The largest dedicated congress centre in western Paris, at Porte Maillot: four amphitheatres from 370 to 3,700 seats, 22 conference rooms, 82 meeting rooms and 18,000 m² of exhibition halls, operated by Viparis.
| Address | 2 place de la Porte Maillot, 75017 Paris |
| Operator | Viparis |
| Largest room | Grand Amphithéâtre, 3,700 seats |
| Amphitheatres | 4, from 370 to 3,700 seats |
| Conference rooms | 22, seating 100 to 380 |
| Meeting rooms | 82 |
| Exhibition space | 18,000 m² across 7 exhibition spaces |
| Other facilities | 2 TV studios |
| Activity | More than 200 events and over one million participants a year |
| Public transport | Metro 1 (Porte Maillot), RER C (Neuilly – Porte Maillot), RER E (Porte Maillot), tram T3b |
| From the airports | Orly: metro 14 to Châtelet, then metro 1 · CDG: RER B to Magenta, then RER E to Porte Maillot |
Source: Viparis, checked on 16 September 2026. Capacities are maxima; confirm them for your layout against the venue's safety documentation.
The Palais des Congrès is where Paris hosts many of its largest medical, scientific and corporate congresses, because it combines a 3,700-seat plenary with more than a hundred rooms for parallel sessions under one roof. It is also a hybrid building: alongside the congress floors it houses a performance hall and a busy shopping gallery at street level, on one of the most congested junctions in western Paris. Both facts shape how an event runs there.
Large association and medical congresses with many parallel tracks, corporate conventions of 1,000 to 3,700 people, and launches that need a true theatre stage: the Grand Amphithéâtre also hosts ballets, concerts and musicals. Smaller executive meetings of a few dozen people are better served elsewhere, because the building is designed for scale and shares its public areas with visitors who are not part of your event.
Traffic around Porte Maillot is heavy at almost any hour, and access to the loading areas and freight lifts is tightly scheduled. Delivery slots must be booked in advance and kept to the minute: a truck that arrives late loses its slot and can delay the whole installation. Build your load-in plan backwards from the slots the venue grants, add buffer time for the approach through the junction, and make sure every supplier has the exact access instructions for the loading dock and the maximum vehicle size.
Because delegates arriving by metro, RER or tram emerge into the same spaces as shoppers and commuters, event signage should start at the transport exits and a dedicated welcome team should guide attendees to the private event levels before they reach the escalators. Security screening adds queuing time, so tell delegates to arrive fifteen to twenty minutes before the opening session.
If your plenary exceeds 3,700 seats or you need exhibition halls next to the congress, compare the Paris Convention Centre at Porte de Versailles, whose differences are set out in our Palais des Congrès vs Paris Convention Centre comparison. For up to 2,200 seats in a more central, heritage setting, the Salles du Carrousel beneath the Louvre are the usual alternative. All options are compared in our guide to Paris convention and conference centres.
Its largest room, the Grand Amphithéâtre, seats 3,700 people. The building also has three other amphitheatres from 370 seats, 22 conference rooms seating 100 to 380, 82 meeting rooms and 18,000 m² of exhibition space.
It is at Porte Maillot, served by metro line 1, the RER C at Neuilly – Porte Maillot, the RER E at Porte Maillot and tram T3b.
From Orly, take metro line 14 to Châtelet, then metro line 1 to Porte Maillot. From Charles de Gaulle, take the RER B to Magenta, then the RER E to Porte Maillot.
Access to the loading areas and freight lifts runs on strict, pre-booked time slots, and traffic around Porte Maillot is heavy. Plan buffer time for the approach and make sure suppliers have the exact dock access plan and maximum vehicle size.
The Palais des Congrès is operated by Viparis, which also runs the Paris Convention Centre, Paris Expo Porte de Versailles and the Salles du Carrousel.