INSTANT CONFIRMATION

Availability: Wednesday

Duration: 1.5 hours

Language: French

Voucher: MOBILE

Do this because

• Discover the meticulousness of the craftworkers

• Learn about the history and the techniques of this art

• Get exclusive access to the backstages

What to expect

L'enclos des Gobelins it's 80 artists, 23,000 shades of color, 600 furnished French Republic palaces and 3 factories with a unique and traditional expertise in weaving which endures and grows over time. Dedicated to the furnishing and decorating in tapestry and carpets of official palaces, the factories have since 1900 made more than 2,000 masterpieces.

The Gobelins Manufactory fashions tapestries by using the high-warp technique; the Beauvais Manufacture however uses the low-warp method; and the Soap Manufactory specializes in carpet weaving.

Your tour guide will take you to the nearest loom-warp craft-site, by taking you two of three active workshops! Open your eyes wide and gaze at the meticulousness with which the craftworkers practice their art.

The delicate handling of the spindle, comb, and traced design; the perfect mastery of knots; the meticulous positioning of the mirror which is used to look over work in progress; as well as the preparation of the "warp"--all these techniques turn the human hand into the accomplished artist hand and the majestic machine into a delicate, high-end instrument.

You'll understand why the completion of a piece is proudly famous. After years of work, the masterpiece can be delivered, and the artist can finally look upon his work which, until then, can only be appreciated with frugality as conventional smoothing methods dictate.

What's included

• Entry ticket to the Manufacture des Gobelins

• Guided tour in French

• Exclusive backstage access

What's not included

• Personal expenses

• Transfers

• Tips

What to remember

• In a period of temporary display, this visit gives you free access to the current exhibition

• Latecomers risk missing the tour as tours are neither reschedulable nor refundable

• No wheelchair access for this tour (presence of stairs)

Where

Manufacture des Gobelins, 42 Avenue des Gobelins - 75013 Paris

Meeting point:

Meet your guide in the lobby of the Manufacture des Gobelins 10 minutes before the departure of the tour. Metro: Gobelins (line 7).

When

• Wednesday
  Departure at 3.00pm