims

The Centre des Congrès de Reims is the congress venue of the Champagne capital, in the town centre close to the cathedral and the champagne houses. Its scale suits conferences and conventions of up to a few hundred or a thousand delegates. The Reims convention bureau and project sources describe a main nave of about 1,500 seats in the plenary hall and two further amphitheatres of 350 to 700 seats; figures differ slightly across listings, and no reliable room surface was found. The wider Reims Events complex includes the Parc des Expositions, with large halls. Reims is distinct for the Champagne programme: private cellar visits, dinners in champagne houses and UNESCO-listed sites make the venue a good base for incentive-style conventions within an hour of Paris.

Max. capacity 1,500 pax

Loire Valley

Palais des Congrès de Tours (ex-Vinci)

The Palais des Congrès de Tours, known as Vinci from 1993 to 2017, is the international convention centre of Tours. It is attached to the railway station, making it one of the best-connected congress venues in the Loire Valley. Sources list three auditoriums: François Ier (2,000 seats in most listings, 2,500 in one older source), Ronsard (700) and Descartes (350 to 400), plus 22 meeting rooms. The Agnès Sorel lounge covers 1,500 m² and the Daniel Bourdu space 2,500 m²; exhibition surface is quoted at 2,500 to 3,800 m² depending on source. Total capacity is stated at up to 5,000 participants simultaneously. Tours works for conventions with a Loire Valley programme: private château receptions, wine estates in Vouvray and Chinon, and gastronomic dinners, all within a short drive.

Max. capacity 2,000 pax · 1 hotels

Toulouse & Occitanie

Le Corum – Palais des Congrès de Montpellier

Le Corum is Montpellier's convention centre and opera house, designed by Claude Vasconi and located in the city centre. Its main auditorium, the Opéra Berlioz, seats 2,000, and a moving wooden roof can reduce the hall to 800 seats according to the tourism office. Sources give about 6,000 m² of exhibition space and 25 meeting rooms. The building is 190 m long, with a public rooftop terrace, and it hosts a series of congresses and a classical music season. Hall areas were not found for individual rooms; confirm with the venue. Montpellier suits conferences with a Mediterranean programme: Languedoc wine estates, Camargue and the coast within a short drive, and an old town with receptions in historic hôtels particuliers.

Max. capacity 2,000 pax

Toulouse & Occitanie

MEETT – Toulouse Exhibition & Convention Centre

MEETT (Parc des Expositions et Centre de Conventions de Toulouse Métropole) opened in 2020 in the north-west of Toulouse, designed by OMA with PPA Architectures. It combines an exhibition park, a convention centre and an event hall on one site close to the airport. The main exhibition hall offers about 40,000 m² that can be split into seven halls by a mechanised curtain. The convention centre is reported to have a plenary hall of more than 3,000 seats and twelve meeting rooms, and the event hall can host 4,000 to 12,000 people in sport or show configuration. Toulouse Métropole gives about 70,000 m² of event surface in total; other sources give much larger site areas. MEETT suits large conventions and aerospace, digital and industrial trade shows; Toulouse's historic centre and Occitanie vineyards complete the programme.

Aussonne / Beauzelle (near Blagnac) · 1 hotels

Brittany

Centre des Congrès de Rennes – Couvent des Jacobins

The Couvent des Jacobins is a 15th-century Dominican convent in the centre of Rennes, converted by Vinci into a congress centre and opened in 2018. It integrates modern auditoriums within heritage architecture, next to the Place Sainte-Anne. Sources describe a Grand Auditorium of about 1,000 seats (1,200 in one official listing), a heritage auditorium of 300 to 400 seats, a further 500-seat room, 25 sub-committee rooms, and about 4,000 m² of exhibition space. Receptions of up to 1,500 seated or 3,000 standing are quoted. Surfaces and seat counts differ between sources, so confirm your layout with the venue. The centre suits conferences and conventions in a historic district, with the Brittany programme available: Rennes old town, Saint-Malo and the Emerald Coast within an hour.

Max. capacity 1,000 pax

Brittany

Palais du Grand Large

The Palais du Grand Large (also known as Le Grand Large) is the congress centre of Saint-Malo, facing the sea. It was renovated between 2018 and 2019 at a cost reported at over 11 million euros, reopening in October 2019 with a new glazed rotunda overlooking the water. The main auditorium seats 1,030 in most sources (configurations of 400, 535, 870 and 1,030 are quoted), with a 200-seat amphitheatre and 19 meeting rooms, most with daylight and sea views. The surface is quoted as 8,000 m² by the press and over 10,000 m² by the tourism office. The new rotunda is 405 m² with a 150 m² terrace. No planned closure was found at the time of writing, but confirm availability for your dates. Saint-Malo suits conferences up to about 1,000 people with an Emerald Coast programme: privatised ramparts evenings, oyster tastings and visits to Cancale and Mont-Saint-Michel.

Max. capacity 1,030 pax · 1 hotels

Lille & Northern France

Lille Grand Palais

Lille Grand Palais is the principal convention and exhibition centre of northern France, at Euralille next to the Lille Europe station. Its position makes it accessible from Paris, London and Brussels in about an hour. The Hello Lille listing gives three auditoriums of 433 to 1,475 seats, a Zénith with 4,700 seats, 28 meeting rooms and four exhibition halls totalling up to 18,000 m². The Grand Théâtre has a 470 m² stage and the Square multipurpose space is 1,400 m². Zénith capacity is stated differently by the venues (4,450 to 4,700 seated), so confirm for your layout. The venue suits regional and international conventions that need rail access: delegations from London and Brussels arrive in under an hour and a half, and the Old Lille district offers dinner and reception venues.

Max. capacity 4,700 pax

Annecy & Lake Annecy

Centre Bonlieu (Annecy)

The Centre Bonlieu is Annecy's main cultural and meeting venue in the town centre, by the lake, hosting the Bonlieu Scène nationale and the Annecy animation festival. For congresses it offers a central address, but the programming of the scène nationale and the festival constrains availability. Lac Annecy Congrès lists the centre at 900 seats; the Scène nationale lists a main hall of 982 seats, a small hall of 288 seats and a rehearsal space of 150. No reliable exhibition surface or meeting-room count was found. The city overall offers 30 rooms from 17 to 2,600 m² for 70 to 1,800 people. Annecy works for small to mid-size conferences with a lake and mountain programme: Alpine dinners, boat privatisations on the lake and active team-building in the Aravis.

Max. capacity 900 pax

Convention centres in France

Paris & Île-de-France

Les Salles du Carrousel (Carrousel du Louvre)

CNIT Forest

Palais des Congrès de Paris

Palais des Congrès de Versailles

Paris Expo Porte de Versailles

Paris Nord Villepinte

French Riviera

Grimaldi Forum Monaco

Nice Acropolis

Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes

Provence & Marseille

Centre de Congrès d'Aix-en-Provence

Marseille Chanot

Palais du Pharo

Lyon

Eurexpo Lyon

Centre de Congrès de Lyon

Bordeaux

Palais des Congrès de Bordeaux

Parc des Expositions de Bordeaux

Biarritz & Basque Country

Le Bellevue – Centre de Congrès de Biarritz

Normandy

Centre International de Deauville (CID)

Strasbourg & Alsace

Palais de la Musique et des Congrès de Strasbourg

Champagne

Centre des Congrès de Reims

Loire Valley

Palais des Congrès de Tours (ex-Vinci)

Toulouse & Occitanie

Le Corum – Palais des Congrès de Montpellier

MEETT – Toulouse Exhibition & Convention Centre

Brittany

Centre des Congrès de Rennes – Couvent des Jacobins

Palais du Grand Large

Lille & Northern France

Lille Grand Palais

Annecy & Lake Annecy

Centre Bonlieu (Annecy)

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