01 Sep 2017
Plans for a steampunk theme park in France to rival Disneyland Paris and Parc Asterix announced
BY Ben Coxon
Luxury goods giant LVMH have announced a €60m (US$71.4m, £55m) plan to turn Paris’s 19th-century leisure park, the Jardin d‘Acclimatation into one of France’s top three theme parks.
Work to restore the historic sections of the park and to build 17 new attractions - much of which will be themed around the steampunk genre - will begin on September 4 and is expected to last until May 2018.
The park has been managed by LVMH since 1984, who have an 80 per cent stake in partnership with the theme park and ski resort developer Compagnie des Alpes, who own the remaining 20 per cent.
Last year Paris officials renewed LVMH’s concession for the 18-hectare park, opening the way for a renovation of the garden and its attractions. The new concession contract will run until 2041.
The Jardin d'Acclimatation was France's’ first leisure park and records approximately two million visitors annually. However, the park primarily draws in families with young children.
LVMH have stated the project will widen the appeal of Jardin hopefully increasing visitor numbers up to three million annually by 2025, with the inclusion of rollercoasters hoping to draw an older audience.
“Our goal is for Jardin d‘Acclimatation to rank second or third among theme parks in France," said head of development at Compagnie des Alpes, Delphine Pons.
“We chose a unique aesthetic around the park to allow for exuberance, invention and fantasy. The challenge now is to have this special universe stick together at first glance with that of the more traditional park.”
LVMH is also working on another Paris attraction, having unveiled plans in March to renovate the disused Musee National des Arts et Traditions Populaires, located adjacent to the Jardin d‘Acclimatation. For the project, the aim is to turn the vacant museum into an arts and crafts centre in a €158m (US$187.7m, £144.8m) revamp by renowned architect Frank Gehry.
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