Espace Franconi hosts Christmas parties, family days, seminars, conventions, team building, product launches, dinner shows and weddings for up to 800 people under two real circus big tops. The covered space exceeds 1,100 square meters and seats 700 for a show or 400 at dinner. The venue stands on the Île de loisirs de Torcy, in Seine-et-Marne, east of Paris.
Seminars and company events
Companies use the big tops for arbres de Noël, family days, seminars, conventions, team building, company evenings, product launches and filming. The space is reconfigured for each project, and private hire is studied according to the event, the number of guests and the dates available. Sound, lighting, set design and custom decoration are part of the offer. What sets the place apart is the program: a circus show, circus workshops where staff learn juggling or balance, children's entertainment for family days, and extra acts such as magicians, mascots and face painting. For a seminar, a plenary under the big top can be followed by a show or a workshop on the same site.
Weddings and receptions
Couples can marry under the big top, and families book the space for baptisms, communions, adult and children's birthdays, retirements and surprise parties. The same entertainment can be added, from a short show to balloon sculpture for children. Food runs from a children's snack to a buffet, and each event is planned around the date, the guest list and the services chosen.
Rooms and capacities
The two big tops cover more than 1,100 square meters of modular space. Maximum capacity is 800 people, with 700 seats in show layout and 400 for a seated dinner. Capacity for each event depends on the format and the layout. All spaces are covered, and activities run all year, subject to availability.
Catering
Food is arranged with the venue for each project: snacks, a cocktail, a buffet or a meal. The site does not name a caterer, so menus and service should be set out in the quote.
History and setting
The Franconi name goes back to Antonio Franconi, born in Udine in 1737, who took over Philip Astley's Paris circus in 1791 and renamed it the Cirque Olympique in 1807, the first French venue officially called a circus. In 1986 Alexandra Franconi and Boboss le Clown founded the Cirque Alexandra Franconi with their children David and Stéphanie. The company played in Paris squares, toured the Normandy and Brittany coasts, settled in the parc de Saint-Cloud in 1989 for more than twenty years and moved to Torcy in 2011.
Getting there
Torcy station on RER A puts central Paris less than 30 minutes away. Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy, with TGV and OUIGO trains, is about 20 minutes by RER. By road, the venue is reached from the A104 Francilienne, and Disneyland Paris is about 10 km away. Free parking with 300 spaces serves guests and suppliers, and several hotels are nearby.
