Aux Belles Poules hosts seminars, study days, board meetings, product launches, press conferences, client evenings, team building and private receptions, for up to 75 guests at a cocktail or 55 at a seated dinner. The venue is a former brothel at 32 rue Blondel, in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, whose painted ceramics, mosaics and frescoes from the 1920s are listed on the supplementary inventory of historic monuments.
Seminars and company events
The whole venue is privatized for each event, by day or by evening, on weekdays and at weekends, and even for a full weekend. Formats named by the venue include seminars, study days, leadership committees, team meetings, product launches, press conferences, client evenings, end-of-year parties, company anniversaries, public relations events and leaving parties.
The room has a projector that takes images from a laptop or a phone, and fiber internet with Wi-Fi at no extra charge. Morning breakfast and breaks can be served during a working day.
The venue also sells team-building sessions and a historical talk on the brothels of Paris, given by the owner and lasting about one hour. Entertainment can be added to an evening: a burlesque show, cabaret, quiz, murder party, casino evening, cocktail-making class, photobooth or DJ.
Weddings and receptions
Private receptions include intimate weddings, engagement parties, birthdays, retirement parties and family gatherings. Couples can choose a dry hire of the space or build a package with food, drinks, cakes or a croquembouche, and entertainment such as burlesque dancers, a Belle Époque singer, a photographer, a videographer or a DJ.
Rooms and capacities
The venue offers a little over 115 square meters. It includes an entrance hall for welcoming guests, a warming kitchen for caterers, a bar and a cloakroom. The capacity is 75 guests at a standing reception and 55 at a seated lunch or dinner. There is one main room, so the venue suits one group at a time rather than a program with breakouts.
Catering
The venue offers seated lunches or dinners for up to 55, with starter, main and dessert and cheese as an option. Cocktail receptions for up to 75 run from 12 to 24 pieces per guest, with cooking demonstrations possible. Sharing boards with cocktail pieces suit an afterwork. The drinks list covers soft drinks, wine, champagne, beer, spirits and cocktails, with or without alcohol.
History and setting
The first records of the house date from 1862. In 1925 it was enlarged and given its present decor of painted ceramics, erotic frescoes, colored mosaics and mirrors, inspired by antiquity and the Ballets Russes, with Art Deco influences. Other famous Paris brothels such as Le Sphinx, Le Chabanais and the One Two Two have lost their interiors; this one kept its own.
The Marthe Richard law of April 13, 1946 closed French brothels, and in 1948 the building became student housing. In 2011 Caroline Senot bought it with her father, Michel Senot, planning to install her company there. The discovery of the original decor changed the plan, and the house was restored and opened for events, talks and shows.
Getting there
The address is 32 rue Blondel, 75002 Paris. The nearest metro stations are Strasbourg-Saint-Denis and Réaumur-Sébastopol, both a short walk away. Gare de l'Est and Gare du Nord are close by for guests arriving by train.
