This January, I travelled to a very cold and rainy Paris to visit Europe's largest Interior Design and Architecture expo, Maison & Objet.
This was my first time visiting the show. Despite hearing great things about it from others in the industry, I had always been discouraged by the ticket price, cost of accommodation, and travel from London, which, as a small business owner, would definitely be considered on the expensive side. I guess your first visit to one of these events is always a risk because it may or may not be worth the expense and time, depending, of course, on your reasons for visiting.
If you're in a similar situation and are wondering whether to take the plunge and buy tickets for the next expo (04-08 Sept 2025), then I'm hoping this write-up will be useful for you. Prior to travelling, I fruitlessly Googled all sorts of things, like "how cold will it be in the exhibition halls?" (Knowing I'd only be taking a small suitcase with me, my outfit layering decisions needed to be on-point!) Even a basic question like "what area should I stay in when visiting Maison & Objet?" was surprisingly hard to find an objective opinion on. So, I will do my best to leave no stone unturned and share everything I learned from my visit with you.
How much does it cost to visit Maison & Objet? And what advice can I offer on how to make savings?
I paid £50 (60 Euros) for a standard trade ticket to the SS25 expo. This was the 'earlybird' rate (purchased 3 weeks before the show). There was also a 'super earlybird' release, which I just missed out on. Tickets become more expensive the later you leave it, with the most expensive being the ones you can buy at the expo itself. I would recommend signing up to the Maison & Objet mailing list well in advance and keeping an eye out for their ticket release emails, to ensure you don't miss out on the best deals.
I also purchased a cloakroom ticket as part of my booking (8 Euros / £6.50). You can leave four items in the cloakroom under one ticket, so if travelling with a colleague or with multiple bags, this would be more cost-effective than paying on-site for individual items. You can view the cloakroom price list here.
One small note on the cloakroom though—the lines can be very long and slow-moving, so make sure you start queueing to collect your belongings in plenty of time before heading to the airport or station.
So, how much does it cost to travel to Maison & Objet from London? And is it more convenient to fly or take the train?
Price-wise, flying versus taking the Eurostar is pretty similar, but it depends on the times you're happy to travel and how much luggage you take. I ended up choosing the train for my outbound journey (£74, booked three weeks in advance, departing St Pancras at 7a.m.) and flying back with Easyjet (£72, again booked three weeks ahead, including a carry-on bag, selected seats and speedy boarding). The flight home was a late afternoon departure and a Eurostar ticket at a similar time was in excess of £150.
So, which is the quickest and most convenient way to travel to the expo? I guess largely it depends how close you live to a UK airport. The Paris Nord Villepint Exhibition Centre, where the expo is held is only 1 stop on the RER B train line from Charles de Gaulle airport, making it incredibly easy to get to once you've landed, but we all know, getting to and through any airport can often be very time-consuming and stressful.
The Eurostar isn't exactly inconvenient either. The same train you take from the airport passes through Gare du Nord and takes approximately 25 minutes to arrive at the 'Parc des Expositions'.
I did find, however, that it's much cheaper to travel to Paris city centre (2.50 Euros per single trip) from the expo than it is to travel to the airport (13 Euros). My total spend on travel for a 3 day trip was £172.
One piece of advice if you're planning to use public transport in Paris would be to download the Bonjour RATP app prior to travel and buy your tickets in advance. It'll save you a lot of time queueing at ticket machines, especially at the Parc des Expositions, which gets very busy later in the day.
Where should I stay when visiting Maison & Objet? And how much should I budget for accommodation?
I initially assumed it would be more convenient to stay in a hotel local to the expo, so I started comparing prices and reviews of hotels in the surrounding suburbs. Any with half-decent ratings were fully booked, leaving only a couple of dicey-looking options, which claimed to be within walking distance of the expo, but I wasn't prepared to take the risk. I'd also stayed in a hotel around that area back in my retail visual merchandising days, when opening a store in the Aeroville shopping centre and knew the local transport links were decidedly poor.
Next, I expanded my search to hotels at the airport, which is only 11 minutes away by train. There were a lot of options, but prices on average appeared to be around £30-£40 more expensive per night than equivalent accommodation in the city. When you factor in 26 Euros for train travel each day, versus 5 Euros return to Gare du Nord, the odds quickly stacked against an airport stay.
We ended up booking a room at the Best Westen, Montmatre, close to the Sacré-Coeur and the impressive Overlook of Paris observation deck, for £89 per night for a standard twin room. The hotel is also conveniently only a 15-minute walk from Gare du Nord, which made our journey time to the expo approximately 45 minutes door-to-door. (If you're looking to shave off a few extra minutes, you could take the metro one stop from Barbès-Rochechouart to Gare du Nord. We tried on one of our return journeys but upon exiting the station, had to walk through a fairly intimidating crowd of sketchy-looking men, who were congregating outside, so we avoided this station afterwards).
Rue du Cligancourt, where the hotel is located, isn't the prettiest, but walking from the hotel to the station we discovered numerous cute restaurant, bars and coffee shops in the Rochechouart area. I would highly recommend checking out the Brasserie Bellanger. We ate there on our last night and the food and service was exceptional.
Our total spend on accommodation for 2 nights was £178 for two people. The price included breakfast.
So, is it worth visiting Maison & Objet as a designer from the UK?
Reasons for visiting this vast expo can vary. Many retailer buyers travel there to source products for their stores from the 'Objet' halls (1-5), while, designers looking to source high-end pieces for client projects would find more suitable brands in the 'Masion' halls (5A-7). This January, there were also numerous installations curated around the theme of 'Sur/reality', such as the 'Hotel Uchronia', created by the achingly cool French architecture and interior design brand, Uchronia. These installations are of course placed to connect you with the brands who's products feature within, but also exist to place emphasis on the inspirational aspect of the show. Maison et Objet isn't just a destination to spend your client's money; it's an opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of design, experience what is next in this relentlessly trend-driven industry, and soak up inspiration for your work.
Take a look at the expo map, to really get a sense of the scale of this show.
So, my answer to this question is yes—if you can afford to visit Maison & Objet, in my opinion, you won't be disappointed. I connected with numerous brands during my trip that may result in some exiting collaborations, and I left feeling creatively energised, despite having walked over 13 miles in two days around the seven giant halls (packing comfy trainers is a must!)
My total spend (not including food and drink) was £450.
This included 2 nights accommodation though, you could easily stay for 1 night and still have time to experience the whole expo.
Oh, and one important question I must circle back to...
How cold are the halls of Maison et Objet?
The answer is COLD! I didn't actually take my coat off any any point, I don't think.
To see more of the photos and videos I took of the SS25 Maison & Objet, head to the Hannah Drakeford Design Instagram page and be sure to give me a follow. Alongside my colourful furniture and interior design projects, I regularly share my sources on inspiration from trips like these.
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Thank you Hannah! This guide to Maison et Objet is so honest, detailed and helpful. I’ve never read anything like it and I’ve been in the fence about going for years having visited in the past (mostly on my own) and felt a bit awkward and lonely. A little like I’ve gone to the wrong show as I didn’t see anyone I knew there.