Pavillon de la TOHO

Frommer's Review

Adjacent to the Cirque du Soleil training complex on reclaimed industrial land, TOHO is many things: a performance facility that brings small circus companies to its intimate in-the-round theater, an exhibit space with over 100 circus artifacts ringing the performance hall, and a model for green architecture. Built with recycled pieces of an amusement park bumper-car ride and wood from a dismantled railroad, the space is heated by biogas from a landfill next door and uses an "ice bunker" for cooling in the summer. Both processes produce zero greenhouse-effect gases and are explained in free brochures. It's worth a special trip only if you're a circus nut or environmental architecture fan -- guided tours are available with advance reservations -- but certainly check if there's a show playing and build a trip around that. The Pavilion is well north of tourist areas, above the Mile End neighborhood in the lower-income Saint-Michel district, but accessible by Métro and bus.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.