Art Basel Paris. Five days, three neighbourhoods, one car.
The fair fills the nave of the Grand Palais in the third week of October, and the rest of Paris arranges itself around it. The collectors who enjoy it are the ones who never think about how they are getting anywhere.
The fair
Art Basel Paris 2026 at a glance
- DatesWednesday 21 to Sunday 25 October 2026Preview days by invitation on the Wednesday and Thursday, vernissage Thursday afternoon, public days Friday to Sunday from 11am to 7pm.
- WhereThe Grand Palais, avenue Winston Churchill, 75008Between the Champs Elysees and the Seine, a few minutes from the Place de la Concorde.
- SizeOver 200 galleries from more than 40 countriesAcross the Galeries, Emergence and Premise sectors, under the glass roof of the nave.
- Around itSatellite fairs and gallery openingsParis Internationale, the Marais and Saint Germain galleries, and a week of institutional openings.
Dates, hours and gallery numbers as published by the organisers for the 2026 edition. The fair began as Paris+ par Art Basel in 2022 and took its present name in 2024.
Why it needs planning
The fair is in the eighth. Your evening is not
The Grand Palais sits in one of the most restricted corners of Paris for traffic. Avenue Winston Churchill and the roads around the Petit Palais are closed or controlled during large events, the quays along the Seine are unpredictable in October, and the whole area between the Concorde and the Rond Point is a slow crawl at the end of the working day. Getting dropped at the right door matters, and knowing where the driver may wait afterwards matters more.
The pattern of the week is what really argues for a car. A collector's day is the fair in the morning, lunch in the seventh or the first, an appointment at a gallery in the Marais in the afternoon, a dinner in Saint Germain and a party somewhere north of the river afterwards. That is five or six moves, most of them decided an hour in advance, several of them in the rain. Holding one car and one driver for the day makes the difference between seeing all of it and seeing half of it.
We move people, not works. Shipping, customs and handling are jobs for the specialist art logistics firms and we are glad to work alongside the one you use, coordinating timings so that a collection or a viewing lines up with where you need to be. In France our cars are arranged through operators we know, briefed the way our own chauffeurs are briefed in London, and clients who prefer their own car and chauffeur can have one driven over from London.
Getting to Paris
Ways in and journey times
| Route | Typical time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Paris Le Bourget to the Grand Palais | 30 to 50 minutes | The private aviation airport for Paris. Worse in the Friday evening peak |
| Charles de Gaulle to the eighth | 45 minutes to 1 hour 20 | The A1 decides it. Allow the upper end during the fair |
| Eurostar, St Pancras to Gare du Nord | About 2 hours 20 | Then 15 to 30 minutes by car, depending on the hour |
| London to Paris by air, private | About 1 hour 15 in the air | Plus a car at each end. Door to door is usually three hours or a little more |
| London to Paris by road | About 6 to 7 hours plus the crossing | For clients who want their own car and chauffeur for the week |
| The Grand Palais to the Marais | 15 to 30 minutes | Ten minutes at eight in the morning, half an hour at six in the evening |
Editorial ranges from timetables and mapping, not promises. Fair week adds to the evening figures.
What clients usually book
One car, held for the day
- A car and driver held from the first appointment to the last dinner, rather than five separate transfers
- Collection at the private terminal at Le Bourget, or on the platform at the Gare du Nord
- An English-speaking driver who knows where to stand near the Grand Palais and how long he may stand there
- A second vehicle for colleagues working a different list of galleries on the same afternoon
- Evening work that runs late, with the car waiting outside the dinner rather than being called for
- Onward travel to Frieze, TEFAF or Basel itself, planned as one itinerary rather than three
A typical plan
London to the nave
- 01
London
One of our own chauffeurs collects you and drives to London City, Luton, Farnborough or St Pancras.
- 02
Paris
A short flight into Le Bourget, or the Eurostar, with a car arranged to meet either.
- 03
The fair
A drop as close to the entrance as the traffic plan allows, and a driver standing nearby for the rest of the day.
- 04
The week
Galleries, dinners and the run back, with one contact at Odyssey who knows the whole itinerary.
Book early
October in Paris is a solid week
Fair week fills the hotels in the first, sixth, seventh and eighth, and the good drivers are committed weeks ahead. If you are going to Frieze in London first, tell us both sets of dates and we will plan them together.
Around the week
Related pages
Start planning
Tell us your week
Which days you are in Paris, how many of you, where you are staying, and whether you need the travel out as well as the cars. We come back with a plan for the whole week. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Art Basel Paris travel
Do you have your own cars in Paris?
Our own fleet and chauffeurs are in London and Manchester. In France we arrange cars through operators we know, to the same brief, and we can also drive one of our own cars over for clients who want that.
Can you move artwork for us?
No. That is specialist work and we would not pretend otherwise. We move people, and we will coordinate with the art logistics firm you appoint.
Where does the car wait near the Grand Palais?
In whichever nearby street the traffic plan allows that week. Your driver confirms the pick up point before you go in and comes back when you message.
Can you do Frieze London and Paris in the same fortnight?
Yes, and many of our clients do. One itinerary, cars at both ends and the travel between.
Can you get us preview access?
No. Preview and vernissage access comes from the organisers and the galleries. We arrange the travel around it.
Are you an official partner of Art Basel?
No. We are an independent company arranging travel to and from the fair.
One contact, wherever you are