Maison des Douanes
The Maison des Douanes invites you to escape to the heart of an exceptional site in Saint Palais-sur-Mer. The Royan Atlantique Agglomeration Community wanted to dedicate this place to artistic creation and contemplation of the coast.
The Royan Atlantique Urban Community has transformed the former Customs House of Saint-Palais-sur-Mer, a listed coastal site dating from 1729, into a place dedicated to culture and the arts.
The wooded garden opens generously for a walk on the customs officers' path and the discovery of one of the most beautiful views of the coastline.
Free access to the garden and gazebo.
The exhibition "Vivian Maier. Au bord du Monde" highlights the unusual career of the woman who was, unbeknownst to her, one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century. On the occasion of this exhibition in this place so conducive to letting the imagination escape to the open sea, the Maison des Douanes in Saint-Palais-sur-Mer offers a new reading of this fascinating work that leaves no one indifferent.
The angle of approach of this exhibition radically reverses the "orthodox" reading of Vivian Maier's work and takes into account the specificities of this place which resembles a magic lantern, a lighthouse, a box equipped with an optical mechanism where the shadows are images that tell stories of the past. It is therefore the genius of the place that dictates and directs all of Vivian Maier's work in this place towards these notions of travel, territory, and adventure, towards these distant places so close and these horizons of which we do not know whether they are horizontal or vertical lines but which always speak of freedom.
The work of Vivian Maier is a vast continent that emerged to the surface of the visible in 2007, when, through an unusual set of circumstances, a young writer, John Maloof, bought a first batch of photographs at an auction in the suburbs of Chicago.
This exhibition, "At the Edge of the World", aims to draw up a map of this new territory, and addresses, through a stroll without a destination, the themes that Vivian Maier has continued to address for nearly forty-five years, and which constitute the total architecture of her work.
On this occasion and for the first time, the visitor discovers a chapter of Vivian Maier's life left in the shadows until then: it is the world tour she undertook for nearly six months in 1959 and which took her from Chicago to Florida, Venezuela, the Philippines, China, Tibet, Malaysia, Egypt, Italy and ended in France. From this world tour, she brought back thousands of unpublished images, today visible at the Maison des Douanes, as if they had finally found their place to be seen.
An exhibition organized by the Royan Atlantique Urban Community.
The wooded garden opens generously for a walk on the customs officers' path and the discovery of one of the most beautiful views of the coastline.
Free access to the garden and gazebo.
The exhibition "Vivian Maier. Au bord du Monde" highlights the unusual career of the woman who was, unbeknownst to her, one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century. On the occasion of this exhibition in this place so conducive to letting the imagination escape to the open sea, the Maison des Douanes in Saint-Palais-sur-Mer offers a new reading of this fascinating work that leaves no one indifferent.
The angle of approach of this exhibition radically reverses the "orthodox" reading of Vivian Maier's work and takes into account the specificities of this place which resembles a magic lantern, a lighthouse, a box equipped with an optical mechanism where the shadows are images that tell stories of the past. It is therefore the genius of the place that dictates and directs all of Vivian Maier's work in this place towards these notions of travel, territory, and adventure, towards these distant places so close and these horizons of which we do not know whether they are horizontal or vertical lines but which always speak of freedom.
The work of Vivian Maier is a vast continent that emerged to the surface of the visible in 2007, when, through an unusual set of circumstances, a young writer, John Maloof, bought a first batch of photographs at an auction in the suburbs of Chicago.
This exhibition, "At the Edge of the World", aims to draw up a map of this new territory, and addresses, through a stroll without a destination, the themes that Vivian Maier has continued to address for nearly forty-five years, and which constitute the total architecture of her work.
On this occasion and for the first time, the visitor discovers a chapter of Vivian Maier's life left in the shadows until then: it is the world tour she undertook for nearly six months in 1959 and which took her from Chicago to Florida, Venezuela, the Philippines, China, Tibet, Malaysia, Egypt, Italy and ended in France. From this world tour, she brought back thousands of unpublished images, today visible at the Maison des Douanes, as if they had finally found their place to be seen.
An exhibition organized by the Royan Atlantique Urban Community.
Activities on site
- Manual workshops
- Temporary exhibitions
- Animation
- Children's entertainment
Location details
- Downtown
- In the city
- Public transport stop within 500 m
- Panoramic view
Customers
- Groups welcome
Language(s) of the visit
Individual visit services
- Unguided individual tours permanently
- Guided individual tours on request
Group visit services
- Unguided group tours permanently
- Guided group tours on request
Opening
From 05/04 to 30/09/2025, every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 14 p.m. to 19:30 p.m.
Open every day during school holidays.
From 01/10 to 02/11/2025, every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 14 p.m. to 18 p.m.
Open every day during school holidays.
Open every day during school holidays.
From 01/10 to 02/11/2025, every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 14 p.m. to 18 p.m.
Open every day during school holidays.
Pricing
| Pricing | Min. | Max. |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | 2 € | Not disclosed |
Free for secondary school students, their teachers and chaperones, as well as for children in leisure centres and their chaperones.
Mediation workshops for the general public:
– Workshops for children aged 6 to 11: €4
– Family workshops (children aged 4 to 6 accompanied by a parent): €5
– Adult workshops: €10
Mediation workshops for the general public:
– Workshops for children aged 6 to 11: €4
– Family workshops (children aged 4 to 6 accompanied by a parent): €5
– Adult workshops: €10
Payment method
Services
Equipment
Services
Home animals
Accessibility
SERVICES
- Adapted services for hearing loss
- Adapted benefits for mental impairment
- Access for self-propelled wheelchairs
From 2 € / adult