PARIS
PIT STOP ON THE CHAMPS ELYSÉES
L'Atelier Renault Showroom Restaurant
So,
you’re in Paris, the city of love, strolling the famed Champs-Elysées,
the heart of the city of lights and center of Paris shopping, what to
do? Why not stop for a cool one and shop for a car? Several car companies
have high tech showrooms on the Champs. Mercedes has a splashy display
and Toyota shows its latest futuristic concept designs. While these lovely
luxury showroms are exotic and a fine stop for a shopping stroll, the
oldest and first of these is the Renault L'Atelier.
Louis
Renault bought a building along the famed boulevard in 1910 as a Paris
headquarters. The Renault empire has moved it’s offices elsewhere,
but the location remained as a symbol of the French auto giant since
1963
as the Pub Renault, a watering spot for locals and visitors to Paris.
In 2000 the bar restaurant was expanded into the L'Atelier Renault, a
slickly designed space, neither auto showroom or sales outlet, but a
place
to show off all things Renault, with
an exhibition floor downstairs and restaurant on the open second level.
In
2006 Renault showed off its Formula 1 heritage to celebrate its F1
Grand Prix championship
with
a
magnificent
display of Eight Renault Formula one racing cars, including the 1983
Renault with which Alain Prost finished second in the World Driver’s
championship, four championship-winning Renault-powered Williams, a
Michael Schumacher
Benetton, and Fernando Alonso’s championship-winning car, plus
drivers helmets, trophies and interactive displays. (The display is
not there now. If you want to see Renault racing cars you have to go
to Magny
Cours Race Track an hour and half south from Paris.)
The
dining and drinking part of the showroom is upstairs on the walkways
over-looking
the displays and glass window views of the Champs-Elysées. Or
sit outside on the Champs people watching when the weather is nice and
the shopping is good. On a recent visit the
display had a Cannes Film Festival theme and Renault was the official
supplier
of
the
red
carpet
limousines.
L’Atelier
Renault was designed by Franck Hammoutène with a modular interior
to accommodate each new event. The ground-floor space displays will
change
to stage four or five exhibition themes throughtout the year. Fans of
Renault's F1 racing efforts can still find fan merchandise throughout
the year.
Open until 2 in the am Thursdays to Saturday and midnight the rest of the week, you can still get a drink or a meal at the restaurant on a pit stop of shopping and sight-seeing along the grand boulevard of light. © Bargain Travel Europe
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L'Atelier Renault
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SEE ALSO:
BUDGET HOSTELS
IN PARIS
MONTE CARLO
