In 2026, we promise you a year of reinforced concrete!
In Paris La Défense, we may not have oil, but we have concrete... and above all, ideas! This heritage, built up over decades, is both a resource and a foundation: the foundation on which we are building the city upon the city. Work on the Esplanade Park is underway. New cycle paths will open. Public spaces continue to be modernised. The neighbourhood is becoming a little livelier every day.
Our next challenge? A major plan to transform ageing buildings. Are you up for it?
For this new year, the public institution is continuing its plan to transform the neighbourhood: public spaces, mobility, buildings, shops and events... find out below what 2026 will be made of.
We're already very green!
And we're kicking off the programme of celebrations with public spaces, where work on three major projects will be completed, continued or started in 2026!
The Michelet neighbourhood has been undergoing a complete renovation for over a year. 2026 will mark the end of this major project! Following the recent reopening of access to the underground and the completion of the area surrounding The Link tower, winter will be the season for planting trees and vegetation. At the end of the first quarter, a new path between Cours Michelet and the La Défense esplanade will be created, and the Cours and lower forecourt will be completed.
Find out more about Michelet
As for the Esplanade Park project, work on phase 1 west, which has been underway since the summer, will continue. In January, we will also begin work on phase 2 east, on the edge of the Takis basin. Eight months later, in September, work will also begin on the last third of the esplanade, its central section. Why stagger the construction work? To allow neighbourhood life to continue and maintain traffic flow in a very busy area.
Find out more about the Park
Another park is set to open in Nanterre: the Delta Vert! This is a major urban project linking the Parc du Chemin de l'Ile and the terraces near the University. Here too, things will pick up speed in 2026 with the launch of work on the A14/A86 interchange at the end of the first half of the year.
Find out more about the Delta Vert
And in the Groues neighbourhood, following the delivery of several major public spaces in 2025, it will be the turn of Rue de Lens and Rue de La Garenne to be completed in the first quarter!
Find out more about Les Groues
More sustainable mobility
In terms of soft mobility, Paris La Défense intends to continue promoting the daily use of bicycles. If you were looking for a good New Year's resolution, look no further and download the neighbourhood's bicycle access map now!
Good news for all cycling enthusiasts! The creation of cycle paths in the covered walkways of La Défense is entering its final phase in the Voie des Bâtisseurs with the laying of asphalt in January, and the construction of a two-way cycle path in the Voie des Sculpteurs in 2026.
Find out more about the covered walkways
Don't have your own bike? No problem, Vélib' will be launching in the summer with an initial fleet of 1,000 bikes, including a station in the Centre Grande Arche car park, the first in an underground structure! As for electric vehicles, car parks P1 and P2 (Westfield Les 4 Temps shopping centre) will be home to the Electra fast charging service. Not to mention the brand new PullCOO car-sharing service and its fleet of electric vehicles, which you can try out now.
Find out more about PulCOO
Finally, work on the creation of two Grand Paris Express stations (line 15), led by the Société des Grands Projets, will mark new milestones throughout the year and continue until 2031.
Find out more about the station at La Défense and the station at Nanterre
Silence, it's growing!
New, restructured or renovated office, housing and facilities projects are being delivered, while others are continuing.
In La Défense, on the new office side, The Link (future headquarters of TotalEnergies) and Inspire (La Défense's first timber-framed building, future premises of Allianz Trade) towers have been completed. The same goes for the restructuring projects for the Hopen tower and the Rivage building, while others will continue construction in 2026: Synergies (formerly the Lotus building), CB3 and Nirvana (formerly the Being building). The Acacia and Sequoia buildings are also undergoing renovation.
In Nanterre, along the Terrasses de l'Arche, the new Edenn office building (future headquarters of Schneider Electric, occupying 60% of the building) has just been completed.
The same is true of two housing developments in the Groues district, Les Hallizées and West Village, comprising more than 400 apartments, as well as the Yvonne Kerzrého school complex.
There's more to life than work...
With nearly 20 new restaurants opening in 2025, the business district is continuing its transformation into a leisure destination. Honest Greens, a Spanish concept promising healthy, seasonal food with no additives or preservatives, is opening in Table Square in a few weeks. Three restaurants from the Gallika chain, a Greek fast-casual concept serving fresh bowls and pitas, will also be opening, two of them in January in the Corolles district and at the foot of the Trinity Tower, and the third at the foot of the Lightwell building in the Michelet district. For those who are more meat lovers, head to Pause Grill in the Reflets district in January, or to Burgouzz, a burger concept from YouTuber and streamer Valouzz, which recently opened on Place des Saisons. And to everyone's delight, the Paris La Défense fleet of food trucks will be back on 12 January!
See all restaurants in the area
On the cultural side, until 15 March, enjoy the last few months of the Christopher Columbus theme at the Cité de l'Histoire, and until 28 June, the Zoo Art Show street art exhibition. 2026 will also see the return of Les Extatiques in February and June, so stay tuned!
Finally, 2026 will offer us the opportunity to participate in numerous events. It starts on 7 April with Check! By Campus Paris La Défense, a unique opportunity for students to network with companies in the neighbourhood! Major events will also punctuate your year: the four charity races (Vertigo, Enfants sans Cancer City, Challenge Contre la Faim, Special Olympics), Very Food Trip, Garden Parvis, and Christmas, of course! Also worth noting is that in April,
Toca Social, a place where you can enjoy a festive after-work gathering, a good meal and even football, will be coming to Westfield CNIT.
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2026, a year of reinforced concrete in Paris La Défense
