Montparnasse 56 - Newsletter december 2009
A year in seventh heaven

This year, Montparnasse 56 has redoubled its efforts to offer its visitors a broad programme of events. If in the past we focused on activities for children, this year we have added activities aimed at an adult audience to our list. Now the old and young alike can enjoy events at the Montparnasse Tower all year long, based on a wide variety of themes:
The International Year of Astronomy
2009, THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY!
Montparnasse 56 has joined forces with this world event by giving visitors the chance to travel through space, in various ways:
THE COSMIC OPERA
From 9-18 October, the Montparnasse Tower was transformed into a cosmic ray laboratory. Every evening from 7:30 pm, whenever a cosmic particle was detected a laser signal was emitted between the Tower and the Paris Observatory, creating a truly “Cosmic Opera”!

Crédit photo : ©JLR/CNRS/APC
The day of the night
THE DAY OF THE NIGHT - 24 OCTOBER
To celebrate the first Day of the Night in France, the organisers Agir Pour l’Environnement invited the press and local politicians to a special soirée atop the Montparnasse Tower, followed by a stargazing session on the terrace roof hosted by the French Astronomy Association.
Astronomy for kids
ASTRONOMY FOR KIDS
During the autumn half-term holiday, your apprentice astronauts went on a discovery of the sky and space during three educational and scientific workshops run by the association Les Petits Débrouillards.
COMING SOON:
Montparnasse 56 and the French Astronomy Association are already in preparation for the second Nuit des Etoiles (Night of the Stars) in August 2010...
SPACE 56 TAKES ITS PLACE AMONG…THE GREAT TOWERS
Christina Aue and Patrick Abisseror Logo Fédération des Grandes Tours
The Great Tower Lunch
From 28 September to 1 October, the Eiffel Tower, which this year celebrated 120 years, hosted the 22nd conference of the World Federation of Great Towers, which represents 33 towers in 19 countries. On this occasion, Christina Aue and Patrick Abisseror invited all the participants to a private visit of the 56th floor, and a gastronomic lunch at Le Ciel de Paris
The Trophée Roses des Sables
The "Trophée Roses des Sables" ®
At the end of November, Space 56 welcomed the "Trophée Roses des Sables" ® with a festive and relaxed atmosphere.
This aim of this Adventure Raid in the Moroccan desert which allows women to travel is to take school and sporting equipment to the most disadvantaged children in Morocco.
Wine Dating
GOING STRONG
The Wine Dating evenings are going stronger than ever, one Monday a month. A soirée full of romantic encounters to the clink of wineglasses, in partnership with Fauchon, Wine Sign and the Attractive World dating site! For information and bookings:
www.wine-dating-paris.com
NEW ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN DURING THE AUTUMN HALF-TERM AND CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY
La Tour Montparnasse, la plus belle vue de Paris

Christmas is approaching fast, and the whole team at Montparnasse 56 is pleased to wish you all the best for the festive season and the New Year.

2009 has been full of projects and events, and means we will be finishing the year with increased visitor numbers compared to 2008.

The teams at Montparnasse 56 have already been putting everything in place to ensure this growth can continue into next year, and to welcome all our visitors to our very best ability. More than ever, we are continuing our efforts to make our tower an unmissable stop on the tourist map of Paris.

We hope to see you soon on the 56th floor to enjoy the magic of Christmas seen from the sky, and we wish you all our very best for the New Year to come.

 
The M56 Group Returns

During these times of crisis, the M56 Group has finished the year with a more than respectable result. With our three sites (Montparnasse 56, the Berlin TV Tower and the Crocodile Farm), we are set to finish the year with a turnover of €22.5 million, up 4.6% compared to 2008, with visitor numbers totalling 2.1 million.

Our group is continuing its investment strategy and has armed itself with a sales and marketing platform in Paris and three sales offices in Berlin, London and Hong Kong. This move has allowed us to bring some 60,000 Chinese visitors to the Paris attraction, and is why we are planning to open another sales office in India. Eventually, the aim is to double the number of sites and achieve fifty million in turnover with 5 million visitors.

We are also continuing to invest in our existing sites. In 2010, the Crocodile Farm will be given 4,000 extra square metres. In Paris, the panoramic terrace is set to benefit from refurbishment works. Finally, the Berlin Tower will be given a facelift and makeover between now and the end of 2010.

The M56 Group is also interested in new projects, such as a repeat of the Crocodile Farm in Germany, or the restoration of the Chauvet Cave, which is due to open in 2013 in Vallon-Pont-D’arc.

 
Vertical Experience
Vertical Experience


Since the start of the new school year, this new feature on the 56th floor is making visitors yell...with laughter, as they test their ability to hold off the vertigo long enough to read the virtual joke inlaid in the floor of the panoramic visit!

 

A new arrival
Sophie Lemonde

Since 29 October, Sophie Lemonde has been working at Montparnasse 56 as Marketing Manager. Her mission is to develop and put in place the company’s marketing and communication policy. “I am delighted to join this dynamic and fast-growing company. I will do everything to continue the work already achieved in order to make Montparnasse 56 an unmissable tourist attraction.” We wish her all the best in her new role.