France Pavilion, Theme park pavilion in World Showcase at Epcot, Florida, US.
The France Pavilion recreates a Parisian neighbourhood between the Morocco and United Kingdom pavilions, with a tree-lined mall, a French garden by the lagoon and a Haussmann-style building housing restaurants. Its Palais du Cinéma facade draws on the Château de Fontainebleau, and a dead-end lane called La Petite Rue imitates Montmartre. A one-thirteenth replica of the Eiffel Tower, 22.55 m tall, tops the attraction building; the first floor is omitted to force the perspective.
This area opened in 1982 as one of the original themed zones and was designed to reflect France during its Belle Époque period. It has since been expanded over the decades, including the addition of a Ratatouille attraction many years later.
The pavilion's streets carry names and references: La Petite Rue imitates Montmartre, and the canal-side path evokes the Seine up to a metal bridge modelled on the Pont des Arts before its 1980 replacement. The island at the canal mouth draws on Georges Seurat's painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Female cast members in Impressions de France wear costumes based on Manet's A Bar at the Folies Bergère.
The area has two restaurants serving different types of food: one offers hot, traditional French dishes while the other focuses on fresh pastries and sandwiches. Both open in the mornings and serve French specialties throughout the day.
The Eiffel Tower replica above Palais du Cinéma is one-thirteenth scale, standing 22.55 m tall. Its builders omitted the first level and used forced perspective so the tower looks taller from the walkway. During IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth, the tower served as a laser projection base.
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