They overlook, a stone’s throw from the Recouvrance bridge, the Brest arsenal (Finistère) and the Penfeld river since the 19th century. The Ateliers des Capucins, which saw thousands of workers construct parts for the buildings of the National Navy, now have a completely different purpose. Returned to the City in 2009, they were gradually reconverted into a cultural and commercial center within the old Recouvrance district.
Their three large halls – 16 m high and with a total surface area of 2.5 ha without counting the exterior esplanades – house the terminus of the first urban cable car in France, a 20,000 m² media library, an auditorium, a cinema, sports structures , shops, a museum for the Ocean and the Emperor’s Canoe, installed since 2021 by the National Maritime Museum. The whole now forms the largest covered square in Europe.
150 to 200 events per year
All spaces are now occupied and numerous events (between 150 and 200 per year) punctuate a rich program throughout the year, on a mixed economic model, both public and private. And since 2016, the official date of the inauguration, the Ateliers des Capucins have now crossed the milestone of… 10 million visitors.
“We have an attendance rate of almost 2 million people per year. The people of Brest, and the people of Finistère in general, have really made the place their own,” rejoices Yann Guével, elected to the City of Brest and president of the Local Public Company which manages it. “The Banksy exhibition last year gave him visibility,” he continues. We also note that the summer months are those which are the most successful… And which show the new color of tourist attendance in the City, which was usually rather deserted in season…”
The end-of-year holiday period, rich in entertainment for all audiences and illuminations (which end on the evening of Sunday January 5), also saw particularly dense crowd movements. “Just on December 26, we welcomed 10,000 people,” says Yann Guével. Often a very family audience. »
Furthermore, in 2024, the record for the largest Lego fresco attracted more than 28,000 visits over the weekend, including nearly 10,000 participants, the launch concert of the Astropolis festival – the oldest and most important music festival electronics in France – also stocked up. The exhibition “La Jeanne Fille de Brest” also had more than 30,000 visitors.
Next step, at the end of 2025: the reception, in a large building adjoining the halls, of the Fourneau, one of the first centers for street arts and public space. The latter will leave the commercial port of Brest to join this “cultural and commercial center with a bit of a UFO”, which will offer it the first advantage of being able to push the walls and present XXL shows in the large engine room, but also on its immense esplanades. and exterior gazebos.
