What's on in France's Night at the Museum?
Most events will be free of charge, with behind-the-scenes access to the exhibits as well as events including workshops, dances and family-friendly activities in the planning.
Many tourist favourites are among them, including the Louvre in Paris, and the Palace of Versailles just outside.
But it's not just the capital and its environs that gets to join in; there's plenty going on up and down the country, too. Visit the
official website
to see what's happening near you.
Most sites will keep their doors open until midnight, but if there's a particular show or exhibit you want to see, be sure to check the programme.
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And, remember to gather the troops. This is a night for multi-generations of family and friends. Art, history and culture, is very much a shared experience and you can usually find something that everyone loves – or hates.
Here's our pick of a few of the thousands of Nuit européenne des musées events in France that might pique your interest.
The Musee de la Lumière et de la Matière
in Essonne has set up torchlight tours of the world's first electron collider throughout the day. You will need to book in advance.
Caen's
Musée des Beaux-Arts
mixes its arts as an improv group tours the museum's halls – adding to the visitors' experience with impromptu sketches inspired by the venue and the works.
The very appropriately named
Quai des Savoirs
in Toulouse is – its website claims – 'turning into a party venue for the evening', with an evening-long dance party planned and a chance to see an exhibition on the mechanisms and mysteries of crowds, called
Comme des moutons ?
(like sheep?)
Juliobona
, the musée gallo-romain in Normandy will take visitors on a tasting tour of antiquity, revealing what our ancestors used to dine on.
Maybe, however, don
'
t take children currently studying for their brevet or bac exams this summer to the
Musée des Écoles de Lille
– where a Dictée test by candlelight is one of the attractions on the evening...
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Fancy yourself a bit of a detective? The
Musée des beaux-arts
in Bordeaux has a Cluedo-style mystery that needs solving – who stole the dagger that Marie de Medici received from her husband Henri IV?
Ever wondered how particular works get chosen for exhibition, who chooses, and what they decide to do with each work? The curator of
Musée Hyacinthe Rigaud
, Perpignan, will explain during a tour of the backrooms of the museum.
The
musée et site gallo-romains du Fâ
, in Barzan (Charente-Maritime) also has an urgent need for lovers of mysteries – this one involves a strange inscription on a broken ceramic shard that needs translating before developers move in… This is one you need to book for in advance, and there's a €15 fee.
In Murat (Cantal), there will be a guided tour of
Mémorial des Déportés
, which recounts the history of two days in the town in 1944, when 121 residents were shot or deported.
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A collective outdoor fresco will be created in real time at international illustration centre the
Musée Tomi Ungerer
, in Strasbourg as part of a busy evening of events.
The
Muséum de Grenoble
is offering a night-time tour of the Jardin des Plantes Joséphine-Baker, in search of the creepies, crawlies, and flappies of the night…. There's also a torchlight tour of the museum for those who fancy it.
The
Musée des arts asiatiques
, in Nice, hosts a one-artist marionette show entitled
The Tiger and The Monk
as part of its Night at the Museum events.
Take a leading role in the Resistance in liberating Lyon from the Nazis at the city's
Centre d'histoire de la résistance
.
The
Musée d'art contemporain
in Marseille will, meanwhile, try out a variation on a theme of Erwin Wurm's One Minute Sculptures in which visitors become living works of art under the instruction of an artist. If you've seen the Red Hot Chili Peppers' video for their 2002 hit
Can't Stop
, you'll get the idea.
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