Through its subsidiary Urban Station RATP is developing its events business in Paris by rehabilitating its heritage buildings scattered around the capital. More specifically, its former electrical substations built between 1900 and 1920, buildings with beautiful Art Nouveau or Art Deco architecture. The first three openings after completion of the works are scheduled for summer 2025.
La Cerisaie at Bastille, with its remarkable brick façade and immense glass roof, will house two stages, each with a capacity of 100 participants, complemented by two terraces for coffee breaks or buffets overlooking the Arsenal harbour. For its part, the Auteuil site in the XVIe arrondissement, a stone's throw from Roland-Garros, will offer 300 sq. metres of space for 120 people at a seminar or 200 at a cocktail party. Lastly, the building on rue Chanoinesse, in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, will be the ideal venue for a cocktail party.e arrondissement, will have 600 m² available for receptions for 300 guests and conferences for 180 people. " It will be the only events venue on the Ile de la Citénear Notre-Dame. It will even be possible to launch vehicles there." says Sébastien Gimenez, Event-Urban Station Business Line Director.
This transformation of our heritage also has a sustainable dimension. "Urban Station is engaged in a ISO 20121 certification process we should have by the end of 2024" says Sébastien Gimenez. He adds: "CSR is one of our priorities, through the energy management of our buildings, the selection of our service providers, particularly caterers, the accessibility of all our venues by public transport, of course, and the rehabilitation of these old sites, which are part of our industrial heritage and are listed as historic monuments." .
Depending on the results, other unoccupied electrical substations may also be developed. " We have many of these along the metro lines, particularly in areas where companies are looking to expand. quality and original spaces for their events" he describes. As part of this initiative, RATP has also transformed three of its turnaround stations into coworking and corpoworking spaces with Petites Ecuries (Xe arrdt.), Réaumur (IIe) and Nation-Philidor (XXe).
A Business Centre near Gare de Lyon used extensively by companies
The Régie had already been involved in this events business since 2022, through its Business Centre set up at the Maison de la RATP. Located on the banks of the Seine, a stone's throw from the Gare de Lyon, the glass and steel company's head office houses 11 meeting rooms seating between 10 and 60 people, as well as two auditoriums, the 258-seat Espace Centenaire and the 180-seat Espace Van Gogh.
With a BtoB target, the site hosts 800 MICE events a year, representing some 50,000 participants, with 20% of this activity coming from internal RATP events. " Our rooms are just as suitable for meetings and conferences as they are for trade fairs, workshops, board meetings, receptions, etc.explains Sébastien Gimenez.
" RATP can even draw on its a breeding ground for metro musicians to run events" he continues. And more specifically for the musical ambience of the Espace Rapée, its 323 m² stage - for 170 people in the theatre and 250 for receptions - and the Grande Tisanerie, a bar area also used for cocktails for 50 people. The two spaces are distinguished by the presence, in one case, of a 1910 metro carriage and, in the other, of a 1920s bus that is open to visitors. RATP is using its rich collection of old posters to decorate the walls of this Business Centre and, in future, of its new event venues in the capital.
