★ Rétromobile

01Perché è rilevante

Rétromobile opens the European collector-car year and sets the tone for it. Dealers reveal what they have found over the winter, the auction results give the market its first read, and the themed exhibitions — assembled from museum loans that rarely travel — do more serious historical work than most concours. Its position in Paris matters too: the show sits inside a city with real museums, real dealers and a large domestic collecting culture, so it draws a broader public than a specialist fair should.

In our reading, its distinguishing quality is range. A visitor can spend the morning in front of Grand Prix cars from a national collection and the afternoon buying a carburetor from a trestle table, and both are the point.

02La settimana intorno all'evento

This is a Paris trade-and-public week rather than a takeover of the city. Porte de Versailles is at the southwestern edge of the 15th arrondissement, on the tram and Métro, and the rest of Paris carries on unaffected. What changes is the collector-car ecosystem: dealers open their showrooms, the auction houses hold previews in central Paris, and the restaurants around the Left Bank fill with people who have spent the day in the halls. Early February is otherwise the quietest part of the Paris year, which is part of the show's appeal — hotels are affordable and restaurants are bookable.

03Quando arrivare

Arrive Wednesday or Thursday. The first two days are the least crowded and the best for actually looking at cars; the weekend is family time and the halls are dense. The late openings on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings are the most comfortable hours of the show. Two days covers it thoroughly; one long day covers it.

04Dove alloggiare

There is no need to stay near the venue and little reason to. The 15th arrondissement around Porte de Versailles is functional and well-connected but dull. The 6th and 7th arrondissements are a short Métro ride and put you among the auction previews, the antiquarian dealers and the best food; the 1st and 2nd are equally easy on Line 12. Anyone attending as a trade visitor tends to stay centrally and commute out each morning.

05Accesso e ospitalità

Rétromobile is an open ticketed show with no invitation requirement. Comexposium sells advance and door tickets online and at the venue, advance tickets are cheaper than the door price, and young children are admitted free. A preview evening on the day before the public opening is used by exhibitors, press and the trade. Auction previews inside the halls are open to show ticket holders; bidding at the Artcurial sale requires separate registration with the house. Exhibiting is commercial and handled by the organizer's sales team.

06Dove si svolge l'attività sociale

Inside the halls the club stands and the automobilia aisles are where people linger and talk; the auction preview area is the busiest room. Outside, the collecting trade gathers at the auction house previews in central Paris and in the bistros of the 6th and 7th in the evenings. There is no single social venue attached to the show, which suits a city that has plenty of its own.

07Come arrivare

08Aspetti pratici

09Storia

Marc Nicolosi founded the show in 1976, initially at the disused Bastille railway station, at a moment when the French collector-car movement was organizing itself. It moved to Porte de Versailles as it grew and passed through several owners before Comexpo — now Comexposium — bought its parent company in February 2003. In 2011 the format was cut from ten days to five and returned firmly to February, and the auction contract passed from Bonhams to Artcurial, which had earlier succeeded Christie's.

Attendance has climbed steadily: about 132,000 in 2019, close to 146,000 in 2025, and 181,500 for the fiftieth edition in 2026. The show was named Motoring Event of the Year at the International Historic Motoring Awards in 2019.

10Chi è presente

French and European collectors and clubs in large numbers; manufacturer heritage departments and museum curators; specialist dealers, restorers and parts traders; auction house specialists and consignors; and a very broad general public, including families, drawn by ticket prices low enough to make a day out. The proportion of trade to public is lower than at an invitation concours and the atmosphere is correspondingly informal.