True to its vocation as a listed historic building, the Grand Palais is committed to preserving its interior splendour. Two rotundas ─ the Alexandre III and the Queen’s ─ have just been restored. These are located on the south side of the building overlooking the Seine.
The Alexandre III Rotunda provides access to the Mini Palais restaurant, the International Press Centre, the projection room (where conferences, including Tuesdays at the Grand Palais are held), the Nave and, via the first floor, the south-east gallery and the south side curve, while the Queen’s Rotunda acts as an entrance to the offices of the Établissement public du Grand Palais. Its upper floor, a wonderful area overlooking the Seine, will become a reception room for Grand Palais patrons and partners.
The restoration work has been based on documentary archives, even though it is uncertain whether all the plans in the original blueprint were ever actually completed. The floor is now adorned with a magnificent mosaic. The walls now feature a material that fully preserves the historic character of the building: stucco made from a mixture of powdered stone and plaster. Safety has also been improved: access to the rotunda has been simplified and the paintwork reinforces fire stability.
