Atélier des Lumières Paris
 

Day before yesterday my DH, 12-year-old granddaughter and I were looking forward to seeing the presentation here. We all agreed that that it was very impressive, but the logistics after entering the venue were somewhat challenging. Not being able to stand easily for an hour led me to the staircase where I sat on a stair halfway up. Many people had to sit on the (really dirty) floor or perch on the base of a column. There appeared to be a row of seats on the upper level at the top of the stairs. The Van Gogh presentation was beautiful and meaningful for those in the audience who were already familiar with his personal and artistic history. Our granddaughter was familiar with some of his paintings, but not with his personal history and was not really gripped by the content. Many children in the audience were restless and noisy during that show. I thought the Japanese presentation was much better. Very impressive. The children near me were quiet and seemed to love the scenes of the ocean and its denizens. The technology here is amazing and I recommend seeing it, but it would be helpful to learn something of Van Gogh's history before seeing it.

Good info, thank you. When we went to the Gustav Klimt exhibit last August, after my eyes adjusted to the darkness I was a bit freaked to see that there was no place to sit, as I had a bad hip at the time and couldn't stand comfortably for a long period of time. I ended up spending half the time hanging onto DH and half the time propped up at the base of a column. Very uncomfortable, frankly, though the exhibit was worth it. I was really, really wishing I'd invested in a walking stick before the trip.

There are also (what look like) huge cable containers in the middle of the floor. Thing to realise is that the site does not empty - there is a continual flow every 15 minutes, so you may not be able to get seating immediately. I had already walked 10 miles when I arrived, so I sat on one of those things for about 15 minutes, then noticed a lady who was struggling standing and gave up my seat.

Agree MaineGG, the Japanese presentation was wonderful!

I can't emphasise enough - get the FIRST entry!

Thanks ever so much for the poster who mentioned the exhibit several weeks ago. My daughter and I didn't make a reservation and just showed up. No issues. It's an impressive presentation especially for Van Gogh fans and Japanese art and culture. We had wonderful weather in Paris two weeks ago. I carried an umbrella every day so naturally it didn't rain.

The Atélier des Lumières is now one of the best attractions in Paris which offers immersive audiovisual experiences in very high quality. It's not a museum, it's not a real exhibition so don't expect history or background about what you see. There are as mentioned huge cable containers in the middle of the floor on which you can sit, as well as chairs on the higher level. Generally it's a live show and on each wall the projection is different. No point in sitting because you can't catch everything. It is best to keep walking and immerse yourself with the colors and music. Yes it attracts many children and yes, the place is very popular so be sure to book your entries as much in advance and as mentioned above, try to book yourself on the first entry in the morning. Highly recommended!

Anybody who needs to sit down can go to the hidden café in the far end of the site (under the balcony). It is behind black doors that most people do not dare to investigate. You can sit there as long as you want (no need to order anything) and on top of that, it presents a completely different show from the rest of the place.

Now you tell us!

Shhhh! It's a secret.

Nikki, I so totally agree about the seating in galleries. And just to rant a bit, it was the first time I have been in Paris museums for many years last summer with friends, and I found it exhausting to try to see the art between folks trying to post selfies they had taken of themselves with the art-kind of distracting and depressing and very few people actually looking at the art! The presence of selfie sticks and the fairly recent phenomenon of many cities having big letters now somewhere in the tourist center spelling out the name of their city are two of my biggest pet peeves about modern travel. I mean, don't people know what city they are in without having it literally spelled out for them....but I guess it feeds the social media feeds.

Oh well, I guess will just grab my cane and yell "get off my lawn" while I am at it! LOL

I don't recall any seating, but you can check out the website and see if it answers your question. A bigger problem could be lack of parking in Les Baux, depending on what time of year and what time of day you're visiting. Having to hike up that hill is more problematic for me than not being able to sit down once I'm there.

Carrières de Lumières - Site officiel - gérées par Culturespaces

There are rock shelves all over the place to sit. It is a natural site and more important to worry about the uneven floor in places.

Just another thing-the site is quite cool being a cave so you might want to have a wrap-the site says it is around 14 to 16 degrees C

Yes.
I recorded a short video using my smartphone. It's an amazing experience.

Yes, I have taken photographs and video both at Les Baux and also at the Atelier des Lumières.

Here is an example at the Atelier des Lumières during the Klimt show: