How could we classify this recently opened establishment, offering to discover Paris’ most terrifying legends? Defining itself half as a museum, half as a theme park, the Manoir de Paris is indeed a hybrid establishment that we, of course, include in the museums of Paris, but that we also consider as an unusual experience to discover right in the centre of Paris.
In order to preserve the dark and mysterious character of the Manoir, we won’t reveal the content of the attraction. But we can still tell you that it is a quite eccentric experience, and that the staging, which consists of impressing the visitor all along his/her visit, is carried out successfully. As per the actors who come to intermix with the crowd queuing up, and the impressive “young bodies!” which the “manager” of the manoir shouts at the beginning of the route.
You will then be immersed in the legends of Paris, in a very convincing scenery. Note that the legends are all “true” stories. It is for example true that a crocodile has been found in the sewers of paris in 1984. It is also true that a bloody baker had sold human flesh in the 14th century…
Everything is dark, the atmosphere grim, and you will slowly move forward towards an ending you suspect, but that takes you by surprise anyway. The success of the Manoir consists without a doubt in the fact that the visitor plays the game of fear, but knows that everything is fake…
The only downsides : the entrance fee is a little expensive for a rather short visit (30 to 45 minutes), and the mysterious and terrifying legends of Paris told by the “monsters” of the Manoir being consigned as background for the actors and the general setting.
