La Grande École can host seminars, meetings, conferences, team building days, product launches, private parties and weddings. Its meeting rooms take up to 1,000 people in different formats, on a 4,000-square-meter site that combines gardens, a period house and a former school. It stands at 6 rue Gustave Lennier, in the Notre-Dame district of central Le Havre.
Seminars and company events
The venue hosts company seminars, meetings, working group sessions, team building days and full private hire, with a program built with the team. On the first floor, several rooms can be set up for a large conference. The Cabaret, a room with a muted decor and cinema equipment, suits an exclusive preview, a brand launch, a projection, a product presentation, improvisation workshops or company theatre.
Team building workshops are designed to order: cooking classes, pastry workshops, mixology, wine tasting and improvisation theatre. The same workshops run for the public during the week, so the teams that lead them are on site. A business brochure and a groups and seminars brochure are available from the venue.
Weddings and receptions
La Grande École hosts small weddings as well as receptions of 200 guests in cocktail format, or more when the whole site is hired. Decoration, catering and entertainment are planned with the couple. The venue also hosts birthdays, family reunions, baby showers and bachelor or bachelorette parties, with options such as pétanque, darts, a DJ concert, a karaoke evening or a cooking workshop. Children's birthday parties are built around pastry workshops.
Rooms and capacities
The site does not publish a capacity room by room. It states rooms for up to 1,000 people across the site in different formats, with conference rooms on the first floor and the Cabaret for screenings and launches. The salons and gardens are used for receptions, and the whole venue can be hired for a large event. Ask the team for the figure and layout that fit your program.
Accommodation
The four-star Hôtel Lilybloom stands in the wooded garden of La Grande École. Designed by Léa Lassarat with a low environmental footprint, it has ten rooms, each with a king-size bed, a private terrace, and an outdoor sauna and Nordic shower. It suits speakers and a small management team staying on site; larger groups will need additional rooms in town.
Catering
Groups can eat at Le Préau, the pizzeria and tapas bar of La Grande École, or at the restaurant Les Enfants Sages. For seminars, the team offers themed breaks, meals in a dedicated salon or in a temporary set-up, and cocktails with music. Pub Janine, the venue's British-style bar with darts and a large screen, completes the offer for evenings. A garden and terrace are used in good weather.
History and setting
The venue takes its name from its site: the former Jean Macé school, a building of 1,600 square meters in the Notre-Dame district. The school marked several generations of pupils and remains a landmark for the people of Le Havre. Today the site combines restaurants, a pub, cooking and pastry workshops, an events program and a hotel. It is run by Groupe ERNA.
Getting there
Le Havre railway station is less than 20 minutes away on foot. Buses 1, 4, 6, 7 and C2 stop at O. Niemeyer, and the tram stops at Hôtel de Ville, both close to the venue. Drivers can set their GPS to 6 rue Gustave Lennier, 76600 Le Havre.
