Group visitors
Visit the Palais as a group!
Are you a school, an association, or a tourism professional planning to visit Le Palais ?
On this page, you will find all the information to plan and facilitate your visit : booking form, rates, tour options, available services, and practical tips.
Important Information:
- Booking a group visit is mandatory, even for groups eligible for free admission.
- Any group without a reservation, even if members have individual tickets, will be denied access to the premises for safety reasons.
- Reservations can only be made online.
- All bookings are final; reserved visits must be paid for.
Booking deadline : at least 4 weeks before your desired visit date. Visit slots can be reserved up to 3 months in advance.
Booking conditions
Espaces d'accueil public au Palais
Photo : Anne Volery © Palais de la Porte Dorée
From the booking form, you can reserve an activity at the Monument, the Musée national de l’histoire de l’immigration, or the Aquarium tropical.
You can choose between a self-guided visit (without a mediator from the Palais, freely exploring the designated area) or a mediated visit (guided tour, school activity, or workshop).
Guided tours for school groups are available :
- For the Aquarium and the Museum: from 9 years old
- For the Monument: from 12 years old
You must make a group reservation, regardless of the number of participants, if:
- You are an organization (leisure center, school, university, association, etc.)
- You are leading a visit as an external guide or someone authorized to speak to the group
Frequently asked questions
The maximum group size is 20 to 30 people, including accompanying adults, depending on the spaces and temporary exhibitions.
If your group consists of more than 30 people, you will need to book two separate group visits. It is not possible to reserve two time slots simultaneously in the same area, due to safety capacity limits and the size of the exhibition spaces.
When completing the reservation form, you can select the group activity you wish to book. Only available time slots can be reserved.
After submitting your reservation request through the form, you will receive a visit confirmation email within 2 to 3 weeks, along with a summary document, from reservation@palais-portedoree.fr. Receipt of this email means that your visit is officially confirmed and will be payable, even if you later cancel it.
You may pay in advance (by bank transfer or cheque) or send a purchase order. If payment is made through Pass Culture, an offer will be created on Adage and must be approved by the head of the institution.
On the day of your visit, you must present yourself at the ticket desk with your summary document and pay for your visit if payment has not already been made in advance.
Only groups with a confirmed reservation are allowed access to the exhibition areas, provided that the admission fee has been paid before the start of the visit (whether self-guided or guided). Booking a group visit guarantees a designated time slot for access to the exhibition spaces.
Without a group reservation, participants will not be permitted to enter the exhibition areas.
Speaking authorization, meaning the right to provide commentary or lead a tour for an audience within the Museum or monument galleries, is regulated.
If you wish to organize a guided tour led by someone external to the Palais de la Porte Dorée, you must reserve a group visit time slot and select “Self-guided visit” (Visite autonome).
Please note that the right to lead and comment on a visit is granted only to : licensed tour guides holding a valid professional guide card (which must be worn during the visit), and teachers conducting a school visit. External individuals who do not hold a professional tour guide card and are not teachers are not permitted to lead tours within the Palais de la Porte Dorée.
The presence of at least two adult supervisors is mandatory for any group of children. Without a group reservation for a school class or leisure center, the group of children or teenagers will be denied access to the visitor areas (Aquarium, Musée, or monument).
For school and extracurricular groups, the following supervision ratios apply :
- At least one (1) accompanying adult for every ten (10) children in kindergarten, primary school, and middle school groups.
- At least two (2) accompanying adults for the entire group for all other groups (high school students and university students).
Visiting hours
Photo : Lucile Casanova © Palais de la Porte Dorée
Subject to available time slots, visits are possible from Tuesday to Friday:
- The first departure time for school activities is 10:15 a.m. for the Aquarium, the Musée, or the Palais.
- The first visit departures are 10:30 a.m. for the Aquarium and 10:45 a.m. for the Musée, or the Palais.
- The last departure time for school activities is 2:15 p.m. for the Aquarium, the Musée, or the Palais.
- The last visit departure is 3:45 p.m. for the Aquarium and 3:15 p.m. for the Musée, or the Palais.
For reasons of visitor flow and comfort, group visits are not available on weekends.
In practice, on the day of your visit
Visite guidée de l'exposition permanente du Musée
Photo : Anne Volery © Palais de la Porte Dorée
On the day of your visit, we invite you to:
- Go to the ticket desk 15 minutes before the start of your visit to pay for the visit if necessary and collect your group entry ticket.
- Leave your belongings in the cloakroom : the group leader must accompany all participants when dropping off items. Once items have been stored in the cloakroom, they can only be collected at the end of your visit. Please make sure to bring everything you will need for the visit with you (notebooks, pencils, etc.).
- Gather your group and then proceed to the entrance of the Musée or Aquarium for a self-guided visit, or to the reception area to meet your guide/mediator.
General visit rules
© Palais de la Porte Dorée
In order to ensure your visit takes place under the best possible conditions, we invite you to read the general rules of visiting.
- Everyone is asked not to run or shout in the exhibition rooms.
- Photos and videos are allowed, but flash photography and selfie sticks are not permitted.
- Minors remain under the responsibility of their accompanying adults.
Specific rules for the Aquarium : observation is the key principle of the visit. To observe the species properly, visitors must avoid stressing them with sudden movements, noise, or light. To encourage a calm visit, accompanying adults are advised to divide children into small groups under the supervision of one adult per group. For the well-being of the animals, it is also forbidden to tap on the glass.
Any inappropriate behaviour may lead to the exclusion of the group.
Available services
Cloakroom
A cloakroom, located in the entrance hall to the right of the ticket counters, is available free of charge for groups, subject to space availability. Participants must drop off and collect their belongings at the same time, in the presence of the group leader.
Accessibility
The spaces of the Palais are accessible to people with disabilities. Wheelchairs and walking-stick chairs are available to borrow from the cloakroom in exchange for an identity document.
