The complex comprises an amphitheater; a concert hall with a capacity of 800-1,000; a museum of music, featuring a vast collection of classical music instruments encompassing the period 15th – 20th Century; plus exhibition halls, archives and workshops. As a part of François Mitterrand's Grands Projets, together with the Parc de la Villette, the a former slaughterhouse district of La Villette was rediscovered.

The on-site structures will also include a large 2,200 – 2,500 seat symphony hall, which had been planned for some 20 years, and is scheduled for completion by 2012. The Paris Museum of Music, part of the complex, features a vast collection of hundreds of musical instruments previously owned by the Paris Conservatory. The exhibits primarily constitute instruments from 17th-20th Centuries used in classical and popular music performances, including lutes, archlutes, Italian violins by Stradivari, Guarneri or Amati, some French and Flemish harpsichords, as well as pianos by Erard and Pleyel plus saxophones by Adolph Sax.