To celebrate the 50th anniversary of a liner that went on to become a monument, a legend even, this huge exhibition (over 800 objects, 1.000 m²) explains the technical prowess and inimitable chic of SS France, as glamourous as it was short-lived…

Extremely modern for the age, the cruise liner used the latest technology for its engines and heating systems. The interior decoration looked like something out of Mad Men, very early sixties heavily influenced by the fifties, with lots of formica, plastics on furniture and 500 tons of aluminium. 48 interior designers were employed to deck the whole thing out.

As well as small but chic rooms like the one above, SS France also had the Fontainbleau room spanning 515 m², large enough for a 500-person cocktail. Luxury materials were used throughout, the restaurant boasted that it was the best in France (!) and the liner attracted not only CEOs bu also stars like Juliette Gréco and Salvador Dali. At the time, it was by far the most chic way to cross the Atlantic.

But things were soon to change. Jet planes also started to offer luxury service, with – of course – a much shorter journey time. Then petrol prices started to soar. En 1974, after 377 transatlantic crossings and 83 cruises, the liner was taken out of service… after just 12 years. Left to rust in the docks of Le Havre and forgotten, SS France was resold a couple of times, changed its name a few times too and was definitively taken out of service in 2003. The final dismantling in 2007 was to take over a year.

The exhibition tells the full story of the liner, shows what life was like on board, and explains how a ship became the ambassador for French industry and art de vivre. Kid will be able to take part in workshops, there are guided tours, talks, film showings and a concert by the Conservatoire supérieur de musique de Paris. The official catalogue (240 pages, 39 euros) has a preface by French design guru Philippe Starck.

The SS France exhibition is at Paris’s National Maritime Museum (Musée National de la Marine) (here) from 9th February – 23rd October 2011.

Open every day except Tuesdays from 10am – 6pm. Last ticket at 5.15pm.
Closed 1st May.

Admission: 9€, and about a thousand different concession rates.

Official site: www.musee-marine.fr

French speakers can have a peek at the press release below. Click on the cover below to go into fullscreen mode, or click here.