After a stunning year, Fontenay-le-Comte’s 2025/2026 cultural season is shaping up to be nothing short of breathtaking!
20 colourful events will punctuate a year full of diversity and surprises. Music, contemporary dance, comedy, circus, theatre, classical music… every discipline has its place, offering a programme designed to appeal to and challenge all generations and all tastes.
Fontenay-le-Comte railway station, opened in 1881, has been closed to passengers since 1969. Completely renovated, the original building and station platforms have been part of the town’s Cultural Centre since 2005.
TheEspace Culturel et de Congrès René Cassin – La Gare is part of a new generation of concert halls combining modernity, modularity and aesthetics. It’s a modular venue that’s an invitation to travel, to the journeys that La Gare offered in the 19th century, when the Fontenay-le-Comte / Niort line existed. Room 518 can seat up to 691 people, and La Grande Halle up to 2,300.
The venue is open to all forms of artistic expression: concert, opera, theatre, dance and circus. It also has modern facilities for organising trade fairs, conferences and dinner dances.
The Théâtre Municipal is a small, intimate Italian-style theatre with 257 seats, dating from the 19th century and recently restored in the heart of Fontenay’s historic centre.
Visitors will be pleasantly surprised by the decor of this historic venue, where both the interior and exterior design immerse us in the world of rail transport.
The bar is laid out in 4 convivial areas, using materials such as wood, metal and leather to recreate the atmosphere of the late 19th century. Vintage and steam punk styles are combined to give the reception areas a soul.
The signage in turn evokes the station’s railway past, with a “Guichet” door at reception, “Tracks 1 to 5”, “Platforms 1 to 4” entrances on the sides of the building, and a “Grand Station” entrance/exit for the bar and lounge area.
Today, Fontenay-le-Comte station welcomes travellers on their way to another space-time, that of dreams and the imaginary.
