Venues

5 Unique Venues in Nice

Posted on October 16, 2014

This week can mean only one thing for us Londoners, the winter is here. This weather makes me think about Côte d’Azur, where I was this summer. During my stay on the French Riviera, I had the pleasure to also spend a day with Nice Convention Bureau and see some of the unique venues Nice has to offer. First time I was in Nice as a tourist was three years ago, so this time I was excited to see it from a different angle.

1. Nice Observatory

By now some of you might have seen this venue in the latest movie by Woody Allen, Magic in the Moonlight or you can spot it in the official trailer. I am not sure what makes this venue more unique, the fact that it was in Woody Allen’s film or that it is an observatory, but the venue is a real gem.

It is located high up on the summit of Mont Gros from where you have a magnificent view over the city and the coast. The Observatory is an impressive building. If was built by Charles Garnier, who also built the Paris Opéra and the sliding dome was designed by Gustave Eiffel. In the main room, Le Grand Meridien, you can host up to 100 seated delegates and up to 150 for a cocktail. Also it is recommended to use the outside area, the Parvis du Grand Equatorial, during daytime where you can host up tp 250 delegates for a cocktail. If you chose the venue it is worth educating the attendees about its history so they understand and can appreciate its heritage.

2. Cave Bianchi 1860 – Wine Museum

This was the second venue in Nice where Woody Allen filmed Magic in the Moonlight. This venue is a hidden gem as you don’t see it from the outside and don’t know about it until you enter the wine store as the venue is in the cellar. It is suitable for small corporate dinners for up to 65 delegates who want a private dining experience paired with selected and exclusive wines.

By chance there was another filming going on the day in front of Cave Bianchi 1860 so I got a glimpse of it.

3. Marc Chagall Museum

The museum hosts the biggest permanent public collection of Marc Chagall, a Russian born artist who produced painting showcasing scenes from the Old Testament. Outside the opening hours the museum is a unique event venue which can accommodate up to 200 delegates for a banquet and cocktail. In addition, the auditorium can be used as an event space for concerts and presentations, with a total theatre style capacity of 200.

The museum has an excellent audio guide if you are interested to know more about the paintings, it is definitely worth offering to the attendees!

4. Allianz Riviera Eco Stadium

Nice is one of the 10 French cities that will host the 2016 UEFA European Championship and the Stadium meets all the UEFA requirements to host this international event. In terms of events, the Stadium offers diverse event space for match and non-match days. The largest event space, Salon Modulables Est (East Modular Lounges, which is comprised of three spaces: Azur, 1904 and Rouge et Noir), can accommodate up to 2,000 delegates for a cocktail and 768 for a banquet. If you need a venue with a large capacity, this is the one to consider!

5. Château de Crémat

Château de Crémat is the birthplace of the worldwide famous logo of Coco Chanel. Legend says that she was a good friend of the owner and attended great deal of events at the castle. The logo she saw on the window which also entitles the two initials CC inspired her to use it for her new perfume, which later on she registered as her trademark. The venue is a wine growing estate in the heart of Bellet vineyards. It is possible to host events both indoors and outdoors. Indoor capacity for a banquet is 360 delegates and 500 for a cocktail reception. Outside area can accommodate up to 1,000 for a cocktail reception.

When I go on site-visits I enjoy the education aspect of it as I get to learn a lot about history, culture and especially the hidden gems in each destinations or venue. I felt that I gained so much interesting insights, that I would have missed as a leisure tourist!

I would love to hear your opinion, which venue you liked the most and what type of events would you love to host there?

All photos: © The MICE Blog

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Venues

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Tour

Posted on May 26, 2014

Back in March I joined a fam trip to the south of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park organised by London & Partners. With a group of event planners and media we visited the Aquatics Centre, the Lee Valley VeloPark (what used to be the Velodrome) and concluded with an afternoon tea at Unity Kitchen with a presentation about events at the ArcelorMittal Orbit.

The tour took place one week before the official opening to public on 5th April. Within only 18 months after the Games the London Legacy Development Corporation led a complete transformation into a park with beautiful parklands, waterways and sport facilities to accommodate future events. South of Park was designed by James Corner Field Operations who also created the High Line in New York. Current development includes a new tree-lined promenade with 100 tees strung with unique globe lighting system, interactive water fountains and adventure playground, four themed walking trails featuring key highlights of the London 2012 Games, the Park’s biodiversity, family fun and arts and culture.

London Aquatics Centre

The Aquatics Centre was the second to open on 1st March after the successful opening of The Copper Box back in July 2013. Since its opening is has already had over 55,000 visitors. Designed by the famous architect Zaha Hadid it is not only a sporting venue but also offers a unique events space for private functions overlooking the competition and diving pools.

Lee Valley VeloPark

Previously the Velodrome, the newly rebranded Lee Valley VeloPark opened for public use on 31st March. It’s the first place in the world for track cycling, road racing, BMX or mountain biking in one place. This offers opportunities to host team building or incentives, exhibitions and gala dinner events.

ArcelorMittal Orbit

The Orbit is still one of the most controversial buildings. Some people love its design while others don’t understand it. I visited it back in 2012 during the London Olympics and indeed it has beautiful views over the Park and London. As event planners we always look for interesting and unique venues and The Orbit perfectly falls into this category. It was created by Sir Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond as an entry to a 2009 competition to design an iconic tower for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and when accepted it cost £22.3 million to build!

During the day The Orbit will be open to the public and when the last visitor leaves the building it will be transformed into a unique event space.

Visitors can experience breathtaking views of the Park as well as see over 20 miles across London from the two viewing platforms at 76 and 80 metres high, the highest offering 360 degree views across the city.

Photos below are back from 2012 when I visited The Orbit during the Olympic Games. This tour didn’t include a visit of The Orbit.

Unity Kitchen

Unity Kitchen is a social enterprise caterer with one branch in the Olympic Park. It’s a great place for corporate or leisure events. For corporate functions, such as the one we were part of, they provide event space with beamer and seating (we had theatre style) and catering including variety of sandwiches and pastries.

Here’s a list of upcoming events at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

22 June 2014: Hackney Half Marathon

28-29 June 2014: Holi Festival of Colours

7 July 2014: Tour de France

10 August 2014: Ride London

September- October 2015: Rugby World Cup matches

01 July 2017: IPC World Championships

01 August 2017: IAAF World Athletics Championships

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Venues

Entertaining at The Wallace Collection

Posted on March 27, 2014

Hope you are having a fabulous week so far! I have very interesting venue tip for you this time. You can visit this venue with friends, colleagues, family or host an event there.

Last weekend I went for an afternoon tea at The Wallace Collection in central London, just off Oxford Street. The venue, Hertford House, has 25 galleries featuring paintings, furniture, porcelain and much more from the 18^th century. According to the brochure the museum also displays works of the greatest artist including Rembrandt and Velázquez. We spent about an hour walking around and contemplating all the impressive art pieces in different galleries on the ground floor and finished the tour with a traditional afternoon tea at the The Wallace Restaurant in the courtyard .

The courtyard largely benefits from the daylight and it feels like being in a garden. This same space can be transformed to host gala dinners or receptions. Other galleries on the ground and first floors can be also transformed to event space with dinner capacity ranging from 24 to 160. The courtyard is the biggest event space and has capacity for drinks reception up to 300 and dinner for up to 160.

I loved the venue because it is very central, but still outside the main street in a tranquil area. The building is very impressive and knowing that it used to host the Spanish and French embassies before becoming a museum in 1990 enhances the experience when visiting this beautiful place. It is a perfect venue for intimate, high profile events for attendees with love and appreciation for art and history.

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